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Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research

Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research

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Project • ARCP2015-07CMY-Babel, ARCP2014-16NMY-Babel

Developing an operational water security index, and its application in selected diverse regions of Asia

The project had two objectives. The first was to develop an operational framework to assess water security at two different scales—city, and basin. The framework used the DPSIR technique to identify the various dimensions and indicators for the two different scales of assessment. In order to facilitate the measurement of water security, the framework has a provision to quantify the indicators and dimensions between ranges 1 and 5 using reference standards from literature and expert opinion. These are then aggregated into an overall water security index to depict the water security situation of the city and basin. An interpretation system of the various magnitudes of the water security index was then established to elucidate the information portrayed by the index. The second objective of the project was to apply the framework in three study areas — India, Thailand and Viet Nam. The areas included the Bans River Basin and Jaipur city in India; Chao Phraya River Basin and Bangkok city in Thailand; and Red River Basin and Hanoi city in Viet Nam.