A Vulnerability Assessment in Scant Data Context: The Case of North Horr Sub-County

Velia Bigi, Alessandro Pezzoli, Elena Comino and Maurizio Rosso
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Velia Bigi: Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning (DIST), Politecnico di Torino & Universita di Torino, 10125 Torino, Italy
Alessandro Pezzoli: Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning (DIST), Politecnico di Torino & Universita di Torino, 10125 Torino, Italy
Elena Comino: Department of Environment, Land and Infrastructure Engineering (DIATI), Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Torino, Italy
Maurizio Rosso: Department of Environment, Land and Infrastructure Engineering (DIATI), Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Torino, Italy

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 15, 1-23

Abstract: In Kenyan rural areas belonging to the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs), water quantity and water quality are major issues for the local population. In North Horr Sub-County water quality is threatened by nitrate contamination due to fecal matter pollution. This research, hence, aims at assessing the vulnerability of open shallow water sources to nitrate contamination due to fecal intrusion following flooding events and nitrate percolation in groundwater. The present research, indeed, provides, on one hand, new insights into the analysis of the vulnerability in a scant data context; on the other hand, it assesses the adaptation measures contained in the local development plan. Applying the reference definition of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the results demonstrate that the open shallow water sources in the northern part of the sub-county are more vulnerable to nitrate contamination. Furthermore, the consistency of the results proves the suitability of the methodology selected. Understanding the vulnerability at the local scale is key to planning risk-reduction strategies as well to increasing the local population’s knowledge about flood-related risks and water quality.

Keywords: vulnerability; rural area; scant data; nitrate contamination; water; flood (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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