The linkages between WASH, climate change, food security and ecosystems

Water, sanitation and hygiene, climate change, food security and ecosystems are all connected. This report highlights how access to clean water, decent toilets ang good hygiene enhances community resilience to climate shocks, bolsters food production and supports the health and sustainability of ecosystems.

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), climate change, food security, and ecosystems are all connected within a larger complex system. As the interlinked challenges of climate change, food security and the sustainability of ecosystem become increasingly urgent, the role of WASH in fostering resilient communities and ecosystems cannot be overstated. 

This report explores the links with WASH, and the impacts it has, on three domains: climate resilience, food security and healthy ecosystems (including nature-based solutions). It illustrates that these links are mainly seen through changes in the water cycle and water quality, impacts on human health, and changes in the time and motivation people have to engage in food production and ecosystem conservation. 

The report also demonstrates how it will become increasingly necessary to consider these interdependencies when designing solutions to combat water insecurity and climate resilience in the future.