Climate-Resilient Inclusive Urban WASH in Melanesian Pacific

The International WaterCentre at Griffith University

Climate Resilience Research (WRA-CR09)

Research theme: Systems strengthening for climate-resilient, inclusive urban WASH 

Research focus: Influencing and strengthening planning systems for climate-resilient and inclusive WASH in underserved urban settlements in Melanesian Pacific.

Location: Vanuatu, Fiji and Papua New Guinea

Partners: International WaterCentre at Griffith University (IWC), University of South Pacific, Vanuatu National University, University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG), WaterAid Papua New Guinea, UACS Consulting

In the context of critical gaps in planning systems and the political economy for climate-resilient WASH in urban informal settlements in Melanesia, this research sought to explicitly explore how and whether champions could influence political and societal attitudes about basic services in urban informal settlements in the context of a changing climate and therefore build climate resilience.

This included determining:

1. How can the climate resilience and social inclusion of WASH services in urban informal settlements be strengthened with locally adapted climate science and knowledge, planning support systems and champions?
2. How can we draw on both climate science and local knowledge in relation to WASH contexts?
3. How can urban planning systems support climate-resilient and socially inclusive WASH services?
4. How can societal and political attitudes relating to service upgrades in informal settlements be improved?

Knowledge Product Links

• Publication: A multi-country survey on sanitation systems in underserved urban settlements in the Melanesian Pacific region
• Methods and key findings from 2023-2024 Research Project: Inclusive and climate-resilient urban WASH in Melanesian informal settlements
• Technical brief: Localising vulnerability and resilience considerations for water and sanitation service delivery models
• Technical Brief: Participatory GIS to support planning for WASH in underserved settlements
• Policy brief: Addressing climate-resilient WASH in urban informal settlements in Fiji, through planning processes
• Policy brief: Addressing climate-resilient WASH in urban informal settlements in Vanuatu, through planning processes

What we did

We took a mixed-methods approach with theoretical grounding and literature reviews, collection of primary data, and co-creation of tools and approaches with stakeholders and rightsholder organisations. This included investigating local climate science and WASH information to inform collaborative planning support system through community generated and climate date, understanding political and societal attitudes to improving services in informal settlements through key informant interviews and workshops, and synthesis and adaptation of political economy analysis work, and regional knowledge exchange and skills development. We aimed to contribute to strengthening WASH and interrelated governance and planning systems.

What we found

We generated an evidence base on the way water services exist in settlements as a consequence of utilities applying the same rules for settlement residents as they do for others.

We found that the impacts of climate hazards on WASH are multiplied and, in some cases, unique in urban informal settlements, not only due to poorer water/sanitation infrastructure but also because of the significant impacts of local hazards. Adapting to climate change will therefore require addressing both the resilience of water/sanitation services, as well as urgently managing local hazards alongside infrastructure.

Participatory Planning – building a collective understanding amongst government and utility officers and settlement residents, of the causes and possible solutions to problems with water supply, Suva, Fiji (Edward Morgan, GU)

Research uptake

Our research raised continual awareness of an evidence-based and detailed understanding of how water sanitation services exist and are used in settlements and the impacts on the lives of a very marginalised, yet large, population in urban areas.

Due to continual discussion, we had groundbreaking levels of engagement from government ministries, local government and water utilities. We emphasised that improving the current WASH situation is within everyone’s interests. Despite firmly held beliefs that upgrading services will cause residents to move in or stay and accompanying reluctance to invest, they recognised they could provide advice and contribute to solutions on better installation and maintenance without responsibility. Water utilities also recognised that engaging with settlement residents collectively could deliver different benefits to engaging with them individually, as they do for other customers. Exposing utility staff to the water pipe situations and hazards these are exposed to from poor installation, was eye opening for them.

“We think about the pipes and the pumps, and we forget that we are trying to provide a service that has good impact. I need to think about how the rest of my teams can have this experience”

– Water Utility Engineer, during Participatory Planning Workshop Fiji

We created several useful tools and datasets, which some utilities are now using. In particular, the GIS tool to autonomously identify informal settlements has been adopted by the urban water utility in Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and PNG allowing them to monitor and identify areas of urban growth, informing their planning for water service expansions. We have also shared climate and environmental hazard data we were able to collate and modify with UNELCO, the water utility in Vanuatu.

Broader WASH sector contributions

The diverse project team consisted of Melanesian researchers and young academics new to WASH who are now committed. The huge benefit of facilitating collaboration amongst Melanesian researchers cannot be understated as it is critical this sector advances in the Pacific.

Research and practical improvements to WASH services in urban informal settlements is largely overlooked by national governments, utilities as well as development partners. This research base contributes to the global evidence base.

What’s next?

We developed a framework based on empirical data from other regions, and the local data we could generate, however a much larger diversity of settlement settings and water/sanitation service types must be assessed before this framework can be truly localised.

To further support and demonstrate the concept of unique and increased climate impacts to urban informal settlements we need evidence of varying types from diverse locations. We will further advocate, through cases from other regions and local data, for utilities in Melanesia to create a dedicated urban informal settlements unit to provide support and information and services that are tailored to the context of settlements.

Given the highly localised nature of hazards in many settlements and technical advice required in protecting their water and sanitation infrastructure, facilitating stronger local linkages between the water utilities, relevant ministries and USP (and cross-departmental linkages), on the issue of water & sanitation services and infrastructure would have significant impact and meet a critical knowledge need.

