For better or worse: the influence of conflict-driven decentralization on the resilience of urban water supply infrastructure in the Middle East

Figures & data

Figure 1. Conceptual framework of conflict-driven decentralization and the resilience of water supply infrastructure in the context of armed conflict.

Table 1. Overview of pre-conflict demographic characteristics and access to water services in the case study cities.

City	Primary conflict period^a	Pre-conflict population estimate (2010)^b	Approximate urban area (2010)^c	Pre-conflict coverage of municipal water network and frequency of supply
Aleppo, Syria	2012–2017	3,078,000	135 km^2	94%, 20 h per day (2009)^d
Mosul, Iraq	2014–2017	1,175,000	180 km^2	>90% (2011), no data on frequency^e
Ramadi, Iraq	2015–2016	208,000	40 km^2	>90% (2011), no data on frequency^e
Sana’a, Yemen	2014–2022	2,084,000	135 km^2	48% (2014)^f, 8 h per day, one day per week (2013)^g
Hudaydah, Yemen	2018–2022	489,000	60 km^2	75% (2017)^f, 24 h per day (2013)^g

^aThe time period indicated here reflects the main case study period and high-intensity conflict period in each city. Due to the protracted nature of the armed conflicts at hand, additional conflicts outside of the indicated period are possible.

^bUN-Habitat (2021).

^cApproximate size of the built-up urban area, based on Wang, Huang, Brown de Colstoun, et al. (2017).

^dUN-Habitat (2014).

^eIn the absence of specific data on the municipal water network coverage in Mosul and Ramadi, coverage is estimated based on the UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2011, in which 99% of surveyed urban households reported to receive piped water supply directly to their house or to their plot in both Mosul (n = 247) and Ramadi (n = 147) (UNICEF, Central Statistics Organization Iraq, & Kurdistan Regional Statistics Office of Iraq, 2011).

^fGesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit [GIZ] (2018).

^gGIZ (2014).

Figure 2. Linkages between the three water supply stages, whereby the conflict-driven decentralization of infrastructure at one stage necessitates adjustments at another stage. Letters A-D refer to corresponding examples explained in the text.

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Data availability statement

Interview data that supports the findings of this study is available from the corresponding author, JS, upon reasonable request.