Social Factors to Consider When Using Aqueduct Food Data

This guide outlines the necessity of conducting social analyses when using Aqueduct Food data to ensure water and agricultural policies are socially equitable. It highlights how vulnerable groups—such as women in Malawi, pastoralists in the Sahel, and displaced communities in India—are disproportionately affected by resource management decisions. The document provides a set of guiding questions and a list of resources from organizations like the World Bank and FAO to help decision-makers identify and mitigate adverse social impacts.

• Social analysis is defined as a process to identify the social dimensions of development projects by analyzing stakeholder perspectives. It is intended to identify vulnerable groups, ensure their participation in decision-making, obtain free, prior, and informed consent, and protect their legal or customary rights to land, water, and food.
• Water and food insecurity risks are disproportionately distributed based on characteristics such as sex, ethnicity, income, and race. For example, in the Mitawa village of Malawi, women and girls—who primarily manage water, food, and energy—faced increased burdens and had to travel further for water when boreholes failed during dry seasons.
• Climate change and government-led agricultural expansion are threatening traditional negotiated access to water and land in the Sahel. This increases the vulnerability of pastoralists—the most politically marginalized group in East Africa and the Horn of Africa—and can lead to social conflicts between pastoralists and agriculturalists.
• Infrastructure and policy decisions intended to improve agricultural productivity can have adverse social consequences. In Bangladesh and Pakistan, diverting groundwater for irrigation has forced women to travel further for domestic water. In India, the construction of the UKP dam in the 1960s displaced approximately 300,000 people, causing loss of livelihoods and potential political upheaval.

APA

World Resources Institute (2021). Social Factors to Consider When Using Aqueduct Food Data. https://www.wri.org/update/social-factors-consider-when-using-aqueduct-food-data

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Social Factors to Consider When Using Aqueduct Food Data. 2021. https://www.wri.org/update/social-factors-consider-when-using-aqueduct-food-data.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Social Factors to Consider When Using Aqueduct Food Data |date=22 January 2021 |url=https://www.wri.org/update/social-factors-consider-when-using-aqueduct-food-data |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2021social, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Social Factors to Consider When Using Aqueduct Food Data}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2021}, month = jan, url = {https://www.wri.org/update/social-factors-consider-when-using-aqueduct-food-data}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }