IWRA Webinar – N°4

Towards Equitable Water Governance


7 May 2015

Many discussions have explored the relationship between water availability and poverty. This webinar builds from these discussions to explore the relationship of water institutions to society, and the freedoms and capabilities that come from the equitable utilization of water.

The webinar panelists outlined steps to address the inequalities that come from traditional water governance. They discussed how politics and power create water inequities and how this pervades thinking about water and its allocation. The panel debated solutions including the co-production of public services and building coalitions with the low-income informal sector. Most critically, the panel introduced a broader idea of water equity that includes distribution, recognition, and participation by all stakeholders.

The webinar was moderated by Scott McKenzie (PhD Student, University of British Columbia Canada), and featured; Professor Ben Crow (University of California at Santa Cruz, USA), Mr. KJ Joy (Senior Fellow, Society for Promoting Participative Ecosystem Management, India); Professor Margreet Zwarteveen, (UNESCO-IHE and the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands); Dr. Veena Srinivasan (Fellow, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, India); Dr. Heather O’Leary, (Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Water Policy, McMaster University, Canada).


This webinar was based on special issue of Water International (Vol.39 Issue. 2).

Please consult Water International online here.


Please download the presentations below:

• Water Progress and Poverty, Crow

• Towards Equitable Water Governance: processes and scales, Srinivasan

• Equity Re-allocations and Institutions, Joy

• Equitably Governing Globalizing Waters? Zwarteveen