By Program
Water, Climate, and the State
November 30, 2020 | 12:15 - 1:15pm | Zoom Webinar
On November 30, the Strauss Center hosted Dr. Barbara van Koppen, Emeritus Scientist on Poverty, Gender, and Water at the International Water Management Institute, for a virtual talk. This webinar was part of our Brumley Speaker Series and the talk explored integrated water resources management (IWRM) and development within the context of Sub-Saharan Africa as well as Asia.
In particular, Dr. van Koppen provided an overview of the current landscape of water and governance. In doing so, we learned the important connections between water and the natural environment. In response to these important connections, states have strived to enhance their water resources through modes of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). IWRM is a concept that was first introduced in the early 1990s to promote the “coordinated development and management of water” and other resources to maximize interstate growth and social welfare. In addition, IWRM simultaneously works to protect the natural environment.
IWRM, along with the recognition of water as a basic right, has brought about new development strategies where states are increasingly seeking means to secure and protect its water resources. Dr. van Koppen, provided examples of formal public-private water provision in countries like China and Mexico. Nevertheless, informal water provision still exists where the necessary infrastructure for water delivery is not available. In these cases, community led bottom-up approaches to water delivery are frequently being implemented. These approaches require that projects identify the multiple water uses of the community, i.e. crops, livestock, cultural and domestic uses. Dr. van Koppen additionally provided examples of effective community IWRM projects, including solar water pumps. These self-supply schemes are particularly unique since they allow communities to supply and sell their own water.
In a time where water is critical for eliminating diseases and promoting social mobility, it is critical that we understand the challenges and opportunities for ensuring clean and sanitary water for everyone.
Biography
Barbara van Koppen (PhD) is Emeritus Scientist/Consultant on Poverty, Gender, and Water at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), based in the IWMI Southern Africa office in Pretoria. She has led multi-country (action) research in Anglophone and Francophone Africa and Asia on Integrated Water Resource Management, community-driven water service delivery, water laws and policy reform, also from a human rights perspective. She is lead author and editor of five books and (co-) author of over 150 international peer-reviewed publications. She supervised post-docs, Ph.D., and M.Sc. students across the world. As a speaker, she participated in numerous national and international professional networks and policy dialogues. The global Multiple-Use Water Services (MUS) Group of the Rural Water Supply Network is coordinated by her. She also served as a member of the Board of the Water Research Commission South Africa and the Steering Committee of the Global Water Partnership. Before joining IWMI she was an Associate Professor of Gender and Irrigation at Wageningen University, the Netherlands. Her M.Sc. and Ph.D. in rural sociology, specializing in poverty, gender, and water management, were obtained from the same university.
