Poverty, urbanization, and environmental degradation: urban streams in the developing world

Urbanization is occurring at a rapid pace in developing countries. The urban stream syndrome has been well documented in higher-income countries, but in lower-income, developing countries, resources often are unavailable for quantifying how urbanization affects streams. Basic infrastructure to support water supply and wastewater treatment frequently is lacking in lower-income countries, and this situation has repercussions for human health and for ecosystem structure and function. The interaction of environmental, social, and economic factors may produce differences in the expression of the urban stream syndrome in lower-income countries relative to in high-income countries. We address how patterns of economic development and urbanization can influence the quality of freshwater resources, and we discuss some of the relationships between urban watersheds and marginalized human populations in lower-income countries. We argue that sustainable management of urban watersheds and the provisioning of drinking water and sanitation services require integration of innovative technology and financing schemes into ecosystem-based management. We must develop new and enhance existing uses for sewage and other wastewater to support ecologically functional urban watersheds. Furthermore, managers of freshwater resources in lower-income countries require more data on which to base decisions. Acquisition of these data will necessitate the creation of interdisciplinary research teams with representatives from national and international development organizations to address stakeholder-driven research questions.