Paper short abstract:

How can leadership in mitigating water scarcity be encouraged in India? Contextual diversities and inequalities are important to understanding leadership There is lack and lag in policy emphasis on it. Evidence-based water policies requires leadership of policymakers, scientists and practitioners.

Paper long abstract:

How can leadership in mitigating water scarcity be encouraged in India? The research aims to explore this through assessing - whose leadership? On what aspects of water scarcity? and how is it shaped in India? To address these questions, the research draws on three studies on water resources governance and management carried out in 2011-2019. First explores the knowledge-governance gap on water scarcity mitigation. Second engages with the extent of women's participation in river and water management. Third studies developmental organizations' role of representing vulnerable to disaster risk. The three studies indicate that there is a slow pace at which leadership of decentralized state agencies (study 1), women groups, specifically indigenous women (study 2), and communities (study 3) is shaped in these specific contexts rather than a lack of leadership. This slow pace reflects a lack of policy emphasis on it, socio-cultural diversity and inequalities which is unique to Indian context, and power relations among different stakeholders (state, community, and civil society organizations). Lack of policy emphasis is inferred from policies not explicitly recognizing leadership as a priority in mitigating water scarcity. The research argues that leadership is weakly adequate to address the contextual diversities and inequalities in access use, and management of scarce water resources. Second, leadership of communities in environmental change is essential in the context of India, however, heterogeneity, and power relation in communities is often not understood adequately. Third, for formulating and implementing evidence-based water policies leadership of policymakers, scientists and practitioners is needed.