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Chua PLC, Tobias A, Madaniyazi L, Ng CFS, Phung VLH, Fu SH, Rodriguez PS, Brown P, Coelho MDSZS, Saldiva PHN, Scovronick N, Deshpande A, Salazar MAS, Dorotan MMC, Tantrakarnapa K, Kliengchuay W, Abrutzky R, Carrasco-Escobar G, Roye D, Hales S, Hashizume M. Association between precipitation and mortality due to diarrheal diseases by climate zone: A multi-country modeling study. Environ Epidemiol 2024; 8:e320. [PMID: 39027089 PMCID: PMC11257672 DOI: 10.1097/ee9.0000000000000320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2024] [Accepted: 06/12/2024] [Indexed: 07/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Precipitation could affect the transmission of diarrheal diseases. The diverse precipitation patterns across different climates might influence the degree of diarrheal risk from precipitation. This study determined the associations between precipitation and diarrheal mortality in tropical, temperate, and arid climate regions. Methods Daily counts of diarrheal mortality and 28-day cumulative precipitation from 1997 to 2019 were analyzed across 29 locations in eight middle-income countries (Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, India, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa, and Thailand). A two-stage approach was employed: the first stage is conditional Poisson regression models for each location, and the second stage is meta-analysis for pooling location-specific coefficients by climate zone. Results In tropical climates, higher precipitation increases the risk of diarrheal mortality. Under extremely wet conditions (95th percentile of 28-day cumulative precipitation), diarrheal mortality increased by 17.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 10.4%, 25.7%) compared with minimum-risk precipitation. For temperate and arid climates, diarrheal mortality increases in both dry and wet conditions. In extremely dry conditions (fifth percentile of 28-day cumulative precipitation), diarrheal mortality risk increases by 3.8% (95% CI = 1.2%, 6.5%) for temperate and 5.5% (95% CI = 1.0%, 10.2%) for arid climates. Similarly, under extremely wet conditions, diarrheal mortality risk increases by 2.5% (95% CI = -0.1%, 5.1%) for temperate and 4.1% (95% CI = 1.1%, 7.3%) for arid climates. Conclusions Associations between precipitation and diarrheal mortality exhibit variations across different climate zones. It is crucial to consider climate-specific variations when generating global projections of future precipitation-related diarrheal mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul L. C. Chua
- Department of Global Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Aurelio Tobias
- Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, Spanish Council for Scientific Research, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Global Health, School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Lina Madaniyazi
- Department of Global Health, School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Chris Fook Sheng Ng
- Department of Global Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Vera Ling Hui Phung
- Department of Global Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Sze Hang Fu
- Centre for Global Health Research, St. Michael’s Hospital and University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Peter S. Rodriguez
- Centre for Global Health Research, St. Michael’s Hospital and University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Patrick Brown
- Centre for Global Health Research, St. Michael’s Hospital and University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | | | | | - Noah Scovronick
- Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Aniruddha Deshpande
- Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | | | | | - Kraichat Tantrakarnapa
- Department of Social and Environmental Medicine, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Ratchathewi, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Wissanupong Kliengchuay
- Department of Social and Environmental Medicine, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Ratchathewi, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Rosana Abrutzky
- Instituto de Investigaciones Gino Germani, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Gabriel Carrasco-Escobar
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, California
- Health Innovation Laboratory, Institute of Tropical Medicine “Alexander von Humboldt,” Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
| | | | - Simon Hales
- Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Newtown, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Masahiro Hashizume
- Department of Global Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Global Health, School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan
