Abstract
The starting point of this paper is that most of the international transboundary water management (TWM) processes taking place globally are driven by ‘the hydraulic mission’—primarily the construction of mega-infrastructure such as dams and water transfer schemes. The paper argues that such heroic engineering approaches are essentially a masculinised discourse, with its emphasis being on construction, command and control. As a result of this masculinised discourse, the primary actors in TWM processes have been states—represented by technical, economic and political elites operating in what generally gets termed ‘the national interest’. Left out are the local communities relying on the resource directly: the water users; the poor; women; and other important groups. Instruments such as the UN Watercourses Convention of 1997 make an effort to present an attempt at a gender-balanced approach—through asserting the importance of the ‘no-harm rule’ and the ‘equitable share approach’. However, they end up supporting the status quo through the omission of any reference to gender issues. The paper provides an overview of the masculinised discourse on TWM institutions, proposing that this is the case because of the intersection of two masculinised fields—water resource management and the disciplines engaged in the research of transboundary water management, namely, political science and international relations. The paper investigates two southern African examples that illustrate the potential for including a gendered perspective and pro-poor policies that take into account the needs of the water users or ‘stakeholders’. The analysis includes the international and regional legal agreements on transboundary water issues, searching for evidence of a gendered approach. It is concluded that the laws and organisations responsible for transboundary water management currently do not reflect a gendered approach, despite the international recognition given to the necessity of including women in water management structures at all levels.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
UNESCO (2008) From Potential Conflict to Cooperation Potential, retrieved 2011, from UNESCO projects page: http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/pccp/.
UNEP (2009) Water at a glance: the global crisis, http://www.unep.org/ourplanet/imgversn/141/glance.html, last accessed 2010.
UNICEF (2011) UNICEF—water, sanitation and hygiene, http://www.unicef.org/wash/, last accessed 9 January 2012.
GWP (2010) Dublin-Rio Principles, http://www.gwp.org/The-Challenge/What-is-IWRM/Dublin-Rio-Principles/, last accessed 9 January 2012.
WWF (2012) WWF—UN Watercourses Convention, http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/how_we_work/policy/conventions/water_conventions/Un_watercourses_convention/, last accessed 12 January 2012.
(ACADIR) Associação de Conservação do Ambiente e Desenvolvimento Integrado Rural (trans. Association of Environmental Conservation and Integrated Rural Development) is a registered NGO in Angola.
References
Allan, J.A. (2002) The Middle East Water Question—Hydropolitics and the Global Economy, London: IB Tauris.
Cernea, M.M. (2005) ‘Studying the culture of agriculture: the uphill battle for social research in CGIAR’ Culture and Agriculture, Vol. 27, No. 2: 73–87.
Connell, R.W. and Messerschmidt, J.W. (2005) ‘Hegemonic masculinity: rethinking the concept’ Gender and Society, Vol. 19, No. 6: 829–859.
CSD (1992) Agenda 21, New York: United Nations.
Daoudy, M. (2009) ‘Asymmetric power: negotiating water in the Euphrates and Tigris’ International Negotiation, Vol. 14: 361–391.
Earle, A., Jägerskog, A. and Öjendal, J. (2010) ‘Introduction: setting the scene for transboundary water management approaches’ in Earle, A., Jägerskog, A. and Öjendal, J. (2010) editors, London: Earthscan.
Earle, A. and Malzbender, D.B. (2005) Water—and the Peaceful Sustainable Development of the SADC Region, Pretoria: Safer Africa.
Earle, A., Malzbender, D.B., Turton, A.R. and Manzungu, E. (2005) A Preliminary Basin Profile of the Orange-Senqu River, Pretoria: University of Pretoria.
Gilmartin, D. (1994) ‘Scientific empire and imperial science: colonialism and irrigation technology in the indus basin’ Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 53, No. 4: 1127–1149.
GWA (2003) The Gender and Water Development Report 2003: Gender Perspectives on Policies in the Water Sector, Delft: Gender and Water Alliance.
GWP-TEC (2006) Gender Mainstreaming: An Essential Component of Sustainable Water Management, Stockholm: Global Water Partnership.
Jury, W.A. and Vaux, H.J. (2007) ‘The emerging global water crisis: managing scarcity and conflict between water users’ Advances in Agronomy, Vol. 95: 1–76.
Kalpakian, J. (2004) Identity, Conflict and Cooperation in International River Systems, Aldershot: Ashgate.
Kistin, E. (2007) ‘Transboundary cooperation in SADC: from concept to implementation’ Warfsa-Waternet Symposium Proceedings. Harare: Waternet.
Laurie, N. (2005) ‘Establishing development orthodoxy: negotiating masculinities in the water sector’ Development and Change, Vol. 36, No. 3: 527–549.
Lowi, M.R. (1995) ‘Rivers of conflict rivers of peace’ Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 49, No. 1: 123–144.
Magole, I. (2012) ‘Email communication dated 8 January 2012’ SAREP Project Manager.
