S. Noel: Sources of Water for Household Enterprises in Rural Vietnam

Small-scale productive activities undertaken in and around the household (e.g., kitchen gardens, raising of livestock, small businesses) require adequate quality and quantities of domestic water to operate. The research analyzed 189 purpose-collected household surveys from 6 villages in 3 provinces in rural areas of Vietnam to investigate patterns of use of domestic water and the impact on household-based productive activities. The findings indicate that these enterprises almost exclusively used ecosystem water, primarily well water, rainwater and water from rivers and lakes. This result held even in villages where piped water was available within the household plot. The conclusions emphasize the importance of natural capital in rural livelihood activities and suggest that patterns of development which draw down wealth in terms of natural capital stocks may adversely affect the poor in developing countries in the long run, even while raising GDP per capita in the short to medium term. [authors abstract]

The full paper has been published in the Water Policy journal.