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Grembi JA, Nguyen AT, Riviere M, Heitmann GB, Patil A, Athni TS, Djajadi S, Ercumen A, Lin A, Crider Y, Mertens A, Karim MA, Islam MO, Miah R, Famida SL, Hossen MS, Mutsuddi P, Ali S, Rahman MZ, Hussain Z, Shoab AK, Haque R, Rahman M, Unicomb L, Luby SP, Arnold BF, Bennett A, Benjamin-Chung J. Influence of hydrometeorological risk factors on child diarrhea and enteropathogens in rural Bangladesh. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2024; 18:e0012157. [PMID: 38739632 PMCID: PMC11115220 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0012157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Revised: 05/23/2024] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND A number of studies have detected relationships between weather and diarrhea. Few have investigated associations with specific enteric pathogens. Understanding pathogen-specific relationships with weather is crucial to inform public health in low-resource settings that are especially vulnerable to climate change. OBJECTIVES Our objectives were to identify weather and environmental risk factors associated with diarrhea and enteropathogen prevalence in young children in rural Bangladesh, a population with high diarrheal disease burden and vulnerability to weather shifts under climate change. METHODS We matched temperature, precipitation, surface water, and humidity data to observational longitudinal data from a cluster-randomized trial that measured diarrhea and enteropathogen prevalence in children 6 months-5.5 years from 2012-2016. We fit generalized additive mixed models with cubic regression splines and restricted maximum likelihood estimation for smoothing parameters. RESULTS Comparing weeks with 30°C versus 15°C average temperature, prevalence was 3.5% higher for diarrhea, 7.3% higher for Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), 17.3% higher for enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), and 8.0% higher for Cryptosporidium. Above-median weekly precipitation (median: 13mm; range: 0-396mm) was associated with 29% higher diarrhea (adjusted prevalence ratio 1.29, 95% CI 1.07, 1.55); higher Cryptosporidium, ETEC, STEC, Shigella, Campylobacter, Aeromonas, and adenovirus 40/41; and lower Giardia, sapovirus, and norovirus prevalence. Other associations were weak or null. DISCUSSION Higher temperatures and precipitation were associated with higher prevalence of diarrhea and multiple enteropathogens; higher precipitation was associated with lower prevalence of some enteric viruses. Our findings emphasize the heterogeneity of the relationships between hydrometeorological variables and specific enteropathogens, which can be masked when looking at composite measures like all-cause diarrhea. Our results suggest that preventive interventions targeted to reduce enteropathogens just before and during the rainy season may more effectively reduce child diarrhea and enteric pathogen carriage in rural Bangladesh and in settings with similar meteorological characteristics, infrastructure, and enteropathogen transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica A. Grembi
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Anna T. Nguyen
- Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Marie Riviere
- Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Gabriella Barratt Heitmann
- Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Arusha Patil
- Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Tejas S. Athni
- Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Stephanie Djajadi
- Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States of America
| | - Ayse Ercumen
- Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Audrie Lin
- Department of Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, United States of America
| | - Yoshika Crider
- King Center on Global Development, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Andrew Mertens
- Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Md Abdul Karim
- Infectious Disease Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Md Ohedul Islam
- Infectious Disease Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Rana Miah
- Infectious Disease Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Syeda L. Famida
- Infectious Disease Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Md Saheen Hossen
- Infectious Disease Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Palash Mutsuddi
- Infectious Disease Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Shahjahan Ali
- Infectious Disease Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Md Ziaur Rahman
- Infectious Disease Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Zahir Hussain
- Infectious Disease Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Abul K. Shoab
- Infectious Disease Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Rashidul Haque
- Infectious Disease Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Mahbubur Rahman
- Infectious Disease Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Leanne Unicomb
- Infectious Disease Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Stephen P. Luby
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Benjamin F. Arnold
- Francis I. Proctor Foundation and Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Adam Bennett
- Malaria Elimination Initiative, Global Health Group, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
- PATH, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Jade Benjamin-Chung
- Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, California, United States of America
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Lebu S, Gyimah R, Nandoya E, Brown J, Salzberg A, Manga M. Assessment of sanitation infrastructure resilience to extreme rainfall and flooding: Evidence from an informal settlement in Kenya. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2024; 354:120264. [PMID: 38354609 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.120264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Revised: 01/14/2024] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
