Water and Development: Commodification, Ecology and Globalisation (Development Studies)

Key information

Status
Module not running
Module code
15PDSH049
FHEQ Level
7
Credits
15
Department
Department of Development Studies

Module overview

IMPORTANT:
Development Studies students who wish to take this jointly taught module in 2023/24 should choose this module offered by the Law department (which is the same module listed under a different code).  The Development Studies module code does not apply in 2023/24.

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This module examines ‘water and development’ in the global South from a combined Development
Studies and Law perspective. The three main themes in the course are the
commodification/marketisation of water, the political ecology of water, and global water governance and conflict. The course discusses examples from Asia, Africa and Latin America, and selected examples from the global North. The module is jointly taught by the Development Studies and Law departments (professors Peter Mollinga and Philippe Cullet).

The module, together with its companion module in term 1 ( Water Justice: Rights, Access and
Movements
), examines the relation between water and development in the broader context of the
governance framework that is increasingly influenced by conflicts over the resource. It discusses how legal, governance and policy frameworks for water resources have been contested in recent decades, an era of intensifying (neo)liberalisation and globalisation, and rapid economic growth in many parts of the world. The module examines the structures, practices and discourses of water resources’ political contestation, and thus seeks to provide students with a broad understanding of the multi- faceted issues arising in the water sector from the local to the international level.

Objectives and learning outcomes of the module

 

At the end of the module, a student should be able to demonstrate the ability to understand and
analyse issues concerning water and development, notably regarding commodification, political
ecology and globalisation dimensions, from a broad perspective. Students will acquire knowledge of
the basic concepts and principles underlying the governance, regulatory reform, management and
conservation of water in the global South, focusing on national, regional examples in the international context in which governance evolves.

 

Workload

 

Teaching will take the form of a weekly two hour seminar.

 

Scope and syllabus

 

Commodification: In the first part of the module the water and development/politics of water focus is explained, and specific examples of commodification/marketisation of water are discussed, including the dynamics of groundwater markets, the payment for ecosystem services approach to sustainability, and the emerging issue of financialization and water.

Political ecology: The second part of the course module focuses on the ecological dimension of water and development, including the role of water in climate change, energy issues related to water, and the urban political ecology of water.

Globalisation: The third part of the module engages with the increasingly global dimensions of water and its governance. The emergence of global water governance institutions over the past few
decades is discussed, we address the transboundary water governance in the world’s international
river basins, and the role of technical infrastructure in national and global rule and governance.

 

Method of assessment

 

100% coursework. Students will be expected to submit one essay worth 70% and a book review worth 30% of the final grade. Resubmission of coursework regulations apply.

 

Suggested reading

Rutgerd Boelens, Tom Perreault & Jeroen Vos eds, Water justice (Cambridge University Press,
2018).

Oliver Cumming & Tom Slaymaker eds, Equality in Water and Sanitation Services (Routledge, 2018).

Felix Dodds & Jamie Bartram, The Water, Food, Energy and Climate Nexus - Challenges and an Agenda for Action (Routledge, 2016).

Mark Everard, The Hydropolitics of Dams – Engineering or Ecosystems? (Zed Books, 2013).

Bruce Lankford, Karen Bakker, Mark Zeitoun & Declan Conway eds, Water Security – Principles, Perspectives and Practices (Routledge, 2013).

Naho Mirumachi, Transboundary Water Politics in the Developing World (London: Earthscan, 2015).

Disclaimer

Important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules