In this episode, Dr. Emilie Dupuits joins GWF’s Jesper Svensson to share her insights about how local communities engage in transnational mobilisations to defend their rights and what impact it has on local commons in Latin America. Latin America has a number of distinct features. It is home to more than 800 indigenous groups with a combined population of approximately 42 million. Latin America is also a region with significant inequality where eight countries are among the 20 countries with the highest income inequality worldwide. At the same time, the region exhibits one of the highest rates of biodiversity and ecosystem services (ES) loss worldwide with high asymmetry in access to ecosystem services benefits. Over the last two decades, environmental protests have been on the rise ranging from Bolivia and Peru to Ecuador and Chile around water and infrastructure projects. However, significant variation exists in the region in terms of what drives grassroots struggles and how they are scaled up to the transnational level. Dr. Dupuits says that in the context of globalizing transboundary environmental challenges, strategies to protect and secure the local commons such as water resources have been increasingly scaled up. Consequently, local communities have started to engage in transnational mobilisations to defend their rights and express their concerns. This often implies the adoption and institutionalisation of emerging global norms, principles and modes of framing and claiming – such as the Human Right to Water or the Rights of Nature – which will interfere with and may even go against local understandings, meaning, and rooted struggles or initial claims made by grassroots movements. The appropriation of expert knowledge and technical idiom may improve their recognition and access to political and financial support. However, transnational involvement may also (re)produce misrecognition or exclusion on the ground for community-based organisations. Interview Q&A 1. What is the relationship between neoliberalism and social resistance movements in Latin America over the last two decades? (2:08) 2. How have governments, market-led institutions and local communities interacted in global environmental arenas over the last two decades? (8:25) 3. When, where and how have grassroots movements developed strategies to scale up their activities in order to improve their access and representation in global arenas and transnational processes? (14:55) 4. Are there examples and patterns in Latin America where governments, markets and local communities can co-exist in desirable outcomes? (23:48) 5. What about the role of women? (30:57) 5. When a mobilization occurs and is scaled up to the international level, what is the effect back on the local ground? (32:47) 6. Which institutional and actor configurations contribute to protect and secure local commons such as water resources? (40:52) 7. What can states outside of Latin-America do to address Bolsonaro’s violations of indigenous people’s lives and livelihoods? (43:40)

In this episode, Dr. Sam Geall joins GWF:s Jesper Svensson to discuss how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) shapes the development of the Mekong River. Dr. Geall says that China’s Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Initiative is primarily driven by money and security but he hopes that inter-governmental organizations like the Mekong River Commission (RMC) and the Chinese LMC will not lead to a zero-sum game in the basin and region. www.globalwaterforum.org

How is hydropower dam construction and other development practices converging and forming a death of a thousands cuts of the longest river in Southeast Asia shared between China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam? How long can the system hold on? Brian Eyler, author of the book ”The Last Days of the Mighty Mekong” shares his perspectives and insights with GWF:s Jesper Svensson in this episode.

Dr. Marina Povitkina joins GWF’s Jesper Svensson to discuss democracy, quality of government and water provision. She also talks about her experience in the Republic of Moldova and the mechanisms at play there. Interview Q&A What is, and is not, democratization? (1:22) What is the relationship between democracy, Quality of Government and water provision in the world? (4:35) Which countries fall into which institutional configurations? (7:20) What do we know (and don’t know) about the provision of safe drinking water in authoritarian regimes? (10:49) Why does the case of Moldova matter? (15:23) What lessons can be learned from Moldova at a time when more democracies than ever before are in decline? (26:24) More at globalwaterforum.org

In this episode, Bo Rothstein joins Global Water Forum for a colorful discussion of topics including quality of government, access to safe water, Jamaica, the paradox of China, gender equality, and much more. How did you get involved in working on corruption and why did you decide to leave Oxford University in 2017? (1:00) What is corruption and how do we measure it? (7:30) How does Quality of Government shape access to safe drinking water? (10:40) In one of your books you mentioned “the tale of two countries: Democratic Jamaica versus High Quality of Government Singapore”. What is that? (14:35) The paradox of China: what explains why authoritarian China provides more superior urban drinking water than does liberal democratic India? (20:20) What will happen with China’s administrative River Chief System if China democratize? (25:55) How should we combat corruption? Does gender equality matter in preventing societies from self-destructing? (28:05) How to reverse the assault on science? (38:59) For more, find us at globalwaterforum.org