Sanitation infrastructure can fail during heavy rainfall and flooding, allowing the release of fecal waste - and the pathogens it carries - into spaces where people live, work, and play. However, there is a scarcity of reliable frameworks that can effectively assess the resilience of such infrastructure to extreme rainfall and flooding events. The purpose of this study was to develop and apply a novel framework for assessing and ranking the resilience of sanitation infrastructure in informal settlements. A framework for assessing sanitation infrastructure resilience was developed consisting of 19 indicators that were categorized into three domains: physical infrastructure design (8 indicators), operations and management (5 indicators), and environmental factors (6 indicators). The framework was applied to data from 200 shared sanitation facilities in Kibera, Kenya, collected through transect walks, field observations, surveys, and sanitary risk inspections. Results indicate that sanitation infrastructure type impacts resilience. Toilet facilities connected to a piped sewer (r = 1.345, 95% CI: 1.19-1.50) and toilets connected to a septic system (r = 1.014, 95% CI: 0.78-1.25) demonstrated higher levels of resilience compared to latrines (r = 0.663, 95% CI: 0.36-0.97) and hanging toilets (r = 0.014, 95% CI: 0.30-0.33) on a scale ranging from 0 to 4. The key determinants of sanitation infrastructure resilience were physical design, functionality, operational and maintenance routines, and environmental factors. This evidence provides valuable insights for developing standards and guidelines for the design and safe siting of new sanitation infrastructure and encourages investment in sewer and septic systems as superior options for resilient sanitation infrastructure. Additionally, our findings underscore the importance for implementers and communities to prioritize repairing damaged infrastructure, sealing potential discharge points into open drains, and emptying filled containment systems before the onset of the rainy season.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Lebu
- The Water Institute at UNC, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 4114 McGavran Hall, 135 Dauer Drive, Campus Box # 7431, NC 27599, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Rita Gyimah
- The Water Institute at UNC, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 4114 McGavran Hall, 135 Dauer Drive, Campus Box # 7431, NC 27599, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Erick Nandoya
- CFK Africa, P.O. Box 10763, Nairobi Postal Code: 00100 - GPO, Kenya
| | - Joe Brown
- The Water Institute at UNC, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 4114 McGavran Hall, 135 Dauer Drive, Campus Box # 7431, NC 27599, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, 135 Dauer Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Aaron Salzberg
- The Water Institute at UNC, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 4114 McGavran Hall, 135 Dauer Drive, Campus Box # 7431, NC 27599, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Musa Manga
- The Water Institute at UNC, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 4114 McGavran Hall, 135 Dauer Drive, Campus Box # 7431, NC 27599, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, 135 Dauer Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
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Powers JE, Mureithi M, Mboya J, Campolo J, Swarthout JM, Pajka J, Null C, Pickering AJ. Effects of High Temperature and Heavy Precipitation on Drinking Water Quality and Child Hand Contamination Levels in Rural Kenya. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:6975-6988. [PMID: 37071701 PMCID: PMC10157894 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c07284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Climate change may impact human health through the influence of weather on environmental transmission of diarrhea. Previous studies have found that high temperatures and heavy precipitation are associated with increased diarrhea prevalence, but the underlying causal mechanisms have not been tested and validated. We linked measurements of Escherichia coli in source water (n = 1673), stored drinking water (n = 9692), and hand rinses from children <2 years old (n = 2634) with publicly available gridded temperature and precipitation data (at ≤0.2 degree spatial resolution and daily temporal resolution) by the GPS coordinates and date of sample collection. Measurements were collected over a 3-year period across a 2500 km2 area in rural Kenya. In drinking water sources, high 7-day temperature was associated with a 0.16 increase in log10 E. coli levels (p < 0.001, 95% CI: 0.07, 0.24), while heavy 7-day total precipitation was associated with a 0.29 increase in log10 E. coli levels (p < 0.001, 95% CI: 0.13, 0.44). In household stored drinking water, heavy 7-day precipitation was associated with a 0.079 increase in log10 E. coli levels (p = 0.042, 95% CI: 0.07, 0.24). Heavy precipitation did not increase E. coli levels among respondents who treated their water, suggesting that water treatment can mitigate effects on water quality. On child hands, high 7-day temperature was associated with a 0.39 decrease in log10 E. coli levels (p < 0.001, 95% CI: -0.52, -0.27). Our findings provide insight on how climate change could impact environmental transmission of bacterial pathogens in Kenya. We suggest water treatment is especially important after heavy precipitation (particularly when preceded by dry periods) and high temperatures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie E Powers
- University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94704, United States
| | - Maryanne Mureithi
- Innovations for Poverty Action, Sandalwood Lane, Nairobi 00500, Kenya
| | - John Mboya
- Innovations for Poverty Action, Sandalwood Lane, Nairobi 00500, Kenya
| | - Jake Campolo
- Farmers Business Network, San Carlos, California 94070, United States
| | | | - Joseph Pajka
- Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, United States
| | - Clair Null
- Mathematica, Washington, D.C. 20002, United States
| | - Amy J Pickering
- University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94704, United States
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, California 94158, United States
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5
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Yuan W, Liu Q, Song S, Lu Y, Yang S, Fang Z, Shi Z. A climate-water quality assessment framework for quantifying the contributions of climate change and human activities to water quality variations. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2023; 333:117441. [PMID: 36753893 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2022] [Revised: 01/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Water quality safety has attracted global attention and is closely related to the development of the social economy and human health. It is widely recognized that climate change and human activities significantly affect water quality changes. Therefore, quantifying the contributions of factors that drive long-term water quality changes is crucial for effective water quality management. Here, we built a climate-water quality assessment framework (CWQAF) based on climate-water quality response coefficients and trend analysis methods, to achieve this goal. Our results showed that the water quality improved significantly by 4.45%-20.54% from 2011 to 2020 in the Minjiang River basin (MRB). Human activities (including the construction of ecological projects, stricter discharge measures, etc.) were the main driving factors contributing 65%-77% of the improvement effect. Notably, there were differences in the contributions of human activities to water quality parameter changes, such as DO (increase (I): 0.12 mg/L, human contribution (HC): 66.8%), CODMn (decrease (D): 0.71 mg/L, HC: 67.2%), BOD5 (D: 1.10 mg/L, HC: 77.7%), CODCr (D: 4.20 mg/L, HC: 81.2%), TP (D: 0.13 mg/L,HC: 72.8%) and NH3-N (D: 0.40 mg/L, HC: 63.0%). Climate change explained 23%-35% of the variation in water quality. The water quality response to climate change was relatively significant with precipitation. For example, the downstream region was more susceptible to climate change than was the upstream region, as the downstream movement of precipitation centers strengthened the process of climatic factors affecting water quality changes in the MRB. Generally, although human activities were the main driving factor of water quality changes at the basin scale, the contribution of climate change could not be ignored. This study provided a manageable framework for the quantitative analysis of the influence of human activities and climate change on water quality to enable more precise and effective water quality management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wang Yuan
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Qiang Liu
- Sichuan Province Environmental Monitoring Station, Chengdu, 610031, China
| | - Shuai Song
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
| | - Yonglong Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China; State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science and Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Coastal Wetland Ecosystems, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Fujian, 361102, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Shengjie Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China
| | - Zili Fang
- Sichuan Province Environmental Monitoring Station, Chengdu, 610031, China
| | - Zhen Shi
- Sichuan Province Environmental Monitoring Station, Chengdu, 610031, China
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Poch M, Aldao C, Godo-Pla L, Monclús H, Popartan LA, Comas J, Cermerón-Romero M, Puig S, Molinos-Senante M. Increasing resilience through nudges in the urban water cycle: An integrative conceptual framework to support policy decision-making. CHEMOSPHERE 2023; 317:137850. [PMID: 36657572 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.137850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Revised: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Relevant challenges associated with the urban water cycle must be overcome to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and improve resilience. Unlike previous studies that focused only on the provision of drinking water, we propose a framework that extends the use of the theory of nudges to all stages of the overall urban water cycle (drinking water and wastewater services), and to agents of influence (citizens, organizations, and governments) at different levels of decision making. The framework integrates four main drivers (the fourth water revolution, digitalization, decentralization, and climate change), which influence how customers, water utilities and regulators approach the challenges posed by the urban water cycle. The proposed framework, based on the theory of nudges first advanced by the Nobel Prize in behavioral economics Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein (Thaler and Sunstein, 2009), serves as a reference for policymakers to define medium- and long-term strategies and policies for improving the sustainability and resilience of the urban water cycle. Finally, we provide new insights for further research on resilience approaches to the management of the urban water cycle as an element to support the more efficient formulation of policies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manel Poch
- LEQUIA. Institute of the Environment, Universitat de Girona, C/ Maria Aurèlia Capmany, 69, 17003, Girona, Spain.
