scholarly journals The politics of disaster vulnerability: Flooding, post-disaster interventions and water governance in Baltistan, Pakistan

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 1137-1157
Author(s):  
Awais Arifeen ◽  
Siri Eriksen

This paper uses governance of water infrastructure in two settlements of Baltistan as an entry point to examine the co-production of power and vulnerability. Access to water and irrigated land is a critical factor in determining how the effects of disasters, such as flooding, are socially distributed within a community. At the same time, the governance of water is intimately linked to the longer-term politics of disaster vulnerability. We examine three different forms of disputes over water infrastructure where struggles over authority and social ordering materialise: (i) between and within settlements over access to a water resource; (ii) within settlements over post-disaster water infrastructure development and (iii) between a settlement and the district government over land, water rights and flood protection. The findings illustrate that the governance of water infrastructure involves continuous negotiations, contestations and disputes over access rights. Access to water resources as an expression of rights plays a key role in the recognition of authority relations. In particular, influential individuals seek to legitimise their leadership role in a settlement by representing the rights and interests of groups in the negotiation of these disputes. However, environmental variability and change, including disasters and post-disaster development interventions, alter perceptions of what constitute legitimate rights, and provide spaces for popular contestation of authority relations through silent non-compliance with decisions. The close interlinkages between material and non-material effects of a disaster are a key feature of the co-production of power and vulnerability. By adding authority relations to studies of village-level practices around disasters, we enrich our understanding of the co-production of power and vulnerability and how these dynamics unfold over time. It is only by investigating this co-production that a deeper understanding can be developed of the mechanisms through which vulnerability is either exacerbated or reduced for particular groups.

Wahana ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-27
Author(s):  
Suripto Suripto ◽  
Eva Dwi Lestari

Economic growth is one indicator to measure  the success of economic development in a country. Economic development is closely related to infrastructure. Infrastructure development will have an impact on economic growth both directly and indirectly. Therefore, the role of the government in determining infrastructure development policies is very important to increase economic growth in Indonesia. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of infrastructure on economic growth in Indonesia including road infrastructure, electricity infrastructure, investment, water infrastructure, education infrastructure and health infrastructure in Indonesia in 2015-2017.The analytical tool used in this study is panel data regression with the approach of Fixed Effect Model. The spatial coverage of this study is all provinces in Indonesia, namely 34 provinces, with a series of data from 2015 to 2017 with a total of 102 observations. The data used is secondary data obtained from BPS Indonesia.The results of the study show that (1) the road infrastructure variables have a negative and not significant effect on GDRP. (2) electrical infrastructure variables have a negative and not significant effect on GDRP. (3) investment variables have a positive and significant effect on GDRP. (4) water infrastructure variables have a positive and not significant effect on GDRP. (5) educational infrastructure variables have a positive and not significant effect on GDRP. (6) health infrastructure variables have a positive and significant effect on GDRP. Keywords: development, infrastructure, investment, GDRP, panel data


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4836
Author(s):  
Wonder Mafuta ◽  
Jethro Zuwarimwe ◽  
Marizvikuru Mwale

The paper investigated the social and financial resources’ interface in WASH programmes for vulnerable communities. Nineteen villages were randomly selected from the Jariban district in Somalia using the random number generator based on the village list. Data was collected in a sequential methodology that started with transect walks to observe and record the WASH infrastructure. Thirty-eight focus group discussions and desktop reviews triangulated transact walk recordings. The findings indicate minimum to zero investments towards WASH infrastructure in Jariban from the state government, with more dependency on the donor community. The study revealed that resources for the construction of latrines and water sources come from the following sources, NGOs (54.3%), diaspora community (34.5%) and community contributions (11.2%). The findings revealed a backlog in the WASH infrastructure, resulting in low access to water supply and sanitation services. The results demonstrate limited resource allocation by both the government and community, affecting the WASH infrastructure’s sustainability and further development. Due to the backlog in investments, particularly on improved latrines, it is concluded that their usage is low and a hindrance to having access to sanitation, hygiene and water as per the SDG goals, of leaving no one behind. While investment towards WASH in Jariban demonstrates multiple potential sources, there is a need to strengthen domestic resource mobilisation and explore governments’ role and capacity to secure WASH infrastructure investments. It is also recommended to explore how to tax the remittances to fund WASH infrastructure development and the private sector’s role in WASH infrastructure investment.


Author(s):  
Marcus DuBois King

Chapter 9 summarizes the volume asserting that the chapters herein provide compelling evidence that alters our conceptualization of hydropolitics in the Middle East. Understanding that the regional power structure, always in flux, is changing significantly today the authors offer critical insights into the future of water conflict, often in the context of growing water inequalities both between nations and within the nations themselves of the type that were a critical factor in the incitement of wide-scale unrest across the region, including the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011 and the Syrian civil war. The chapter amplifies the authors’ arguments concluding that, without decisive international agreements over water sharing, dam construction, and improvements in national water governance policy, the world will face a future of dangerous growth in inequalities across the Middle East, and their attendant consequences in the form of insecurity and more conflict.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 555-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carole C. Favre

Purpose The aim of this practitioner paper is to reflect on the mistakes that most post-colonial, post-conflict or post-disaster destinations make when planning to grow tourism, and to offer a practical and business-driven solution that would help secure a more stable future in spite of potential instabilities. Design/methodology/approach The paper is the result of three years spent working with micro and small tourism entrepreneurs in Haiti, Brazil, Lesotho, South Africa, Timor Leste, Indonesia, Ethiopia and India. Findings The paper observes that most post-colonial, post-conflict or post-disaster destinations do not understand that developing tourism goes hand in hand with developing entrepreneurs and their businesses. Practical implications The paper could kick-start a more holistic approach to tourism development to catalyse long rather than short-term economic and social gains, especially for women. Originality/value This paper contradicts the common view that tourism growth is about increasing arrival numbers and focusing on infrastructure development. It presents an original solution that focusses on vision (an approach borrowed from Simon Sinek, the third most popular TED speaker and author of “Start with Why”), and on women empowerment that bypasses existing supra and national development frameworks.


2008 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 887-891 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenna Davis ◽  
Gary White ◽  
Said Damodaron ◽  
Rich Thorsten

This article summarises initial findings of a study to explore the potential of providing micro-financing for low-income households wishing to invest in improved water supply and sanitation services. Through in-depth interviews with more than 800 households in the city of Hyderabad in India, we conclude that, even if provided with market (not concessional) rates of financing, a substantial proportion of poor households would invest in water and sewer network connections.


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