TY - JOUR
T1 - Justice and moral economies in “Modular, Adaptive, and Decentralized” (MAD) water systems
AU - Beresford, Melissa
AU - Brewis, Alexandra
AU - Choudhary, Neetu
AU - Drew, Georgina
AU - Garcia, Nataly Escobedo
AU - Garrick, Dustin
AU - Hossain, Mohammed Jobayer
AU - Lopez, Ernesto
AU - Nébié, Elisabeth Ilboudo
AU - Pacheco-Vega, Raul
AU - Roque, Anaís
AU - Wutich, Amber
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors
PY - 2024/4
Y1 - 2024/4
N2 - “MAD Water” systems (modular, adaptive, decentralized infrastructures) will expand to meet human water needs under future climate change, migration, and urbanization scenarios. Yet the use of MAD systems often undermines water justice. Here we argue that identifying and analyzing moral economies for water can allow scholars to understand—and possibly predict—when and why justice in MAD water systems is upheld, breaks down, or becomes unstable. Moral economies are institutional arrangements in which shared understandings of justice normatively regulate the distribution and exchange of basic resources. We review the moral economies concept, explain an operational framework for analyzing moral economies, and use this framework to illustrate how moral economies function to uphold justice (or not) within three types of MAD water systems today: water sharing arrangements, informal water vending markets, and small-scale water commons. We show that when moral economies are embedded and operating successfully in MAD water systems, they can create check-and-balance mechanisms against injustice. But when moral economies are absent or failing, water injustices often prevail. The moral economies framework therefore provides not only a tool for theory building and analysis, but also a possible language and pathway for communities to organize for justice. We conclude by outlining key areas for future research.
AB - “MAD Water” systems (modular, adaptive, decentralized infrastructures) will expand to meet human water needs under future climate change, migration, and urbanization scenarios. Yet the use of MAD systems often undermines water justice. Here we argue that identifying and analyzing moral economies for water can allow scholars to understand—and possibly predict—when and why justice in MAD water systems is upheld, breaks down, or becomes unstable. Moral economies are institutional arrangements in which shared understandings of justice normatively regulate the distribution and exchange of basic resources. We review the moral economies concept, explain an operational framework for analyzing moral economies, and use this framework to illustrate how moral economies function to uphold justice (or not) within three types of MAD water systems today: water sharing arrangements, informal water vending markets, and small-scale water commons. We show that when moral economies are embedded and operating successfully in MAD water systems, they can create check-and-balance mechanisms against injustice. But when moral economies are absent or failing, water injustices often prevail. The moral economies framework therefore provides not only a tool for theory building and analysis, but also a possible language and pathway for communities to organize for justice. We conclude by outlining key areas for future research.
KW - Informal water markets
KW - Informal water systems
KW - MAD (Modular, Adaptive, Decentralized) Water
KW - Moral economies for water
KW - Water commons
KW - Water insecurity
KW - Water justice
KW - Water sharing
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85184080874&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85184080874&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.wasec.2023.100148
DO - 10.1016/j.wasec.2023.100148
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85184080874
SN - 2468-3124
VL - 21
JO - Water Security
JF - Water Security
M1 - 100148
ER -