Transformative Water Pact – An alternative vision for Water Governance
Imagine a world in which decisions related to water place environmental justice, equity and care at the centre; a world in which all voices, not just those of the rich, are heard and respected in water decision-making; a world in which human rights are respected and power imbalances erased.
The Transformative Water Pact initiated by IHE Delft’s Water and Development Partnership Programme and the Dutch environmental justice organization Both ENDS aims to create such a world.
The pact was created by academics and civil society representatives from around the world, notably from the Global South, who gathered to articulate an alternative vision and framework for water governance ahead of the UN 2023 Water Conference. The pact, launched 20 March and available in eight languages, is a radical response to the exploitation of nature, neglect of human rights and extreme power imbalances that characterize water governance throughout the world.
During an online Conference side event on 23 March, the TWP served as lens to analyze ways in which water governance can focus on indigenous, ethnic and bio-cultural approaches to strengthen collaboration between communities and formal institutions in Latin America, specifically Colombia.
What is Transformative Water Governance?
Water governance is defined as the decision-making processes and associated (formal and informal) institutions and power relations that influence the flows, quality, use, availability and distribution of water. Transformative water governance refers to the decision-making processes, institutions and power-relations that are needed to foreground environmental justice, equity and care in relation to water.
How did we get here?
In high-level policy circles, the need to accelerate action on water is widely recognized. But the action called for is often more of the same: more technology, more data, more finance, more markets. Yet, should we just accelerate more of the same or shift gears?
Violet Matiru, Executive Director at the Millennium Community Development Initiatives Foundation, highlighted the need to address the underlying power imbalances before designing solutions:
“Before we come up with a solution, it is important to analyze how we got here,” she said. “We allowed ourselves to be divided along the lines of ‘least developed’, ‘developing’ and ‘developed’ countries. We need to see ourselves as humanity with similar problems, but remember that Western countries do not have the solutions for our problems.”
For decades, environmental justice advocates have raised awareness about the injustices that result from water-related policies and interventions such as the construction of large-scale dams, industrial water extraction and land reclamation near coasts. They also called for attention to the many indigenous practices and community innovations that offer a glimpse of a better future.
“In Latin America and the Caribbean, the use of water by private sector is being prioritized. In order to address this, we need a plural and participative model of water governance,” said Yeny Rodriquez, a panelist at the event and Attorney at Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense.
"We need to blur the boundaries between science and activism by forming alliances with those who share the objective of environmental justice"
Consolidating diverse movements towards a shared vision
The TWP, which was defined through a process of online round-table sessions, is a first step in consolidating diverse movements under a shared vision of water governance.
“This has been an inspiring process of co-production, one that involved articulating a framework for water governance based on principles of environmental justice and care, consolidating progressive actors and movements behind this shared vision and guiding trans-disciplinary learning and decision-making,” said Murtah Shannon, Inclusive Water Governance Officer at Both ENDS.
The pact includes a set of key principles and a framework of action to guide decision-making for transformative change in water governance. It targets all water governance and other actors that support the principles and are committed to incorporating them in their own area of expertise and sphere of influence. Signatories are expected to include policymakers, businesses, government organizations, non-governmental organizations, academics and community groups.
“These themes need political attention. Colombia is the first to start addressing these. If we make good decisions today, we can make it better for the future generations. The Transformative Water Pact is an important first step in this direction” said Fabian Caicedo, Director of Comprehensive Management of Water Resources at the Ministry of Environment, Colombia.
Urgent need for systemic change
While the urgency for climate action has been well-established, the solutions, unless rooted in systemic change, will be tokenistic attempts.
“Quick fixes do not work, they lead to further marginalization. We need to blur the boundaries between science and activism by forming alliances with those who share the objective of environmental justice,” said Jeltsje Kemerink-Seyoum, Associate Professor of Water Governance and Justice at IHE Delft.