Library Item: Toolkit

This Note discusses the importance of understanding seasonal access to water at household level and the implications of changes in seasonal access to water for broader livelihoods.  It also suggests ways to assess seasonal access so that interventions can be designed to both mitigate disaster risk and respond to disaster in an effective and timely manner.

The Note focuses on basic elements of the Water Economy for Livelihoods (WELS) approach as a means to assess seasonal access to water. Elements of the approach – still under development – have been pilot tested in SNNPR, Oromiya, and Somali regions in Ethiopia. The approach has been designed for inclusion in Ethiopia’s current disaster risk management system within the Early Warning Department’s Disaster Risk Management and Food Security Sector (DRMFSS). The DRMFSS uses the Household Economy Approach (HEA) to identify the food and livelihoods needs of populations affected by hazards and shocks in Ethiopia (see FEG, SCUK, RHVP 2008 for more detail). HEA forms the basis of early warning systems and vulnerability assessments across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), but also in Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. WELS uses a similar analytical framework to account for and assess water and livelihoods needs for different socio-economic groups within populations.

The WELS approach outlined below is a work in progress, and recommendations made are tentative. However, the need for a broader understanding of livelihood vulnerability and protection needs in Ethiopia that includes ‘water economy ’as a component is increasingly recognised. This Note explains the added value of water economy analysis, and suggests ways in which findings can be used to inform broader risk management policies and practices. It should interest policy makers and planners in the government, donor and NGO communities involved in early warning, disaster risk management and vulnerability reduction.