London
Water
Research
Group
5th
international
workshop
on
Hydro-Hegemony
Water
Security:
Competing
Discourses
London,
8/9
May
2010
The
London
Water
Research
Group
invites
key
interested
academics,
practitioners
and
activists
to
its
5th
international
meeting.
Recent
global
events
have
brought
to
the
fore
very
pertinent
and
related
water
security
issues:
Transboundary
water
conflict;
food
trade;
and
‘land-‐grabs’.
Discourses
related
to
all
three
strands
appear
to
be
pushing
us
towards
perpetually
dealing
with
the
supply
side
of
the
equation
rather
than
the
demand
side,
and
towards
increasingly
untenable
practices.
The
three
strands
will
be
critically
reviewed
and
discussed
at
the
workshop,
and
a
critical
framework
to
examine
these
competing
discourses
will
be
sought.
Objectives:
1
Cooperation
for
water
security
discourse
The
purpose
of
the
discussions
is
to
further
examine
the
‘ugly’
face
of
cooperation
(Zeitoun
and
Mirumachi
2008).
By
understanding
that
cooperation
in
and
of
itself
is
insufficient
to
ensure
equitable
water
allocations
or
ecologically
sound
management
practices,
the
discussion
questions
(i)
how
discourses
are
framed
and
reframed
to
promote
‘cooperation’,
often
in
the
name
of
‘water
security’
of
the
basin,
(ii)
who
promotes
such
discourses,
and
(iii)
how
these
discourses
can
be
challenged.
To
this
end,
the
role
of
soft
power
in
influencing
the
negotiations
will
be
examined.
2
Trade
discourse
The
part
virtual
water
plays
in
food
and
water
security
via
trade
is
increasingly
being
taken
on
board
by
different
water
use
sectors
and
policy
actors.
Global
standards
and
water
stewardship
schemes
are
emerging.
Transnational
corporations
(TNCs)
have
joined
international
dialogues
on
water-‐food-‐energy
nexus,
some
of
them
advocating
innovative
new
water
accountability.
However,
the
involvement
of
TNCs
may
draw
attention
from
those
who
are
not
participating.
The
majority
of
agribusiness
giants
have
refrained
from
the
new
discourse
of
expanded
hydro-‐solidarity.
More
emphasis
has
recently
been
put
on
the
role
of
farmers
as
major
water
managers.
Yet,
the
question
of
power
asymmetries
in
farming
and
world
food
trade
has
not
been
addressed
amply.
The
workshop
thus
asks:
Are
global
agribusiness
giants
invisible
and
unwitting
transboundary,
even
global
hydro-‐hegemons?
3
Land/water
grab
discourses
Foreign
agricultural
land
acquisitions
and
leases
have
gained
increased
attention
by
the
media
and
non-‐governmental
organisations
(IIED,
2009;
GTZ,
2009;
IFPRI,
2009).
Whereas
some
commentators
view
it
as
an
opportunity
for
underdeveloped
economies,
others
see
it
as
an
unwelcome
new
form
of
Capitalist
[‘neo-‐liberal’,
‘green’?]
colonialism.
Governments
and
private
investors
with
poor
water
resources
or
inadequate
national
water
policy
are
at
the
forefront
of
this
new
phenomenon
of
Capitalist
expansion,
hence
the
interest
in
commodity
imports
and
therefore
‘virtual
water’.
Our
focus
will
be
placed
on
Africa
where
a
large
number
of
land
deals
have
been
closed.
The
political,
social,
economic
and
environmental
impacts
of
land
grabbing
for
African
water
resources
and
political
economies
will
be
explored.
Our
goal
is
to
differentiate
the
rhetoric
from
the
reality
by
looking
at
the
nexus
of
virtual
water,
power
relations
and
the
global
political
economy.
Date:
Saturday
8
and
Sunday
9
May
2010
Venue:
University
of
East
Anglia
London
Campus,
102
Middlesex
Street,
London,
E1
7EZ
(opposite
Liverpool
Street
station)
Convenors:
The
workshop
will
be
convened
by
the
London
Water
Research
Group.
Chair
and
founder
of
the
LWRG
is
the
2008
Stockholm
Water
Prize
laureate
Prof
Tony
Allan
from
King’s
College
London
and
the
School
of
Oriental
and
African
Studies.
LWRG
is
a
joint
research
network
between
King’s
College
London
and
the
University
of
East
Anglia
with
members
and
contributors
across
the
globe.
Enquiries
and
registration:
There
is
no
cost
to
participate
at
the
workshop.
Please
confirm
your
intention
to
attend
to
[Link]@[Link]
no
later
than
15
April
2010
Further
information:
[Link]