In this edition of Water Chat, Jesper Svensson interviews Professor Jia Shaofeng about the myths and realities of Beijing’s water supply and demand situation. Interview Q&A  How has the natural hydrological cycle evolved over the last 70 years in Beijing? 2:39 How has the nature of human demands for water evolved from 1949 until today? 4:47 What have been the key transitions in science, technology and institutional factors for managing Beijing’s water systems the last 70 years? 11:15 What political leaders and policy entrepreneurs drove the change? What drove them? 12:30 What would you say are the most important misconceptions about the water reforms in Beijing and the North China Plain? 17:40 Beijing rely on distant water transfers to meet their needs. What type of agreement governs the water reallocation from Shanxi and Hebei provinces to Beijing? 26:24 What is the goal of the South to North Water Diversion Project to respond to Beijing’s water situation? 32:27 So what about climate change? What is the effect of climate change on the natural hydrological cycle? 39:32 What lessons can be learned from Beijing’s transitions to freshwater sustainability (1949-2019)? 43:00 For more: www.globalwaterforum.org/ Twitter @GWFWater

In this edition of Water Chat, Dr. Dustin Garrick interviews three leading experts and voices on water governance in Australia. Mr Bradley Moggridge, Dr Emma Carmody and Professor Quentin Grafton bring perspectives from hydrogeology & Indigenous water knowledge, environmental law and water economics respectively.  Together they share lessons from the Murray-Darling Basin for international observers to understand a basin at the cross roads. Interview Q&A What is the nature of the water challenges within Australia and in the Murray-Darling Basin region in particular? 1:09 Give us each of your perspective on whether the Water Act 2007 went far enough in terms of defining and articulating the important values around water within the Murray-Darling? 10:00 How has the water market worked in theory and practice and how has your own view around the water market shifted over the course of the reforms? 25:37 Emma, what are the implementation failures and what is the challenge here? 31:34 Bradley, how is traditional knowledge and science factored in the process? 33:51 Who has power, authority and water? 46:05 What is your priority for addressing these challenges? 50:59 What is the single most important misconception about Australia’s water reform? 56:00 For more go to http://www.globalwaterforum.org/ Twitter @GWFWater

GWF’s Jesper Svensson chats with Professor Brahma Chellaney about India’s transboundary water relations with Pakistan, Bangladesh and China. They also discuss the effect of federalism on water management in India. For more visit GWF's website http://www.globalwaterforum.org/2019/08/30/brahma-chellaney-indias-hydro-diplomacy-with-pakistan-bangladesh-and-china/

In this edition of Water Chat, GWF’s Jesper Svensson chats with Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography Danny Dorling about his upcoming book on the slowdown of humanity. Together they discuss swimming pools in California, Communism in Tokyo and what the slowdown means for water management, politics and the way we are structuring our societies. Tweet @dannydorling and @GWFWater More details: http://www.globalwaterforum.org/2019/07/15/danny-dorling-is-the-human-species-slowing-down/

GWF’s Jesper Svensson interviews Joyce Kimutai about the relationship between water security and development in Kenya. Join us to hear her reflections on whether Kenya has become more water secure over time and if so, how did they get there, what did they do. Recorded June 2019. *Unfortunately there are some sound quality issues in this episode. GWF is working to resolve this issue in future. Interview Q&A What is the relationship between water security and development in Kenya? 1:09  How do you usually measure and examine water security? 3:30 How useful do you see existing weather tools to forecast events and plan water infrastructure? 5:04 What are the main stressors for water security in Kenya? 7:35 Has Kenya become more water secure over time? If so, how did they get there, what did they do? 10:48 What is the institutional structure which connects the central-government water security vision with the provincial government level and river basin level? 15:00 Africa is in desperate need of water infrastructure. In what way can foreign investment such as that provided by China contribute to growth and poverty reduction in Africa? 16:50 Link to article on GWF's website: http://www.globalwaterforum.org/2019/07/08/joyce-kimutai-water-security-and-development-in-kenya/