| Summary: | The water governance model that currently dominates at the international level is based on the
principles of the Dublin Conference (1992), one of which asserts that water is an economic good. Faced with growing
environmental issues as well as increased demand for recognition of water as a human right or as a common good,
this model is being contested both in international arenas and at national or local levels. This article aims to examine
the justification discourses used by actors who either challenge or reinforce the dominant model. The focus is on
water qualification issues, which we argue have a significant impact on policymaking and the renewal of water
governance models. We employ the Economies of Worth framework (Boltanski and Thévenot, 1991) not only to
decipher which values actors resort to when qualifying water – as a human right, an economic good, or a social
good, for example – but also to understand the reasons why one qualification prevails over others in water-related
debates. We examine these debates in the Indonesian context, where many disputes arising from water
qualification have occurred, the 'tests of worth' in Boltanski and Thévenot’s framework. Using a qualitative
methodology, we conducted semi-structured interviews and reviewed legislation and operational documents to
explore three such tests of worth. Our case study reveals the persistence of the governance model that promotes
water as an economic good, despite extensive debate and new regulations that may have strengthened a model
based on the qualification of water as a human right.
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