Periurban Water Use, Human Health and Well-being. Emerging Issues in South Asia

Abstract

This paper describes how urbanization and the policies and institutions shaping it affects the health and well-being of periurban residents in South Asia with regard to the access to and consumption of water. In much of South Asia, sewage-based irrigation is emerging as an important source of irrigation for periurban agriculture, with severe implications for the health of the consumers and producers of the crops. Many periurban settlements lack formal tenurial status, and have no access to organized sources of drinking water, causing the residents to consume contaminated groundwater. This often explains the incidence of various skin diseases. Periruban residents also lose access to water of a sufficient quality and quantity as land is increasingly acquired for urban purposes. Factories relocated from the city in response to judicial orders to keep the city clean, contaminate local aquifers, and construction of highways disrupts water collection routes. The paper describes the policy and institutional factors provoking these problems.