Defining, researching and struggling for water justice: some conceptual building blocks for research and action

M.Z. Zwarteveen, R.A. Boelens

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

264 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This article provides a framework for understanding water problems as problems of justice. Drawing on wider (environmental) justice approaches, informed by interdisciplinary ontologies that define water as simultaneously natural (material) and social, and based on an explicit acceptance of water problems as always contested, the article posits that water justice is embedded and specific to historical and socio-cultural contexts. Water justice includes but transcends questions of distribution to include those of cultural recognition and political participation, and is intimately linked to the integrity of ecosystems. Justice requires the creative building of bridges and alliances across differences.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)143-158
JournalWater International
Volume39
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014

Keywords

  • political ecology
  • irrigation
  • scale
  • governance
  • efficiency
  • services
  • strategy
  • complex

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