| | - Carolina Aldao
- Faculty of Tourism, Universitat de Girona, Plaça Josep Ferrater i Móra, 1, 17004, Girona, Spain
| | - Lluís Godo-Pla
- LEQUIA. Institute of the Environment, Universitat de Girona, C/ Maria Aurèlia Capmany, 69, 17003, Girona, Spain; Createch Drinking Solutions, Costa d'en Paratge St. 22, E1 08500 Vic, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Hèctor Monclús
- LEQUIA. Institute of the Environment, Universitat de Girona, C/ Maria Aurèlia Capmany, 69, 17003, Girona, Spain
| | - Lucia Alexandra Popartan
- LEQUIA. Institute of the Environment, Universitat de Girona, C/ Maria Aurèlia Capmany, 69, 17003, Girona, Spain
| | - Joaquim Comas
- LEQUIA. Institute of the Environment, Universitat de Girona, C/ Maria Aurèlia Capmany, 69, 17003, Girona, Spain; ICRA-CERCA. Catalan Institute for Water Research, Emili Grahit 101, 17003, Girona, Spain
| | | | - Sebastià Puig
- LEQUIA. Institute of the Environment, Universitat de Girona, C/ Maria Aurèlia Capmany, 69, 17003, Girona, Spain
| | - María Molinos-Senante
- Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering Department, Avda. Vicuña Mackenna, 4860, Santiago, Chile; Research Center for the Integrated Management of Natural Disasters (CIGIDEN), ANID/FONDAP/15110017, Vicuña Mackenna, Santiago, 4860, Chile
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A Method to Assess Agroecosystem Resilience to Climate Variability. SUSTAINABILITY 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/su14148588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Agroecosystems are influenced by climate variability, which puts their productivity at risk. However, they tend to maintain a functional state through their resilience. The literature presents several methods for assessing general resilience, but for specific resilience to climate variability, there are very few methods. An index is proposed that assesses the resilience of agroecosystems to climate variability, based on approaches and indicators that consider the interrelationships of agricultural systems with the environment. The index is made up of a set of multidimensional indicators, which give weight to the role that these play in the resilience of an agroecosystem. As a result, decision-making is assisted in the attempt to adapt or modify components of a farm, technology, and the culture of farmers. This index conceptually introduces structural and linkage indicators that assess ecological connections within farms and between farms and their environment. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the method, an application was implemented to evaluate the resilience to climate variability of fifty-one farms, located in Colombia, dedicated to citrus production, and it was verified that the most resilient farms were those that have the best qualified indicators, as well as being the ones with the highest level of production and profitability.
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Assessing the Climate Resilience of Community-Managed Water Supplies in Ethiopia and Nepal. WATER 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/w14081293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the resilience of water supplies to climate change is becoming an urgent priority to ensure health targets are met. Addressing systemic issues and building the resilience of community-managed supplies, which serve millions of people in rural LMIC settings, will be critical to improve access to safe drinking water. The How Tough is WASH (HTIW) framework to assess resilience was applied to community-managed water supplies in Ethiopia and Nepal to assess the effectiveness of this framework in field conditions. The resilience of these water supplies was measured along six domains—the environment, infrastructure, management, institutional support, community governance and supply chains—that can affect how they respond to climate change effects. We found that the HTIW framework provided an objective measure of resilience and could be used to rank water supplies in order of priority for action. We also found that systemic issues could be identified. The tools and methods used in the framework were easy to deploy by field research teams. The water supplies studied in Ethiopia and Nepal had low to moderate resilience to climate change. Service management and institutional support were weak in both countries. The data from Ethiopia and Nepal suggests that many water supplies in rural and small-town communities are unlikely to be resilient to future climate change without increased investment and support. The use of simple frameworks such as HTIW will be important in supporting decisions around such investments by identifying priority communities and actions.
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