Equity and financing for climate-resilient sanitation

The impacts of climate change will increase the pressure on urban sanitation systems. Especially in cities in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), climate change effects will further aggravate the existing shortcomings of urban sanitation systems. The resulting negative impacts on the well-functioning of urban infrastructure, public and environmental health, as well as socio-economic conditions, will be most strongly felt by the urban poor and might undermine the progress towards the global access goals for sanitation.
Increasing the climate resilience of urban sanitation systems provides huge societal benefits but requires adaptation investments that will further strain the financial resources of an underfunded sector. Conversely, including climate resilience into urban sanitation frameworks could also open opportunities to access alternative financing sources such as climate funds. Given the dimension of the current sanitation funding gap, prioritisation of fund allocation will, however, be indispensable.
Against this background, the research will aim to answer the question: How can the costs of climate-resilient sanitation be met equitably and efficiently?
There is no agreed definition for climate-resilient sanitation systems. Therefore, the research will try to understand the potential impacts of climate change on urban sanitation from a citywide systems perspective for different urban sanitation profiles in LMICs. Using a systems approach, bridging infrastructure and service provision, as well as governance and funding aspects, the research will subsequently derive what constitutes climate-resilient sanitation in cities in LMICs. Understanding the distribution of economic benefits of climate-resilient sanitation within citywide sanitation systems will support the argument of how an equitable distribution of the costs of climate-resilient sanitation should be structured. The research will also explore how well-equipped the current financing arrangements for urban sanitation are in terms of accommodating the costs of climate-resilient sanitation. Related to this question, the research will analyse through an equity lens how appropriate the current funding arrangements are to efficiently meet the costs of adaptation measures at critical climate resilience leverage points within the sanitation system. Finally, the research will analyse if and how alternative funding sources (including climate finance) could be used to support moving towards equitable climate-resilient sanitation systems. In this context, the opportunities and barriers of accessing and using alternative funds for climate-resilient sanitation will be assessed. Besides, there will be a critical analysis of what systems need to be in place from a political economy perspective to turn the additional funds into equitable outcomes.
In terms of practical application, the research could inform sector practitioners and policymakers how to include climate-resilience aspects into citywide sanitation planning initiatives. The results of the research could also help urban and sanitation planners in accessing climate funds for equitable sanitation outcomes.
The research will be based on analysing existing data sets on urban sanitation systems such as the Shit-Flow-Diagram (SFD) reports, the WHO WashFin data and results from the HyCristal and Cactus research projects (both hosted by the University of Leeds). Also, the research will use one or two in-depth city case studies to validate the developed theoretic models. Methods to be used will include systematic clustering approaches, key informant interviews and stakeholder roundtable discussions.

The design of the research fits under UKRI EPSRC's research areas: Infrastructure an urban systems and Water Engineering.

Water-WISER will train a cohort of 50 British research engineers and scientists and equip them to work in challenging environments both in the low-income settings of rapidly growing poor cities and in the changing urban environment of the UK, Europe and other regions with a historic endowment of aging infrastructure. The vision is for a generation of engineers with the skills to deliver the trans-disciplinary innovations needed to ensure that future water, waste and sanitation infrastructure is resilient to the stresses posed by rapid urbanisation, global climate change and increasingly extreme natural and man-made disasters. Our alumni will address the urgent need to re-imagine urban spaces as net contributors to ecological and environmental well-being rather than being net users of vital resources such as energy, nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon. These new leaders will be an essential resource if the UK is to deliver on its commitment to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 6 which calls for universal access to safely managed water and sanitation services, within planetary and local ecological boundaries. This next generation of research engineers will enable UK-based engineering consultancies, manufacturers, and utility companies to grow their share of the expanding global market for water and waste services, for example; in the water services industry from 3% to 10% (an increase of £33 billion per annum) by 2030, and attract significant inward investment.
The research which Water-WISER cohorts enable will form the basis of new innovations in the design and delivery of resilient infrastructure and services. Innovations developed by Water-WISER graduates will inform how growing cities are designed and built in the global south and will be used to inform the re-engineering and replacement of the aging infrastructure on which the UK's water and waste services are currently reliant. Our alumni will form the new generation of leaders who will play a central role in securing a larger share of the international water and waste management consultancy market to UK consultancies. The network of expertise and skills created by Water-WISER will enhance potential for collaborations between major UK players (for example strengthening links between UK consultancy, the Department for International Development, and leading UK water agencies such as WaterAid and Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor) and between UK companies and partners in the global south including international investors such as the World Bank, European Investment Bank, African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation. Graduates of Water-WISER will enter industry, academia and development agencies having spent a substantial period (minimum of six months) embedded in an industry or development partner organisation delivering their field-based research. Water-WISER students will thus gain a unique combination of trans-disciplinary training, field experience and cohort networking; they are destined for leadership roles in UK and international engineering and development consultancies, academia, international development banks, international agencies such as the United Nations and international non-governmental organisations.