Our work addresses climate change in a holistic manner, integrating thinking from environmental, social, and engineering disciplines towards conceptual approaches and practical strategies for robust, equitable, and sustainable WASH services under climate stress and uncertainty.
Community based responses to climate change for rural sanitation
Client: Institute of Development Studies
ISF-UTS and the Sanitation Learning Hub at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) are partnering to write a publication on community-based responses to climate change to support rural sanitation. The publication contains tips, advice, and activities for rural sanitation implementers that are new to climate change programming and interested in integrating considerations of climate change into their programming and services.
Action Research to Improve Climate Change Resilience on Urban Sanitation in Indonesia
Client: UNICEF Indonesia
UNICEF has commissioned ISF-UTS and Universitas Indonesia to carry out a study in four cities to examine how climate change is likely to affect urban sanitation services. This study explores how communities, sanitation service providers and government agencies can be better prepared to respond and adapt. The research will produce a synthesis of learnings and recommendations, city case study reports, short briefs and academic journal articles.
Climate resilient sanitation safety planning
Client: World Health Organization
Preparation of updates to World Health Organisation guidance material on Sanitation Safety Planning to increase consideration of climate change. Provision of support to WHO Nepal in their implementation of climate-resilient sanitation safety planning, as part of a wider DFID funded program on Climate Resilience WASH.
Climate, sanitation and health
Client: World Health Organization
Preparation of a background paper on climate change, sanitation and health. This paper provides an overview of the impacts of climate variability and change on sanitation and the implications for health. It outlines potential adaptation options for strengthening climate resilience of sanitation governance, policies, systems and services and highlights further research needs and imperatives for policy and programming.
Research output:
Discussion paper on climate, sanitation and health
Climate change and urban sanitation
Client: SNV Netherlands Development Organisation
New lines of innovative thinking must be taken to ensure urban sanitation services are sustained equitably against climate change. ISF-UTS and SNV’s research and learning partnership examined how climate change impacts urban sanitation drawing on analyses in five countries: Bangladesh, Nepal, Indonesia, Tanzania and Zambia.
Research outputs:
Presentation at 5th International Faecal Sludge Management Conference FSM5
Poster presented at IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition 2019
Climate change response for inclusive WASH
Client: GHD - DFAT Water for Women Fund
This research project, as part of the DFAT Water for Women Fund, supports civil society organisations to assess climate change impacts to improve the service, gender and social inclusion outcomes of WASH programs. Climate change affects the sustainability of WASH services in numerous, interconnecting ways with a disproportionate burden falling on women and people living with disabilities. Understanding these unequal and complex impacts is key to developing solutions that ensure climate change does not inequalities in access and services.
For more information visit www.waterforwomen.uts.edu.au/climate-change-response
Beyond the finish line: Climate-sensitive sanitation and water supply services
Client: SNV Netherlands Development Organisation
ISF-UTS is the research and learning partner for SNV’s Beyond the Finish Line program (2018-2022), which is part of DFAT’s Water for Women Fund. Beyond the Finish Line seeks to achieve equitable and universal access to safely-managed sanitation and hygiene in seven districts in Bhutan and Lao PDR, and to strengthen the sustainability and resilience of rural water supply services in two districts in Nepal.
Climate change threatens the sustainability and equity outcomes of rural WASH programs. Much progress has been made in increasing improved water coverage in rural Nepal and basic sanitation coverage in rural Laos, but climate change can reverse hard-won gains. As focus is directed toward ensuring that everyone, including disadvantaged groups, can access safe WASH in these locations, this research examines how action can be taken to ensure climate change impacts are accounted for.
Responding to climate change to sustain community-managed water services in Vanuatu
Clear conceptualisation of the different ways that community-managed water services are affected by and sustained against climate change is needed to inform appropriate adaptation interventions.
This research project examined the impacts of climate change on two communities in rural Vanuatu using risk-hazard, vulnerability, and social-ecological system resilience perspectives, and developed a conceptual framework to facilitate interdisciplinary research on climate change impacts on community-managed water services.
Research outputs:
Sustaining rural water services against climate change in Vanuatu: A project brief
Responding to climate change to sustain community-managed water services in Vanuatu – PhD thesis
Facilitators guide for supporting community adaptation to water shortages in Kiribati
Client: USAID
In the water-scarce Pacific Island nation of Kiribati, water supplies are increasingly affected by saltwater intrusion due to high tides, sea level rise and increasingly frequent storms and tropical cyclones. This handbook assists local facilitators to work with communities to identify climate change adaptation strategies.
Research outputs and resources:
Facilitators guide for supporting community adaptation to water shortages in Kiribati
Climate adaptation through sustainable urban development, Can Tho case study
Client: CSIRO
As a contribution to the CSIRO AusAid Research for Development Alliance case study, this research sought to discover feasible strategies or options for a sustainable water system for Can Tho City to cope with the current problems resulting from high rates of urbanisation, population increase and looming climate change.
Research outputs and resources:
