DEVELOPING A COMMUNITY-BASED WATER RESOURCE SECURITY FRAMEWORK FOR RURAL MALAYSIA: INTEGRATING GREEN TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIAL CAPITAL PERSPECTIVES

Abstract

Access to safe and reliable water remains a persistent challenge for rural communities in Malaysia, where infrastructural limitations, spatial constraints, and governance fragmentation continue to undermine water security. While technological solutions have been widely promoted, their long-term effectiveness in rural contexts is often constrained by limited community ownership and weak institutional coordination. This paper develops a Community-Based Water Resource Security Framework (CBWSF) that integrates social capital, place-responsive green technology, and institutional coordination. This study used a structured integrative synthesis of peer-reviewed scholarship, Malaysian planning evidence, and national policy documents to derive and connect five dimensions: institutional governance, social capital, green technology, spatial and environmental context, and sustainability monitoring. The framework distinguishes four recurring terrain-settlement configurations (interior highland, riverine floodplain, coastal peat-lowland, and island or stilt settlement) and links each to source, technology, and governance choices. It also translates the National Water Resources Policy and Rural Development Policy 2030 into operational community-level planning actions. The paper contributes a policy-connected implementation logic for rural water planning rather than an empirically validated causal model. Its propositions should therefore be tested through comparative case studies and longitudinal performance assessment.