There is increasing awareness of household self-supply and the role it can play in securing water for domestic needs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), but its scale across the Asia-Pacific has not previously been quantified. This study analysed 77 datasets from 26 countries to estimate the prevalence of self-supplied drinking water, and its associated trends in LMICs in South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. When factoring in temporal trends, results suggest that >760 million people—or 31% of the population—relied on self-supply for their drinking water in these regions in 2018, with the number of users increasing by >9 million each year. Reliance on self-supply for drinking water is greater in rural areas than in urban areas (37% of rural population vs 20% of urban population), though results vary considerably between countries. Groundwater sources constitute the most common form of self-supply in South Asia and Southeast Asia, while rainwater collection is dominant in the Pacific. The results confirm the significance of self-supply in the Asia-Pacific and suggest that households are a major but often overlooked source of financing within the water sector. The findings raise important questions about how policy and practice should respond to this widespread phenomenon.

Following the 2004 tsunami in aceh, many aid agencies constructed houses. at that time there was much discussion regarding housing construction priorities and approaches. to quantify the perspectives and satisfaction of post-tsunami housing residents, individuals were surveyed in 30% (361/1,222) of oxfam-funded houses in aceh. the survey revealed that residents' satisfaction was highly correlated with adequate access to water, perceptions of improved livelihoods and homeowner consultations during planning and construction, as well as actual housing construction quality. Because the latter improved over time, residents who moved into their houses later tended to be more satisfied, even though they had to wait longer. additionally, while it is imperative that residents are engaged in the construction process, it is not necessary to insist that residents participate directly in construction, particularly if participation will compromise construction quality. that consultation process should be clear regarding what expectations can be met.

This paper examines methods and strategies for addressing environmental stewardship within the humanitarian aid water and sanitation sector with a focus on case studies from the 2004 tsunami recovery effort in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Maldives. During the recovery phase following a natural or technological disaster, humanitarian aid organizations are uniquely positioned to implement water and sanitation activities that go beyond disaster recovery to provide beneficiaries with water and sanitation systems that are more environmentally sustainable than pre-disaster conditions. Oftentimes, however, the pressure to rapidly restore post-disaster water and sanitation systems leads to a lack of coordinated planning and missed opportunities to implement innovative technologies that can make communities more resilient to future disasters and reduce long-term ecosystem impacts. Following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, several humanitarian aid agencies recognized the importance of integrating environmental sustainability concepts into their water and sanitation relief operations. Methods for addressing environmental sustainability included co-locating environmental specialist staff within field operations, constructing pilot projects of environmentally beneficial small-scale technologies, integrating watershed planning with humanitarian aid, and participating in multi-stakeholder water and sanitation working groups. Challenges to the institutionalization of environmental stewardship concepts in humanitarian aid operations include overcoming the perception that environmental stewardship will always be more time and resource intensive than conventional alternatives, establishing organization-wide policies that are enforced at the field level, actively promoting intra- and inter-organizational learning, and providing readily accessible, practical field tools and training for aid staff. Lessons learned from the application of environmental stewardship approaches in the Indian Ocean tsunami response can be applied to future humanitarian aid relief operations.

Vanuatu is a small island state ranked the most at-risk for natural hazards globally. Access to safe and secure water is limited, particularly for poor and rural residents. It is projected that climate change will increase temperatures, sea level, cyclone intensity, and extreme rainfall events in Vanuatu. As the impacts of climate change become clearer, it is becoming easier to predict the consequences of those changes on water infrastructure. The Government of Vanuatu, Department of Water Resources (DoWR) wants to support communities to enhance the resilience of community water supply infrastructure, despite the additional challenge of climate change. Since 2013, DoWR has adapted Water Safety Plans to the local context with Drinking Water Safety and Security Plans (DWSSPs). An analysis of actions taken after 199 DWSSPs, site visits and interviews, revealed an opportunity to integrate climate change more into existing community risk planning processes. The analysis also identified many potential problems with existing water infrastructure that increase their exposure to climate risks as well as possible improvements to decrease those risks. As a result, adjustments were made to the current water safety planning approach, so that communities review hazards associated with climate change and identify resilient infrastructure improvements.

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