Advancing human capabilities for water security: A relational approach

Jepson, Wendy; Budds, Jessica; Eichelberger, Laura; Harris, Leila; Norman, Emma; O'Reilly, Kathleen; Pearson, Amber; Shah, Sameer; Shinn, Jamie; Staddon, Chad; Stoler, Justin; Wutich, Amber; Young, Sera

Abstract

We argue that a relational water security framework informed by the capabilities approach offers new ways to consider politics and cultures of water. Each dimension allows us to better contextualize water security beyond just an object (H2O) to be secured for a certain population. Instead, the relational perspective demands a fuller consideration of the political structures and processes through which water is secured, with emphasis on the social relations of access as opposed to simply the politics around water supply. We also attend to cultural dimensions, such as the meanings of water and customary practices that are not easily captured by standardized metrics. By including these dimensions, we necessarily broaden analytical space to evaluate water security as a relational and dynamic process tied to lived experience rather than as solely parameterized conditions in relation to access, quality, or availability of water. We first move to explain our broader conceptualization of water security as linked to human capabilities, then explore in more detail the specific engagements with politics and culture in the sections that follow.

• Journal Article Type: Review
• Acceptance Date: Jul 1, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Jul 13, 2017
• Publication Date: Jul 1, 2017
• Deposit Date: Jul 19, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 13, 2018
• Journal: Water Security
• Print ISSN: 2468-3124
• Electronic ISSN: 2468-3124
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 1
• Pages: 46-52
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasec.2017.07.001
• Keywords: advancing, human capabilities, water security, relational approach
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/884888
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasec.2017.07.001
• Contract Date: Jul 20, 2017