It is critical this sector continues to grow in the Pacific. Given the benefits and criticality of Melanesian WASH and climate researchers collaborating, we would strongly support any efforts to continue a WASH & climate researcher network, with opportunities for research collaboration.

Consistent and long-running engagement was a key element allowing us to demonstrate our understanding of the context, take the time necessary to codevelop solutions, and maximise research impact.

Where we started

"Our participatory WASH research is bridging urban planning, public health and WASH. We are filling an evidence gap in urban Melanesia by bringing to light more locally relevant or locally collected information and data that addresses climate resilience in WASH planning.”

Dr Regina Souter, Director, International WaterCentre at Griffith University 

Research Description

In Melanesia, growing urban populations driven by migration and limited affordable housing are leading to the expansion of informal settlements that lack secure land tenure and access to infrastructure and services. WASH services in these settlements are historically inadequate, with uneven distribution across urban centres.

While some progress has been made in formalising settlements and improving service provision, there are critical gaps in planning systems and the political economy for climate-resilient WASH in urban informal settlements. The urgency to address the inaccessibility of safe water and sanitation services is heightened by the rapid growth of informal settlements and the increasing vulnerability of existing services to climate change impacts.

Current research highlights the need to integrate WASH into urban planning and shift the focus from hardware options to the functioning of a city's service delivery system. City-wide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) provides a framework for this, but in the context of Melanesian informal settlements, adaptive, mixed, and incremental approaches are necessary. There is a lack of urban development leadership and limited capacity for widespread change in settlements, posing challenges to the long-term sustainability and climate resilience of WASH services.

This regional research project is strengthening systems for climate-resilient WASH services in urban informal settlements by exploring decision and planning support systems for urban planning and WASH, political and social advocacy methods, and ways of engaging with settlement residents to progress collaborative planning. It is doing so through:

• research and development on planning support systems (tools and activities) for integrated and collaborative planning across different stakeholder groups
• including citizen science to assist with localised climate science and knowledge
• leveraging strengths of existing decision and planning support systems via cross-country regional learning and sharing
• research (formative and behavioural) to influence political and societal support for improved services to informal settlements.  

Climate change information and data is vital for decision-making and future planning for cities to improve resilience, and WASH planning is no different. However, the scale, resolution and uncertainty of available data can, at times, be a barrier to planning – it is either presented at a country level, so the expected impacts to specific settlements or urban areas cannot be reasonably discerned, or it is presented with too high a level of uncertainty or resolution to inform decision-making.

Variation around the type and resolution of climate-related information required to inform resilience at different levels (individual, collective, systems) is also present, though there is an evidence gap in urban Melanesia as to what is available and of use. More locally relevant or locally collected information and data will have a role to play in this, and this research will contribute to that by using citizen science and participatory GIS methods to engage with settlement residents. 

This research seeks to explicitly explore how and whether champions could influence political and societal attitudes about basic services in urban informal settlements in the context of a changing climate, and therefore build climate resilience. The mixed-methods approach includes theoretical grounding and literature reviews, collection of primary data, and co-creation of tools and approaches with stakeholders and rightsholder organisations. The aim is for the research to contribute to strengthening WASH and interrelated governance and planning systems.

The desired longer-term outcomes of this research are to:

• Increase the inclusiveness of WASH planning in urban Melanesia so that residents in informal settlements have access to more resilient WASH services.
• Highlight the WASH perspectives and voices of the residents of informal settlements in urban Melanesia.
• Broaden the perspectives of urban planning managers in Melanesia to recognise different types of data and analyses that can contribute to resilient planning.
• Contribute to an improved disaster and shock resiliency for urban environments in the Pacific.

Pathways to impact

1. Investigating local climate science and WASH information to inform collaborative planning support systems, for example:

• community-generated data on climate impacts on WASH service delivery models through household surveys and participatory research methods
• localised climate and hazard data review to assess opportunities for citizen contribution
• spatial modeling of climate hazard exposure for WASH service delivery models using existing environmental data
• development of a decision support system for climate-resilient and socially inclusive WASH
• input to existing guidelines and by-laws for climate-resilient water and sanitation service delivery models.

 2. Understanding political and societal attitudes to improving services in informal settlements through:

• formative research using key informant interviews and workshops to identify and motivate potential champions for improving services to informal settlements
• synthesis and adaptation of political economy analysis work for publication and stakeholder workshops.

 
3. Regional knowledge exchanges and skills development including:

• researcher knowledge and learning through in-country training, co-conducting of research, and a multi-country team workshop
• end-user and stakeholder knowledge and learning through face-to-face workshops, formative research participation, and co-development of resources
• two regional learning events to share strengths, challenges, and lessons among researchers and end-users
• researcher exchange visits to conduct capacity building on specific themes
• capacity building on spatial integration of diverse datasets for planning through online training sessions and a community-of-practice.

“We aren’t planning ahead for where settlers can live. They move in where they can, a settlement grows, and then the planning follows the settlers. This research aims to understand how those planning decisions for settlements can be improved, especially in terms of decisions about locally appropriate, climate-resilient and socially inclusive water and sanitation services.”

Dr Linus Digim’Rina, UPNG

Feature photo: An urban settlement in Solomon Islands (IWC)