Gender and Community Mainstreaming in Fog Water Collection Systems

Fog water collection is an emerging opportunity to combat local water shortages in water-scarce areas where sustainable access to water is unreliable, but fog events are frequent. Since fog water systems are implemented within or near communities, they eliminate or decrease the need to travel far distances for the collection of water during times of scarcity. As a result, these systems decrease the physical and social burden of water collection on women and girls, who are the primary water gatherers in most traditional communities. This is an important outcome because women and girls are disproportionately affected by water scarcity and are not seen as equals in water management, access, or control. This paper illustrates how several fog water collection projects have shown, empirically, that the positive outcomes for women and girls may include the freeing of time for domestic and educational pursuits, improved health outcomes, and improved perceptions of self and others’ perceptions of women. These findings are important at a time when the world at large is addressing the Sustainable Development Agenda, where Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 necessitates safe water and sanitation for all and SDG 5 ensures gender equality to empower all women and girls.