Sharing the last drop' Household water security and equity in small coastal watersheds

Document begins: `Sharing the last drop' Household water security and equity in small 1 coastal watersheds G regory C. Ira Introduction is increasingly saline, discoloured and foul smelling. Many For rural coastal residents in much of the Philippines and residents drink less than two litres per day, even in the hot elsewhere in Southeast Asia, the image of a water-rich summer months, while engaged in difficult physical work. region is a mirage. There is a water crisis in Southeast All surface waters are potential sources of waterborne Asia, one of the wettest regions of Asia, if not the world. disease. Only a few kilometres away, a recent outbreak of It is not because of the occasional El Niño, but the result cholera killed a number of residents. of the systemic degradation of water sources by growing numbers of increasingly water-hungry people. The scale of The study called for short-term action research at two this water crisis in Southeast Asia is still unknown because small coastal watersheds where local interests matched most of the attention remains devoted to finding new those of the project. Fortunately, two sites with pre- water supplies from the few large basins in the region. existing partnerships between ...