Water

Human health is influenced by environmental factors, social disparities, and climate change. Environmental changes have undone decades of investment in infectious disease control, while inequality influences people’s exposure to vector-borne diseases and environmentally sensitive infections. Climate change destabilizes food security by affecting weather patterns.

While Hurricane Matthew affected two million Haitians, it also filled a restored lake with water. By using the lake's water, residents are able to grow food on the once arid surrounding land. Much of the farmland is now back in production, providing sustenance for local families.

Transferring water from the environment to farmers could backfire because the environment needs water in dry years as well as wet ones. Moreover, intervening in the water distribution undermines the water market, which is now worth billions. In dry years, the environment also gets a smaller allocation, so there isn’t enough water to make transferring worthwhile.

New research finds that the Ganga basin, one of the world’s largest that is shared by Nepal, Bangladesh and India, will witness increased flooding and water flows due to climate change during both the monsoon and non-monsoon seasons. The research also finds that socioeconomic factors will have a fairly limited impact on water quality.

This research study documents the gendered impacts of Hurricane Maria on practices around water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in rural Puerto Rico.

A new water pipe intended to battle climate change in Siska, Pakistan channels over 5 billion litres of water a year - and ensures a water supply year-round. Residents have noticed a reduction in conflicts over water and an increase in more bountiful harvests.

While 75% of Niger is arid, four out of five of Niger's people eke out a living through farming or fishing. Experts say efforts to feed its population are bearing fruit - and may even be a model for the region. With the help of the UN, nearly 20,000 hectares of agricultural and pastoral land has been restored through irrigation practices.

New research finds that large-scale wind and solar farms could more than double rainfall in the Sahara desert, as the region grapples with widespread hunger caused by recurrent drought. At full-scale, the changes would have major ecological, environmental, and societal impacts.