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Alumni Brighton
IDS Research Associate Richard Longhurst and the Director of Teaching and Alumni Relations, Robert Nurick hosted an alumni dinner in Brighton.

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Water Justice Programme
Promoting water and sanitation justice for all

Water Justice Programme

The Water Justice Programme (WaJuP) is part of the KNOTS Team at IDS. WaJuP critically examines the politics and pathways of water and sanitation policy and practice through interdisciplinary research on access, rights and control over these key resources. Through this research we ask how future global action on water and sanitation and water resources management can centralise the needs of the poor and most marginalised.

Water and sanitation for all provided in an equitable and sustainable way is central to global justice for poor women and men. Despite successive global declarations and efforts, hundreds of millions still suffer from lack of access. Simplistic portrayals of water and sanitation 'crises' have often led to misunderstandings on the nature of the problem and how to address it. The result has been a failure to centralise the needs and interests of the poor and marginalised within different solutions. Our research works in the following areas to seek sustainable and equitable solutions:

Rights and global politics

Even though water and sanitation are recognised as global rights, we ask:

  • Why is there such a gap between rights talk and rights practice?
  • How can questions of accountability, duties, responsibilities and financial arrangements be adequately addressed to make rights a reality for poor women and men? 
  • How do different rights jurisdictions interact with each other, and how can the rights of those most at risk be protected and strengthened?

Risk, sustainability and equity

Sanitation and water supply and water resources management need to become more equitable and sustainable in order to ensure future global poverty reduction, we ask:

  • How, given growing uncertainties, including rapid urbanisation and climate change policy can be constructed that more adequately responds to issues of risk and vulnerability?
  • Given that sustainability will always be contested, how can we ensure that we balance the right to water with other rights, including environmental justice and environmental flows to sustain ecosystems?

Growth and development

Water resources management and water and sanitation services are central to achieving equitable economic growth, we ask:

  • How can we ensure that policy instruments avoid harm and ensure fair entitlements for poor and marginalised communities?
  • How can managers and users be enabled to balance demands between sectors and between urban and rural areas more effectively in order to ensure greater human security?

    Water Justice Projects

  • Going to Scale? The Potential of Community-Led Total Sanitation - Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) is a participatory approach that started in Bangladesh and has been spread to varying degrees in India, Cambodia, Indonesia, China, Nepal. To a limited degree, it has also been trialled in some African countries. (Ongoing)
  • A Global Solution to Protect Water by Transforming Waste - This EPSRC project focuses on the 'peri-urban' environment, which includes areas outside cities that are characterised by poor infrastructure, and poor access to formal water and sanitation services. (Ongoing)
  • Flows and Practices: The Politics of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in Africa - This research seeks to link ideas of IWRM as constructed at the global and European level to their translation into narratives and practices in eastern and southern Africa. It will critically examine the interpretations and challenges of IWRM, hopefully contributing to improving water policies and practices and making them locally appropriate. (Ongoing)