Photo: Community member Etelvina, at one of the new water points built by WaterAid and partners, Timor-Leste (WaterAid/Tom Greenwood).
The UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) is partnering with civil society organisations Plan International in Indonesia and WaterAid in Timor-Leste on this research project, funded by the Australian Department of Foreign of Affairs’ Water for Women fund.
Climate change is leading to water stress and insecurity and threatens the sustainability of WASH services across the Asia-Pacific, including in Plan Indonesia and WaterAid Timor-Leste’s WfW locations. There is an opportunity to support the WASH sector to build knowledge about how to address the multiple, intersecting impacts of climate change on WASH services and the health, gender equality and wellbeing of communities.
ISF will draw from a wide range of CCA, WASH and GESI disciplines and on recent research on different approaches for assessing climate change. This research will enable civil society organisations to:
- Assess how climate change affects WASH service, gender and inclusion outcomes;
- Use the assessment information and replicate the methods in their WfW projects; and
- Encourage adoption of climate change assessment findings and methods by other WASH practitioners and local governments.
The research will build on recent ISF research on different disciplinary and sectoral approaches for addressing climate change, including:
- physical risk/hazard analysis
- capacity-vulnerability assessments, and
- socio-ecological approaches.
For more information please visit the Water for Women Fund website.