Malzbender, D.B. and Earle, A. (2007) The Impact and Implications of the Adoption of the 1997 UN Watercourse Convention for Countries in Southern Africa, Washington DC: WWF.
McIntyre, O. (2010) ‘International water law: concepts, evolution and development’ in Earle, A., Jägerskog, A. and Öjendal, J. (2010) editors, London: Earthscan.
Mendelsohn, J. and Obeid, S. (2004) Okavango River: The Flow of a Lifeline, Cape Town: Struik.
Molle, F., Mollinga, P.P. and Wester, P. (2009) ‘Hydraulic bureaucracies and the hydraulic mission: flows of water, flows of power’ Water Alternatives, Vol. 2, No. 3: 328–349.
NBI (2011) Component 3 Report: River Basins Organizations Survey, Entebbe: Nile Basin Initiative.
OKACOM (1994) Agreement Between Angola, Botswana, and Namibia on the Establishment of a Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission (OKACOM), Maun: OKACOM.
ORASECOM (2000) Agreement between the Governments of the Republic of Botswana, the Kingdom of Lesotho, the Republic of Namibia and the Republic of South Africa on the Establishment of the Orange-Senqu River Commission, Centurion: ORASECOM.
ORASECOM (2007) Roadmap Towards Stakeholder Participation, Centurion: ORASECOM.
ORASECOM (2010) The ORASECOM Communications Strategy: 2010–2012, Centurion: ORASECOM.
Parpart, J. (2004) Gender, Power and Governance in a Globalizing World, Aalborg: Aalborg University.
Parpart, J. (2009) ‘Fine words, failed policies: gender mainstreaming in an insecure and unequal world’ in Leckie, J. (2009) editor, Farnham: Ashgate.
Parpart, J. and Thompson, L. (2011) ‘Engendering (In)security and conflict in African international relations’ in Cornelissen, S., Cheru, F. and Shaw, T.M. (2011) editors, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Rieu-Clarke, A.S., Wouters, P. and Loures, F. (2007) The Role and Relevance of the UN Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses to the EU and its Member States, Dundee: University of Dundee.
Rochette, A. (2005) ‘Transcending the conquest of nature and women: a feminist perspective on international environment law’ in Buss, D. and Manji, A. (2005) editors, Oxford: Hart.
SADC (2000) Protocol on Shared Watercourses, Gaborone: Southern African Development Community.
Schuermans, A.M., Helbing, J. and Fedosseev, R. (2004) Evaluation of Success and Failure in International Water Management: The case of the Orange-Senqu River, Zurich: ETH.
Singh, N. (2006) ‘The changing role of women in water management: myths and realities’ Wagadu, Spring, 94–113.
Tetreault, M.A. (2008) ‘Women in international relations: sediment, trends and agency’ Politics and Gender, Vol. 4, No. 1: 144–156.
Thamae, M.L. and Pottinger, L. (2006) On the Wrong Side of Development: Lessons learned from the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, Maseru: Transformation Resource Centre.
Tickner, A.B. and Waever, O. (2009) International Relations Scholarship Around the World, New York: Routledge.
Turton, A.R. and Earle, A. (2004) ‘Managing change in the okavango basin’ IHDP Update, Vol. 3, No. 4: 4–5.
UN (1997) Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses, New York: United Nations.
UNDP (2006) Human Development Report 2006. Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty and the Global Water Crisis, New York: UNDP.
UNDP-GEF (2008) Preliminary Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis of the Orange-Senqu River Basin, Pretoria: UNDP.
UNEP (1992) Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, Nairobi, United Nations: UNEP.
UNICEF-WHO (2011) Drinking Water Equity, Safety and Sustainability: Thematic Report on Drinking Water 2011, New York: UNICEF-WHO.
UNWater (2005) Gender, Water and Sanitation: A Policy Brief, New York: UNWater.
Wolf, A.T., Yoffe, S. and Giodarno, M. (2003) ‘International waters: identifying basins at risk’ Water Policy, Vol. 5, No. 1: 29–60.
World Water Assessment Programme (2009) World Water Development Report 3, Paris: UNESCO.
WSSCC and WEDC (2006) For Her Its the Big Issue: Putting Women at the Centre of Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, New York: UNEP.
WWF-DFID (2010) International Architecture for Transboundary Water Resources Management: Policy Analysis and Recommendations, London: Worldwide Fund for Nature and the UK Department for International Development.
Zeitoun, M. and Jägerskog, A. (2011) Addressing Power Asymmetry: How Transboundary Water Management may serve to Reduce Poverty, Stockholm: Stockholm International Water Institute.
Zeitoun, M. and Mirumachi, N. (2008) ‘Transboundary water interaction I: reconsidering conflict and cooperation’ International Environmental Agreements, Vol. 8, No. 4: 297–316.
Zwarteveen, M. (2008) ‘Men, masculinities and water powers in irrigation’ Water Alternatives, Vol. 1, No. 1: 111–130.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Earle, A., Bazilli, S. a gendered critique of transboundary water management. Fem Rev 103, 99–119 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1057/fr.2012.24
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/fr.2012.24