Linking Poverty Incidence to Water Resources Use: Policy Implications and Remedies Using Nigeria as Case Study

Abstract

Water has been identified as a crucial resource for all life, production and development, while a lack of access to water has been linked to poverty. Its availability is closely linked to human welfare and health by affecting nutrition status and quantity of drinking water especially of the poor. It has impacts on household labour because of the time and energy spent in obtaining it. This paper examines the linkages between poverty incidence and water resources using descriptive statistics on secondary data from vast body of existing water resources management and poverty literature with the aim of suggesting a frame work that Nigeria‘s policy maker, the international donor community and other stakeholders may find useful in formulating policies related to management of Nigeria’s water resources in Nigeria. This study reviews the changing trend in water policy formulation in Nigeria and challenges and impact of those policies on sustainable water supply provision. The observation suggests that putting too much emphasis on drinking water needs, addresses a rather insignificant part of the problem of water resources and biases the range of solutions which are likely to be proposed for perceived shortages.