Rural Water Livelihoods Index (RWLI)

Rural Water Livelihoods Index (RWLI)

Editor

FAO ;

Descripción

There are many indications that water is becoming an increasingly scarce resource, a point often made over the last 10 years (Falkenmark, 1997, SEI, 1997, Molden, 2007. Access to water is now recognised as a prerequisite for poverty reduction (Sullivan and Meigh, 2003), but in today’s complex and changing world, competition for water from many different sectors can divert attention from its role in the improvement of human livelihoods (Llamas and Rogers, 2005). To better manage this vital resour ce, we need to develop ways of quantifying it which reflect this complexity, while providing robust representations of reality. Some 75% of the world’s poorest people live in rural areas across the world, and for them, water access can literally mean the difference between life and death. The Rural Water Livelihood Index (RWLI) attempts to assess some of the more fundamental, water-related components which influence rural livelihoods, and which can support rural poverty reduction. In this way it can help decision makers target investments more effectively, ensuring funds get allocated to where there is most need.