E3 Journal of Environmental Research and Management

E3 Journal of Environmental Research and Management Vol. 3 (8) pp. 0132-0137, September 2012; © E3 Journals; ISSN 2141-7466

Adequate water supply as a rural poverty reduction strategy in developing countries: A review of the literature

Abstract

Water is fundamental to health, survival and livelihoods, hence the international concern that it attracts. Globally, it is seen as an economic, social, cultural and environmental good, and to a large extent, not only a basic need but a human right. The aim of this paper is therefore to give an exposition of the role of water as a poverty reduction strategy in a rural context. This gives credence to the concept of water-related poverty that arises when water resources constrain or impact upon people’s livelihoods options or assets. A livelihoods approach to water allows us to consider the ways in which water affects people’s abilities to pursue overall sustainable livelihoods. To ensure that rural poverty reduction is realized, issues of multiple uses, sources, technologies and users of water are addressed. It is therefore recommended that access to adequate water supply, within the sustainable livelihoods framework, should be pursued if rural poverty is to be sustainably reduced.

Keywords: Water, sustainable livelihoods, poverty, livelihoods assets, human right, poverty reduction