Household coping mechanisms: rural WASH

Resilience and the way communities cope with changing circumstances – particularly as these relate to climate change – must be better understood for governments to design climate-relevant adaptation policies and safeguard people’s access to WASH services. In this report, we identified six commonly used coping mechanisms practised by communities in parts of rural Bhutan and Nepal and explored their impacts on the lives of different household members, including people with disabilities.

Our research found that although these mechanisms help people in the near term, household members benefitted disproportionately; there were far more coping mechanisms for water than sanitation and hygiene; and measures for longer-term adaptation and transformation are needed.

Jeremy Kohlitz, UTS-ISF

SNV and UTS-ISF, Household coping mechanisms for rural WASH: Bhutan and Nepal, The Hague, SNV, 2024.

SNV, UTS-ISF, CBM Australia, Government of Australia's Water for Women Fund

Gabrielle Halcrow, Global Coordinator, Climate Resilient Rural WASH at water@snv.org