Development and application of a multi-scalar, participant-driven water poverty index in post-tsunami India

Abstract

This article presents a modified water poverty index that captures several waterscape attributes to better understand complex issues surrounding water. Household surveys (n = 300), water quality tests (n = 375) and qualitative methods were deployed to examine 14 post-tsunami settlements in Nagapattinam and Karaikal Districts (India) through the lens of water. Data were used to develop a contextualized, participant-driven water poverty index to measure water poverty at several scales. Statistical tests revealed significant differences between the two districts (p ≤ .0001) and between rural and urban areas within each district (p ≤ .0001). Three weight schemes (one dictated entirely by research participants) produced analogous outcomes though predicated on different indicator arrangements.

Keywords:

• Water poverty index
• water access
• participatory approach
• comparative analysis
• disaster reconstruction
• India

Acknowledgements

The authors greatly thank the research participants in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, without whom this research would not be possible. The authors also thank Annie George, BEDROC, Rajagopal Chidambaram, E. Nagarajan and N. Kalyani for logistical support in the field. Finally, thank you to Cecilia Tortajada for several suggestions to improve this article.