The Water Institute at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States.
Nairobi City Water and Sewer Company, Ltd., Kenya.
Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2018 Jun;221(5):838-846. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2018.04.007. Epub 2018 Apr 23.
The ability of water and wastewater utilities to provide safe and reliable water and sanitation services now and in the future will be determined, in part, by their resilience to climate change. Investment in infrastructure, planning, and operational practices that increase resilience are affected, in turn, by how water sector professionals perceive the risks posed to utilities by climate change and its related impacts. We surveyed water sector professionals at the 2016 African Water Association's Congress in Nairobi, Kenya to assess their perceptions of climate-specific and general risks that may disrupt utility service. We find that water sector professionals are most concerned about climate-specific and general risks that affect utility water supplies (quantity), followed by adequacy of utility infrastructure. We also find that professionals tend to rank climate-specific risks as less concerning than general risks facing utilities. Furthermore, non-utility professionals are more concerned about climate-specific risks and climate change in general than utility professionals. These findings highlight the multiple, competing risks utilities face and the need for adaptation strategies that simultaneously address climate-specific and general concerns of utilities.
供水和废水处理企业在未来能否继续提供安全可靠的水和卫生服务，部分取决于其对气候变化的适应能力。而增加适应能力的基础设施投资、规划和运营实践又受到水行业专业人士对气候变化及其相关影响给企业带来的风险的看法的影响。我们在肯尼亚内罗毕举行的 2016 年非洲水协大会上对水行业专业人士进行了调查，以评估他们对可能扰乱公用事业服务的特定于气候的和一般风险的看法。我们发现，水行业专业人士最关心的是影响公用事业供水（数量）的特定于气候的和一般风险，其次是公用事业基础设施的充足性。我们还发现，专业人士往往认为特定于气候的风险不如公用事业面临的一般风险那么令人担忧。此外，非公用事业专业人士比公用事业专业人士更关心特定于气候的风险和气候变化。这些调查结果突出了公用事业面临的多重、相互竞争的风险，以及需要采取适应战略来同时应对公用事业的特定于气候的和一般的关切。
