The Global Water Crisis: Addressing an Urgent Security - Unu-inweh ...

Introduction
“Our future looks promising but the way there is devious.”
- Chinese proverb
The global debate on climate change has taken on increasingly sharp concern over water security at all levels. Many
definitions of water security are currently in use. The following definition from UNEP (2009: 47) will be used as a base for
this paper: “Water security represents a unifying element supplying humanity with drinking water, hygiene and sanitation,
food and fish, industrial resources, energy, transportation and natural amenities, all dependent upon maintaining ecosystem
health and productivity.”
Within this definition, both ecosystems and social well-being are held as being equally essential, and humanity implies
the inclusion of both men and women. As such, and as with many other similar statements, it implicitly carries within it
gender neutrality. However, the reality in the water sector is that often it is not gender neutral at all; and any attempt to
enhance water security needs to be viewed within a gendered perspective, which calls for the study and incorporation
of the differential access of women and men to water resources for productive and domestic use.
In recent decades, the acceptance of participatory water management methodologies and the greater acceptance of
much needed reforms, especially in the water and sanitation sector, have led to attempts to ensure greater involvement
of stakeholders, specifically women. This paper draws from experiences of field-based advocacy by civil society and
observations of water sector initiatives mainly in Sri Lanka.
1. International Recognition for Women in the Water Sector
The dialogue emphasizing the centrality of women to water resources management and water security was initiated in the
International Decade for Clean Drinking Water (1981-1990), intensified by the global acceptance of the four Dublin Principles
presented at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit (Global Water Partnership, 2012), and further extended by the establishment
of the International Water for Life Decade (2005-2015) through a resolution adopted by the United Nations General
Assembly (UNGA, 2004). The central role played by women in the water sector has been enunciated at many international
fora, such as the Stockholm Water Symposium, and has been the focus of many international deliberations. Numerous
attempts have been made to address gendered issues and engage development through a gendered perspective. Many
achievements have especially been made in accepting and promoting the role of women in the water supply sector, but
the same level of success cannot be claimed for the irrigation and irrigated agriculture sector. The United Nations Human
Rights Council’s affirmation in 2010 of the right to water and sanitation as human rights has further assured water security
in a legislative sense (UN Human Rights Council, 2010), but is in itself insufficient to ensure a gendered perspective. The
women and water dialogue will continue at the upcoming Rio +20 event in June 2012, at which a Women’s Vision for
Sustainable Development will be presented by the Women’s Major Group 1 , highlighting once more the need for greater
consensus and concerted action.
2. Water and Women in Sri Lanka
In the 21 st century, Asia is expected to face extreme negative impacts from climate change, including: decreased freshwater
availability; loss of landscape and natural resources; a substantial reduction in crop yields from rain-fed agriculture, directly
affecting food security; all of which come with resultant increasing malnutrition and related diseases. As primary caregivers
in the domestic context and major contributors to a predominantly agricultural Asian society, it has therefore become
increasingly necessary to review and identify ways of ensuring and optimizing the effective participation of women in
water- and climate-related activities.
Water and women’s work is synonymous in most parts of Asia. The traditional gendered division of labour in the domestic
and the productive sectors has in some instances given way to new developments due to factors such as the feminization
1 The core organisers of the Women’s Major Group for Rio + 20 currently consists of the following: Voices of Africa Women (VAF), Women in Europe
for a Common Future (WECF), Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) and ENERGIA International Network on Gender and
Sustainable Energy. See: http://www.womenrio20.org/index.html.
Investing in Women’s Participation for Enhanced Water Security: A Practitioner’s View from Sri Lanka
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