(Re-)orienting the Concept of Water Risk to Better Understand Inequities in Water Security
As populations grow and climate patterns change, difficult trade-offs in water security must be made. Re-allocation of water resources and re-distribution of water security outcomes will inevitably raise questions of equity. Equity is a central component of water security but often underemphasised,...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Water |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frwa.2021.799515/full |
| _version_ | 1819289467927658496 |
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| author | Catherine Fallon Grasham Katrina Jane Charles Tilahun Geneti Abdi |
| author_facet | Catherine Fallon Grasham Katrina Jane Charles Tilahun Geneti Abdi |
| author_sort | Catherine Fallon Grasham |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | As populations grow and climate patterns change, difficult trade-offs in water security must be made. Re-allocation of water resources and re-distribution of water security outcomes will inevitably raise questions of equity. Equity is a central component of water security but often underemphasised, hence we still lack nuanced insights to how equity is understood and operationalised by water managers and users. The concept of risk is increasingly used in water security policy and practise but has been weakly integrated with equity considerations. We offer a contextual study that explicitly unpacks risk and inequity in water security across multiple scales; we have analysed lived water experiences and their hydrosocial drivers in a major river basin in Ethiopia. This is based on 61 interviews from seven rural kebeles, government organisations at woreda, zonal, regional and federal level and local and international NGOs as well as 17 industrial water user surveys. With our findings, and drawing on existing studies, we offer a theoretical framework for embedding water risk in equitable water security considerations. We find that when water risk is (re-)oriented from a biophysical framing, towards one centred on water-related values, it can be suitably embedded within hydrosocial framings of water security. This approach offers unique insights into how inequities are understood, within uneven power and political dynamics, which is critical for interventions that seek to deliver more equitable water security and meet social development targets. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-24T03:07:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3d49d374cbc549e9bca980e3c29fa8aa |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2624-9375 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-24T03:07:19Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-3d49d374cbc549e9bca980e3c29fa8aa2022-12-21T17:17:57ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Water2624-93752022-02-01310.3389/frwa.2021.799515799515(Re-)orienting the Concept of Water Risk to Better Understand Inequities in Water SecurityCatherine Fallon Grasham0Katrina Jane Charles1Tilahun Geneti Abdi2Social Sciences Division, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, United KingdomSocial Sciences Division, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, United KingdomOromia Agricultural Research Institute, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaAs populations grow and climate patterns change, difficult trade-offs in water security must be made. Re-allocation of water resources and re-distribution of water security outcomes will inevitably raise questions of equity. Equity is a central component of water security but often underemphasised, hence we still lack nuanced insights to how equity is understood and operationalised by water managers and users. The concept of risk is increasingly used in water security policy and practise but has been weakly integrated with equity considerations. We offer a contextual study that explicitly unpacks risk and inequity in water security across multiple scales; we have analysed lived water experiences and their hydrosocial drivers in a major river basin in Ethiopia. This is based on 61 interviews from seven rural kebeles, government organisations at woreda, zonal, regional and federal level and local and international NGOs as well as 17 industrial water user surveys. With our findings, and drawing on existing studies, we offer a theoretical framework for embedding water risk in equitable water security considerations. We find that when water risk is (re-)oriented from a biophysical framing, towards one centred on water-related values, it can be suitably embedded within hydrosocial framings of water security. This approach offers unique insights into how inequities are understood, within uneven power and political dynamics, which is critical for interventions that seek to deliver more equitable water security and meet social development targets.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frwa.2021.799515/fullwater securitywater riskwater values and ethicspoverty & inequalitysustainable develop goals |
| spellingShingle | Catherine Fallon Grasham Katrina Jane Charles Tilahun Geneti Abdi (Re-)orienting the Concept of Water Risk to Better Understand Inequities in Water Security Frontiers in Water water security water risk water values and ethics poverty & inequality sustainable develop goals |
| title | (Re-)orienting the Concept of Water Risk to Better Understand Inequities in Water Security |
| title_full | (Re-)orienting the Concept of Water Risk to Better Understand Inequities in Water Security |
| title_fullStr | (Re-)orienting the Concept of Water Risk to Better Understand Inequities in Water Security |
| title_full_unstemmed | (Re-)orienting the Concept of Water Risk to Better Understand Inequities in Water Security |
| title_short | (Re-)orienting the Concept of Water Risk to Better Understand Inequities in Water Security |
| title_sort | re orienting the concept of water risk to better understand inequities in water security |
| topic | water security water risk water values and ethics poverty & inequality sustainable develop goals |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frwa.2021.799515/full |
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