ANU Water Justice Hub

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/1885/226340

The Water Justice Hub’s mission is to respond to water injustice and promote both ‘voice’ and truth-telling in relation to water. While the Hub will have a primary focus on Australia, especially justice for First Peoples, it will also respond to the global challenges of delivering ‘water for all’ or Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.

The Hub brings together several initiatives. In terms of activities, the Hub will support mentoring of First Peoples water researchers and seek to leverage multiple funding sources (including philanthropic) to support a centre of excellence. The Hub would link to global water networks, such as (but not limited to) the UNESCO Water Chairs, Global Water Forum, and the Geneva Actions on Human Water Security.

Beyond its capacity building and support for the voices of communities on water, the Hub will also be a centre for water justice research. A five-year Australian Research Council funded research program began on 1 July 2020 on water justice, water valuation and resilient decision-making. In terms of its research activities, the Hub plans to work closely with the newly-established, National Institute Grant-funded, Institute for Water Futures, at the Australian National University.

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Now showing 1 - 9 of 9

Open Access
Confronting the ‘Democracy Deficit’ and Long-term Environmental Threats
(The Australian National University, 2024) Grafton, R. Quentin
The world faces multiple long-term environmental threats that include: i) climate change; ii) biodiversity loss; and iii) water insecurities. Effective responses are hindered by the ‘democracy deficit’; deficiencies in democracy and the influence of powerful interests that undermine actions favoured by a majority of voters. Confronting the democracy deficit requires more active (deliberative and participatory) democracy to redistribute power and influence to citizens from privileged interests – the ‘push back’ triangle of; i) the Climatocracy (climate change), ii) the Biodiversocracy (biodiversity loss) and iii) the Hydrocracy (water insecurity). More active democracy requires but is not limited to: i) high-quality public education that allows most people to engage with complex problems; ii) effective and widely-available civic education; iii) fact-checking of publicly available information; iv) a diverse and free press; v) participatory processes around decisions of key public interest; and vi) transparent mechanisms that hold decision-makers fully accountable for their actions.
Open Access
Australian Drinking Water Record: Preliminary Findings
(Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University, 2024-11-10) Le, Lien; Wyrwoll, Paul; Nguyen, Mai; Grafton, Quentin
Open Access
Retelling Australia’s Water Story
(The Australian National University, 2024-10-10) Grafton, R. Quentin
Open Access
Protocols for systematic selection of articles for water justice systematic review
(Water Justice Hub, Australian National University, 2024-01-24) Fanaian, Safa
This document provides a description of the steps and processes followed for a systematic review for the concept of water justice. The following sections list the research question along with the scope and steps followed to ensure a systematic literature review can be carried. These steps are aligned with the PRISMA method for systematic reviews. All the researchers involved in the selection and review processes followed the protocol listed.
Open Access
2023 Menindee Mass Fish Kill, How it happened. A desktop investigation unravelling the operational decisions that preceded the death of 20 million fish
(The Australian National University, 2023-04-11) Williams, Megan; Schulz, Dan
Open Access
The What, Why and How of the World Water Crisis: Global Commission on the Economics of Water Phase 1 Review and Findings
(The Australian National University, 2023) Grafton, Quentin; Gupta, Joyeeta; Revi, Aromar; Mazzucato, Mariana; Okonjo-Iewala, Ngozi; Rockström, Johan; Shanmugaratnam, Tharman; Aki-Sawyerr, Yvonne; Bárcena Ibarra, Alicia; Cantrell, LaToya; Espinosa, María Fernanda; Ghosh, Arunabha; Ishii, Naoko; Jintiach, Juan Carlos; Qui, Baoxing; Ramphele, Mamphela; Urrego, Martha Rojas; Serageldin, Ismail; Damania, Richard; Dominique, Kathleen; Esty, Daniel; Ovink, Henk WJ; Rao-Monari, Usha; Selassie, Abebe; Andersen, Lauren Seaby; Beejadur, Yuhan Aunuth; Bosch, Hilmer; von Burgsdorff, Luca Kühn; Fanaian, Safa; Krishnaswamy, Jagdish; Lim, Julius; Portal, Mariana; Sami, Neha; Schaef, Julia; Bazaz, Amir; Beleyur, Prajna; Fahrlander, Simon; Ghoge, Ketaki; Ragavan, KV Santosh; Vijendra, Mahima; Wankhade, Kavita; Zaqout, Mariam; Dupont, Anna; Lefaive, Xavier; Réalé, Inés
Open Access
Indigenous water reserves in Australia: 2022 policy brief, version 1.0
(2022-11) Taylor, Katherine Selena; Poelina, Anne; Nikolakis, William; Larsen, Libby; Grafton, Quentin; Nevile, Maurice
Indigenous/Aboriginal water reserves are increasingly used in water allocation plans across northern Australia. Indigenous water reserves aim to address water injustice, but are they the right tool for the job? This policy brief is for anyone interested in freshwater policy, allocation, and water justice in northern Australia.
Open Access
Perceptions of Tanzanian smallholder irrigators on impact pathways between water equity and socio-economic inequalities
(Taylor & Francis, 2021-02-16) Manero, Ana; Wheeler, Sarah
Irrigation is promoted as a critical strategy for rural welfare, yet fundamental questions prevail on the linkages between water, equity and inequality. Applying mixed-methods, this study investigates the impact pathways whereby water inequities are associated with socioeconomic inequalities within two Tanzanian smallholder irrigation schemes. According to irrigators’ perceptions, greater water equity would benefit the poor through improved working conditions, productivity, reliability and reduced risk. Quantitative analyses corroborate that water-dissatisfied irrigators suffered from lower yields and higher unproductive land, investment losses and yield gaps. Education, empowerment and strong governance are proposed as possible avenues towards greater water equity and inclusive growth.
Open Access
Law versus justice: the Strategic Aboriginal Water Reserve in the Northern Territory, Australia
(Taylor & Francis, 2021-02-24) Nikolakis, William; Grafton, Quentin
Using a policy tracing approach, we analyse the legislating of the Strategic Aboriginal Water Reserve (SAWR) in the Northern Territory, Australia. The SAWR is a share of the consumptive pool allocated to eligible Indigenous landowners in water plan areas, providing water resources for future economic development. Drawing on parliamentary and policy sources to reveal competing interests and ideologies, and the challenges of codifying water rights, this study finds that legislating water rights alone is insufficient to achieve water justice – water justice measures must respond to power imbalances and inequities by empowering people with the capabilities to implement their rights.

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