Key points
- Climate change is disrupting water supply in major river basins worldwide, threatening billions who rely on them.
- A new toolkit helps water professionals integrate gender equality, disability, and social inclusion in modelling.
- Researchers are refining the toolkit to support inclusive water management across the Indo-Pacific region.
All humans need water to survive. But not everyone has the same access to the same amount or quality of water. Nor does everyone use water in the same way.
Globally, the Amazon, Nile, Yangtze, Ganges, Mekong, and our Murray-Darling River basins are vital lifelines for billions. Their future depends on water management.
Climate change poses the biggest water management challenge in the river basins. Shifting rainfall patterns, glacial melt, rising sea levels, and extreme weather events are disrupting the water supply and access in river basins on every continent.
The world’s largest rivers, from the Mekong in Southeast Asia to the Murray-Darling River in Australia, are stretched to meet the demands of energy generation, food production, and urbanisation. The situation is worsening, and innovative solutions are needed to improve our water access and use.
Making water management more inclusive
Water management decisions have historically not been inclusive. Women, people with disabilities, the young and elderly, low-income households and Indigenous communities face disproportionate challenges in how they use, access and control water.
Dr Shahriar Wahid, Principal Research Consultant in our Environment Research Unit, led the development of a new toolkit in collaboration with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). This toolkit allows professionals in the water sector to include the perspectives of all water users, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, in water modelling.
“Traditional water modelling practices use mathematical models to predict and analyse how water systems behave. While these models also consider physical and social factors, they do not capture the complex social interactions, including women’s inequality, that are part of these water systems,” Wahid said.
“Our new toolkit is globally unique. It shines a light on an often-overlooked issue, that of gender equality, disability and social inclusion in water modelling.
The toolkit is publicly available. The team have combined its release with training to build the knowledge and capabilities of water modelling professionals.
The practitioner’s toolkit is designed to help professionals, including hydrologists, water resources engineers, and water managers. It uses water modelling as an entry point to address the social disparities in water management.
Embedding inclusion in water modelling
The gender equality, disability, social inclusion (GEDSI) toolkit is designed to address lack of representation from marginalised groups. It offers step-by-step guidance for integrating GEDSI at all stages of water modelling: from problem identification to data collection, model calibration to scenario development.
Our team worked with ICIMOD experts to deliver training to water modelling professionals in South Asia. We introduced the toolkit and worked through examples of how include underrepresented groups in community and public water management systems.
Shreya Bajimaya from the Nepal Development Research Institute (NDRI) said that the workshop was valuable, recognising the role further advocacy would play in integrating this thinking across the region.
“GEDSI integration is very imperative in water resource management. I think we will have more coordinated brainstorming, data collection and consultation for the application of GEDSI concepts,” Shreya said.
Goma Khadka, from ICIMOD, acknowledged that having a GEDSI expert on future water modelling projects will be valuable for incorporating these ideas.
“It is certainly going to influence my future projects as much as the project requires. I will reframe the problem identification based on a GEDSI lens.”
Refining the toolkit for broader impact
Now that the first version of the GEDSI toolkit has been road-tested in South Asia, our research team is focusing on supporting inclusive modelling practices across the Indo-Pacific region. They are looking for training opportunities and incorporating practice exercises to refine the toolkit for its second iteration.
“Inequality and social exclusion are part of the social systems seen in many river basins,” Wahid said.
“Our aim is to make the toolkit more user-friendly while introducing examples from diverse regions and countries.
“By doing so, we hope to empower water professionals with practical tools to address GEDSI challenges and drive better, more inclusive outcomes."
The Australian Embassy in Kathmandu and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) funded the creation and production of the Toolkit, with co-funding from CSIRO and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).