Water - Migration - Gender Nexus: Integrated Governance Strategies for (non) Migrants

Abstract

Water and environment-induced migration are crucial global development issues to be examined from an interdisciplinary Nexus approach. Although climate change and water-related dimensions of migration have been widely studied, a gendered lens of the topic is rather scarce in the current academic engagement. With this paper, we aim to provide an overview of the connection between water-related security risks and development problems resulting from climate change, migration, non-migration and gender, understood as unequal power relations. The current analysis contributes to the discourse of Nexus in the context of water-gender-migration while recommending strategies of governance that are sensitive to exclusions and marginalization along with gender. The paper engages with vulnerability, tolerance and adaptation by women and girls to socio-ecological changes around the water discourse. Existing policies will be reviewed, and new integrated solutions will be suggested towards a more resilient water-gender system at the social, economic, and environmental level in the context of migration-non-migration challenges. The paper calls for an answer to an overarching question: “To what extent an integrated governance approach with a lens of gendered vulnerabilities can be used to reduce the water-related problems faced by environmental migrants and non-migrants?” This paper combines a critical review on climate and water-related problems of migrant and non-migrant women and girls and a systematic literature review on integrated water resources governance solutions. In the result section, we propose recommendations for the adoption of integrated Nexus governance that could synergically mitigate both water-related problems and migration/non-migration issues with a neglected gender focus so that women and girls can be prepared to be more resilient to socio-ecological changes in everyday life.