Premium
Progress in household water insecurity metrics: a cross‐disciplinary approach
Author(s) -
Jepson Wendy E.,
Wutich Amber,
Colllins Shalean M.,
Boateng Godfred O.,
Young Sera L.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
wiley interdisciplinary reviews: water
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.413
H-Index - 24
ISSN - 2049-1948
DOI - 10.1002/wat2.1214
Subject(s) - comparability , scope (computer science) , scale (ratio) , water security , environmental resource management , business , computer science , geography , water resources , environmental science , ecology , mathematics , cartography , combinatorics , biology , programming language
Despite the central importance of water for human wellbeing and development, researchers and practitioners have few tools to quantitatively measure, assess, and compare the scope and scale of household and individual water insecurity across cultural and climatic variations. There are multiple definitions of water insecurity, and the analytical tools for measuring household‐level water insecurity are in their infancy. This paper provides an overview and systematic evaluation of current household and individual water in security metrics for human development. We seek to advance micro‐level metrics—attending to the considerations of dimensionality, temporality, unit of analysis, and comparability—because they will provide the research community with necessary tools to untangle the complex determinants and outcomes of water insecurity. Moreover, such metrics will support the translation of research outcomes into meaningful and useful products and results for stakeholders, communities, and decision‐makers. WIREs Water 2017, 4:e1214. doi: 10.1002/wat2.1214 This article is categorized under: Human Water > Methods