Inequality of household water security follows a Development Kuznets Curve

HWISE Research Coordination Network, Joshua D. Miller, Sera L. Young, Stefan Krause, David M. Hannah

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Abstract

Water security requires not only sufficient availability of and access to safe and acceptable quality for domestic uses, but also fair distribution within and across populations. However, a key research gap remains in understanding water security inequality and its dynamics, which in turn creates an impediment to tracking progress towards sustainable development. Therefore, we analyse the inequality of water security using data from 7603 households across 28 sites in 22 low- and middle-income countries, measured using the Household Water Insecurity Experiences Scale. Here we show an inverted-U shaped relationship between site water security and inequality of household water security. This Kuznets-like curve suggests a process that as water security grows, the inequality of water security first increases then decreases. This research extends the Kuznets curve applications and introduces the Development Kuznets Curve concept. Its practical implications support building water security and achieving more fair, inclusive, and sustainable development.

Original languageEnglish
Article number4525
JournalNature Communications
Volume13
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 8 Aug 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We acknowledge the support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No. 734317 (HiFreq) (S.K.), the HEFCW GCRF Catalyst Programme (F.M.), and the Cardiff University’s Darlithwyr Disglair Programme (F.M.). Data collection was funded with the Competitive Research Grants to Develop Innovative Methods and Metrics for Agriculture and Nutrition Actions (IMMANA, which is cofunded by the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), grant number 300654 and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation INV-002962/OPP1211308). Data collection was also supported by the Buffett Institute for Global Studies and the Center for Water Research at Northwestern University (S.L.Y.); Arizona State University’s Center for Global Health at the School of Human Evolution and Social Change and Decision Center for a Desert City (National Science Foundation SES-1462086) (A.W.); the Office of the Vice Provost for Research of the University of Miami (J.S.); and the NIH grant NIEHS/FIC R01ES019841 for the Kahemba Study, DRC (D.T.-K.). We also acknowledge the National Science Foundation's HWISE Research Coordination Network (BCS-1759972) for support of the collaboration (W.J.). Analysis was supported by the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program and the generous support of the American people provided to Rutgers University and the Feed the Future Sustainable Intensification Innovation Lab through the United State Agency for International Development Cooperative Agreement AID-OAA-L-14–00006 (S.L.Y.). The views and conclusions contained herein are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies or endorsements, either expressed or implied, of the funders or US Government. This research provides a contribution to the UNESCO Chair in Water Sciences and UNESCO UNITWIN on Ecohydrological Interfaces at the University of Birmingham, UK (D.M.H.).

Funding Information:
We acknowledge the support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No. 734317 (HiFreq) (S.K.), the HEFCW GCRF Catalyst Programme (F.M.), and the Cardiff University’s Darlithwyr Disglair Programme (F.M.). Data collection was funded with the Competitive Research Grants to Develop Innovative Methods and Metrics for Agriculture and Nutrition Actions (IMMANA, which is cofunded by the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), grant number 300654 and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation INV-002962/OPP1211308). Data collection was also supported by the Buffett Institute for Global Studies and the Center for Water Research at Northwestern University (S.L.Y.); Arizona State University’s Center for Global Health at the School of Human Evolution and Social Change and Decision Center for a Desert City (National Science Foundation SES-1462086) (A.W.); the Office of the Vice Provost for Research of the University of Miami (J.S.); and the NIH grant NIEHS/FIC R01ES019841 for the Kahemba Study, DRC (D.T.-K.). We also acknowledge the National Science Foundation's HWISE Research Coordination Network (BCS-1759972) for support of the collaboration (W.J.). Analysis was supported by the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program and the generous support of the American people provided to Rutgers University and the Feed the Future Sustainable Intensification Innovation Lab through the United State Agency for International Development Cooperative Agreement AID-OAA-L-14–00006 (S.L.Y.). The views and conclusions contained herein are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies or endorsements, either expressed or implied, of the funders or US Government. This research provides a contribution to the UNESCO Chair in Water Sciences and UNESCO UNITWIN on Ecohydrological Interfaces at the University of Birmingham, UK (D.M.H.).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemistry
  • General Biochemistry,Genetics and Molecular Biology
  • General
  • General Physics and Astronomy

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