Water and the Challenges of Development

Antonio A. R. IorisAberdeen Centre for Environmental Sustainability

University of Aberdeen

Water is both a need and a right !

• Universal public water services and the conservation of aquatic systems are some of the most challenging requirements of sustainable development

• The management of water encapsulates past legacies, institutional barriers, socioeconomic opportunities and political disputes

• Responses to collective water problems have to consider the specific local context (i.e. knowledge, culture, resources, networks) and have to promote the democratic engagement of stakeholders in the assessments and solutions

Evolution of water development

‘Traditional’ water uses and local urban-industrial schemes (until early 20th century)

The ‘hydraulic paradigm’: state-led, large infra-structure works (mid-20th century)

‘Water governance’ (since the 1970s), predicated upon:

Integrated management

The catchment approach

The economic value of water

Stakeholder involvement

Dealing with complexity and non-linearities

However, the agenda of water governance has had many shortcomings…

Superficial nature of most of the ongoing reforms and the persistence of established practices

Difficulty to move from theory to practice (i.e. address uncertainty, risks, multiple scales, multiple dimensions, different discourses and perceptions, etc.)

Water governance reflects political and ideological priorities (i.e. follows hegemonic influences and serves certain interests more than others)

The politicised face of water development is (too) often missed

Vulnerability, participation, scarcity and abundance are all contested concepts

Social institutions (laws, customs, practices, etc.) are central to both stability and adaptation

Resistance to institutional change is embedded in social, economic and political systems that govern the distribution of expertise and access to resources

Overall, water development and environmental conservation remain contested processes that require creative, innovative responses

Dr. Antonio A. R. IorisLecturer in Geography

School of Geosciences Elphinstone Road, Aberdeen, AB24 3UFPhone +44 (0)1224 273703 a.ioris@abdn.ac.uk

www.aces.ac.ukwww.abdn.ac.uk/geography