Send message to Author

Paper short abstract:

This research looks at how decentralized drinking water technologies come into being tracing them from inception to production, and their use affects communities in the long run.

Paper long abstract:

Worldwide water insecurities are outcomes of governance processes (Méndez-Barrientos et al., 2023), where decision making ranges from a combination of stakeholders and intentions with complex relationships between the “formal” and “informal”. This research looks at how decentralized drinking water technologies come into being tracing them from inception to production, and their use in the long run. Through a case study in climate-change affected region in southwestern coastal Bangladesh, it shows the proliferation of decentralized technologies for drinking water which have created a system of discrimination for the users, especially women. Beginning with problematic notions of “crisis”, it shows marginalization, narrowing down of options, and ironically more drinking water insecurity were reported by local women who live in precarious conditions. This research analyses the history, rules, and policies of the decentralized water infrastructure delivery approaches and delves into their consequences for women’s lives. Initial results reveal mismatch of intentions both within and beyond the formal and informal sector, doubling of projects and creation of path dependencies for poor communities. It aims to guide our understanding of the more complex workings of imagination, production and experience of and with infrastructure and has relevance for transitions occurring in water scarce regions of the Global South and can also be applied to other areas across the global South and North alike.