
Water for building thriving sustainable rural communities
The contribution of water to the sustainability of rural livelihoods can be assessed through the sustainable livelihoods’ framework, where the latter depends on five assets, i.e., physical, social, financial, natural and human. Water is part of the natural resources and directly plays a vital role in the development and sustainability of rural communities through the various ways in which it enhances all the livelihood assets. Primarily, water is essential for the well-being, health, and overall prosperity of individuals residing in rural areas. Clean water is critical for proper hydration, hygiene, and sanitation practices and helps prevent waterborne diseases. Access to clean water can reduce illness and mortality rates. Overall, access to clean and safe drinking water is crucial for attaining good health and survival of individuals in rural areas, allowing households to maintain a set of activities that require physically and mentally functional individuals. Furthermore, access to sufficient potable water is a basic need for life, and a constitutional right. However, many rural communities are struggling, competing with livestock to find water in open sources which run dry in droughts.
Water access influences education and long-term welfare prospects. Specifically, good health through safe water provision gives children good health to go to school, develop themselves academically, and realize high productivity and incomes in their future lives. Households with educated children can count on their financial and other support in later years, which enhances sustainability. Educated household members are in a better position to assimilate information and enhance their entrepreneurship and capability to engage in agricultural enterprises that are financially remunerative. Educated family members can also identify viable business opportunities and successfully manage them.
When water mediates the effectiveness of other household assets that guarantee sustainable livelihoods. In its effects on the health of household members, water also affects human capital. Good human health ensures that members can contribute physically and mentally to activities that contribute to the household’s welfare. Water is vital in promoting gender equality and empowering women in rural communities. In communities where water sources are located away from homesteads, women and girls are the ones who have to collect it. This is achieved at a considerable cost to their time, leaving them with limited time for other economic activities. Therefore, water availability allows females to engage in activities such as the pursuit of education for young girls and income generation activities for adult females. They can also use the available time to participate in broader community development issues.
Most rural communities use the availability of the land to engage in agriculture for subsistence and income generation. Water availability is essential for enhancing the productivity of the land. Households with land can pursue agricultural activities beyond the rainfall seasons through irrigation. Regarding crops, irrigation water allows enhanced crop yields and productivity. Besides, livestock farming is an important component of rural economic livelihoods and water availability is critical for its practice. With reliable access to water, rural communities can grow various crops, establish horticultural ventures, and engage in animal husbandry, thus increasing their income and economic resilience.
In water-scarce environments, it is often a source of social disharmony as households compete to access it and becomes a source of failure to engage in meaningful broad-based development. Therefore, water availability allows community members to relate better socially, which then contributes to social sustainability and development. Communities that have access to clean water thrive.
In summary, water has direct and indirect short and long-term ways in which it determines the sustainability of rural communities. It is critical that water is available for domestic, agricultural and other economic activities.
Opinion piece written by: Prof Mudhara of the University of KwaZulu Natal – Farmers Support Group for the HCI Foundation – conversations titled building thriving and sustainable communities’ series.