WATSAN and rural livelihoods approaches

This paper briefly examines the role of water in rural livelihoods. It argues that the WATSAN sector should adopt a ‘livelihoods approach’ to water supply projects for two main reasons. The first is that by doing so it will greatly increase the impact on poverty and human welfare of the water supplies. The second is that it will directly support existing efforts to improve sustainability and demand responsiveness. The paper also examines the main barriers to taking such an approach and the steps necessary to overcome these barriers.