Integrative Water Governance as a Mechanism for Gender Mainstreaming in Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals

Integrated water resources management (IWRM) is a key implementing target for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), under SDG 6 for access to clean water and sanitation. A significant body of research has recently emerged that inter alia examines IWRM institutional arrangements and their effectiveness in national contexts, along with aspects of IWRM such as river basin management at hydrological scales, water quality monitoring, and public participation. However, the capacity of IWRM to support non-water focused SDGs as a cross-cutting implementation mechanism has attracted less scholarly attention. This paper therefore seeks to examine the capacity of IWRM to move beyond ‘water-centricity’ in SDG implementation. IWRM is simultaneously a set of principles, water governance approach and policy prescription. Although conceptualisations vary significantly, public participation in river basin planning constitutes a core IWRM principle. According to the 1992 Dublin Principles, IWRM should enable the participation of multiple actors, including women. However, the empowerment of women in society also lies at the heart of SDG 5 – for gender equality. The capacity for IWRM to support these two parallel goals is therefore potentially significant. That said, few studies to date have sought to gauge the extent to which gender is considered in IWRM governance globally as basis for making normative recommendations for future SDG implementation. In respect of this research gap, this paper provides an empirical examination of the extent to which IWRM is integrating gender into river basin planning on a global scale. Drawing upon gender mainstreaming theory, ecofeminist political thought, and the buergeoning literature on participatory and collaborative water governance, it determines normative expectations for effectively integrating gender into water decision making. An argument developed is that gender mainstreaming should move beyond de jure institutional commitments to include women in IWRM implementation to supporting their practical, de facto empowerment. The paper then presents the outcome of a multi-level empirical study that compares guidelines and policies adopted by international organisations such as the Global Water Partnership, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Bank and others as well as national IWRM, using a sample of 50 countries, to map gender mainstreaming in water policy and the implementing mechanisms for public participation ‘on the ground’. This research provides a prelude to further in depth case study analysis which examines gender power dynamics at the river basin scale. Initial results suggest that de jure integration of gender in national IWRM institutions is variable across the global North and South. In addition, where such institutional commitments are made, implementing mechanisms often limit de facto application of gender mainstreaming. The paper consequently reflects back on these observations to provide normative recommendations for enhancing gender mainstreaming in IWRM by supporting SDG 5 and SDG 6 through moving beyond ‘water-centricity’, while setting out an agenda for future research opportunities.