Water poverty mapping - Pin-pointing the need for water

Abstract

Water resources management Speaking at the biennial conference of the Water Institute of Southern Africa held in Durban in May, Cullis explained that water poverty refers to several components, including the physical availability of a water resource (the resource component); the extent of access of that resource for human consumption (access); the effectiveness of people’s ability to manage water (capacity); the ways in which water is used for different purposes (use); and the integrity of the related environment (environment). “Water poverty mapping combines these components with the flexibility of geographic information systems mapping and geographic targeting to provide decision makers with a policy tool that describes the spatial distribution of water poverty and the underlying causes of this water poverty within an area,” Cullis told delegates.

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