Building Water Awareness & Whose awareness? - My perspective

 These past weeks (my second week at IHE-Delft) I have to participate in discussions, lectures, group projects about water expertise, water awareness, communities’ initiatives in the context of water management and governance. Questions like, what is awareness, whose awareness, whose expertise? How to situated ourselves between science and communities? Interestingly, in the beginning, it all seems cliche and obvious, and I immediately situated myself accordingly to my historical, political, economic, and social context.

Many times, when we talk about water governance subtly it re-direct us to the government structure, science, institutions, and often forgets about situatedness and partiality knowledge of others level of our society. Yet very often (formal and legal organizations) they build management strategies, theories based on a marginalized group, vulnerable group, indigenous wisdom, community, but without them by creating a barrier for effective participation and cooperation. By saying this, whose water awareness? especially because it is always a public good, universal value, vital, non-renewable and a fugitive resource and so many others reasons, maybe we should re-think well, who really need to be aware, aware of the value, of rational use, appropriate management, distribution, participation, and recognition.

It’s very interesting that for many years I have been seen in my country (Cabo Verde), many projects that integrated water management (IWRM) with water community awareness, in fact, those communities are ones that everyday faces scarcity of water, and it's not because of climate change (It is another topic) that they are being dramatically affected. Those communities are the ones that based on their live experienced they know how to protect their land against soil erosion, how to build channels, ditches, and other “technologies “to carry or hold water. They know how to build resilience in the dry season with their animals, ways to store water “na tempu de azagua”, where it’s a place to collect superficial water or when the groundwater is not appropriate anymore to be consumed, or how to improve their livelihood. In general, I can say that in their informal way they are managing water, using Tecno-managerial, political, and interpretative approach in their own scale and context. What is important is the outcomes and the gains for the affected people, not really about in which model is presented, rather how it can benefit all, equitable and do not cause harm to the ecosystem.

Science, policy, and communities should be never disassociated, therefore all type of knowledge is still possible to come together, by involving actively ALL. 

source image: CRA-terre / Ensag; NAPAs

Helen Barbosa