Race, citizenship, and belonging in the pursuit of water and climate justice in California

Méndez-Barrientos, Linda Estelí; Fencl, Amanda; Workman, Cassandra L.; Shah, Sameer H.

doi:10.1177/25148486221133282

Cited by 11 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…While drawing a causal relationship between race and water insecurity is not within the scope of this research, the 2020 UN World Water Report does explicitly relate water insecurity and intersectionality, especially regarding race and class ( UN Water, 2020). Peer-reviewed studies on this issue, however, overwhelmingly exist in the North American context (e.g., Deitz and Meehan, 2019;Dickin and Gabrielsson, 2023;Harrington et al, 2023;Meńdez-Barrientos et al, 2023;Workman and Shah, 2023). For example, a spatial analysis of water insecurity across the United States by Deitz and Meehan (2019) found that deficiencies in household water infrastructure are concentrated in regions typically inhabited by racialized groups.…”

Section: The Role Of Colonialism and Race In Marine Ecotourism And Wa...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Local perspectives on marine ecotourism development in a water-insecure island region: the case of Bocas del Toro, Panama

Kim,

Scott,

Swartz

2024

Front. Mar. Sci.

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As a dimension of a blue economy, marine ecotourism should, in theory, not only increase economic viability and environmental sustainability but, most importantly, pursue socially equitable outcomes. In tropical and sub-tropical island regions, where substantial tourism development is often coupled with widespread strains on public infrastructure and services, including water access, there exists a need to better understand the expansion of this industry is felt at the community level; more importantly by individuals who are reliant on these infrastructures and services. Through a case study of the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, where water insecurity is becoming acute, we draw on and mobilize stories from local community members, alongside non-participant observations and document collection, to 1) document the experience of some community members with water insecurity and shortages, including how they perceive the roles played by the central government and marine ecotourism sector, and 2) examine how community members feel about how communities feel about policies and investment priorities of the central government regarding water insecurity, including the extent to which they view marine ecotourism development as undermining or promoting local needs. Our results underline the complex nature of marine ecotourism governance and infrastructure development outcomes in a resource-insecure island region, demonstrating that current issues are greatly impacted by historical and social underpinnings of neo-colonialism and systemic racism, misalignments of community vs. government development priorities, and eroded political trust, that shape local experiences with sustainable development and local residents’ perceptions of the ability of marine ecotourism to address issues of water insecurity. Moreover, while our focus is on the marine ecotourism industry, the significance of these findings contributes to a growing body of literature that places local experiences at the forefront of research into the implications of sustainable development in island regions.

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Section: The Role Of Colonialism and Race In Marine Ecotourism And Wa...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Local perspectives on marine ecotourism development in a water-insecure island region: the case of Bocas del Toro, Panama

Kim,

Scott,

Swartz

2024

Front. Mar. Sci.

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“…9–10). When actors lack the resources or capacity to participate in deliberation or are unfairly prevented from doing so, potentially due to historical and on‐going marginalization (Méndez‐Barrientos et al, 2022; O'Riordan et al, 2019; Wilson et al, 2022), procedural equity is undermined (Brisbois & de Loë, 2016; Choi & Robertson, 2014; Leach, 2006; Lubell et al, 2017; Morrison et al, 2019; Newig et al, 2018). This can increase the “democratic deficit” between more and less powerful participants (Nabatchi, 2010).…”

Section: Designing Equitable Collaborative Water Governancementioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond engagement: Enhancing equity in collaborative water governance

Koebele,

Méndez‐Barrientos,

Nadeau

et al. 2023

WIREs Water

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Collaborative governance has emerged as a promising approach for addressing complex water sustainability issues, with purported benefits from enhanced democracy to improved environmental outcomes. Collaborative processes are often assumed to be inherently more equitable than traditional governance approaches due to their goal of engaging diverse actors in the development of policy and management solutions. However, when collaborative water governance processes ignore issues of politics and power in their design, they risk creating or even exacerbating existing inequities. How, then, can collaborative water governance processes be designed to enhance, rather than undermine, equity? To answer this question, we first conduct an extensive review of the collaborative governance literature to identify common design features of collaborative processes, which each present potential benefits and challenges for actualizing equitable collaborative water governance. After critically discussing these design features, we explore how they are executed through two case studies of collaborative water governance in western North America: groundwater governance reform in California and transnational Colorado River Delta governance. In reflecting on these cases, we chart an agenda for future collaborative water governance research and practice that moves beyond engaging diverse actors to promoting equity among them.This article is categorized under: Human Water > Water Governance Science of Water > Water and Environmental Change Engineering Water > Planning Water

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“…Colonial, racial, gendered, ableist, class, and caste systems of power and their place-based outcomes (re)produce household water insecurities, and associated adverse social, economic, physical, and mental wellbeing outcomes (Crow and Sultana, 2002;Daigle, 2018;Deitz and Meehan, 2019;Dewachter et al, 2018;Duignan et al, 2022;Gerlak et al, 2022;Jepson et al, 2017;Jones et al, 2005;Leder et al, 2017;Loftus, 2014;Lu et al, 2014;Mawani, 2022;Meehan et al, 2020;Méndez-Barrientos et al, 2022;O'Leary, 2019;Radonic and Jacob, 2021;Ranganathan, 2016;Shah et al, 2021;Sultana, 2009Sultana, , 2020Truelove, 2019;Wilson et al, 2021;Wolbring, 2011;Wutich et al, 2022). This section reviews water affordability and insecurity experiences at the intersections of gender and class oppression.…”

Section: Intersectionality Water Affordability and Insecuritymentioning

confidence: 99%

Variations in household water affordability and water insecurity: An intersectional perspective from 18 low- and middle-income countries

Shah

Harris

Menghwani

et al. 2023

Environment and Planning F

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Compounding systems of marginalization differentiate and shape water-related risks. Yet, quantitative water security scholarship rarely assesses such risks through intersectionality, a paradigm that conceptualizes and examines racial, gendered, class, and other oppressions as interdependent. Using an intersectionality approach, we analyze the relationships between household head gender and self-reported socio-economic status, and water affordability (proportion of monthly income spent on water) and water insecurity (a composite measure of 11 self-reported experiences) for over 4000 households across 18 low- and middle-income countries in Central and South America, Africa, and Asia. Interaction terms and composite categorical variables were included in regression models, adjusting for putative confounders. Among households with a high socio-economic status, the proportion of monthly income spent on water differed by household head gender. In contrast, greater household water insecurity was associated with lower socio-economic status and did not meaningfully vary by the gender of the household head. We contextualize and interpret these experiences through larger systems of power and privilege. Overall, our results provide evidence of broad intersectional patterns from diverse sites, while indicating that their nature and magnitude depend on local contexts. Through a critical reflection on the study’s value and limitations, including the operationalization of social contexts across different sites, we propose methodological approaches to advance multi-sited and quantitative intersectional research on water affordability and water insecurity. These approaches include developing scale-appropriate models, analyzing complementarities and differences between site-specific and multi-sited data, collecting data on gendered power relations, and measuring the impacts of household water insecurity.

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Race, citizenship, and belonging in the pursuit of water and climate justice in California

Cited by 11 publications

References 76 publications

Local perspectives on marine ecotourism development in a water-insecure island region: the case of Bocas del Toro, Panama

Local perspectives on marine ecotourism development in a water-insecure island region: the case of Bocas del Toro, Panama

Beyond engagement: Enhancing equity in collaborative water governance

Variations in household water affordability and water insecurity: An intersectional perspective from 18 low- and middle-income countries

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