Household Water Security Using Choice Experiment: A Systematic Literature Review

Water security, a pivotal element of sustainable development, faces escalating challenges globally due to population growth, urbanization, and climate change impacts. This study focuses on household water security, emphasizing the scarcity of research using choice experiments, a valuable tool for understanding individual preferences. The macro-level examination underscores the need for holistic approaches to addressing water scarcity, emphasizing the urgency of sustainable resource management. Focusing on households, inadequate infrastructure, contamination, and unreliable water sources pose challenges worldwide. The research identifies a significant gap in choice experiment studies within household water security, particularly in regions with moderate water problems. The bias towards severe water challenges skews the understanding of preferences and decision-making factors. This study employed the ROSES protocol, emphasizing reporting standards for Systematic Evidence Syntheses in environmental management. The methodology entails delineating research inquiries, search methodologies, inclusion and exclusion criteria, quality evaluation, and data extraction, thus ensuring a thorough and comprehensive synthesis. Key findings indicate that households in the studied regions demonstrate high sensitivity to natural environmental changes, with water availability and quality alterations significantly impacting their livelihoods and socio-economic routines. Additionally, the area is highly vulnerable to impacts related to household water security, including issues such as water scarcity and contamination. The effectiveness of adaptation strategies in reducing vulnerability and enhancing resilience in household water security remains to be seen, indicating a need for further research in this area. This review highlights the necessity of integrating choice experiments into household water security studies, especially in regions with moderate water issues. Bridging this gap contributes to a nuanced understanding of preferences, enabling evidence-based strategies for equitable and effective global water security interventions.