ESR 14: Water Governance and sub-sector reforms: comparing large scale irrigation and urban water supply in India and Indonesia
Early Stage Researcher: Preeta Dhar
Host institution: School of Oriental and African Studies, United Kingdom
Principal supervisor: Prof. Peter Mollinga
Co-supervisor: Prof. François Molle
Non-academic co-supervisor Researcher: Dr. Diana Suhardiman & Dr. Barbara Schreiner
Topic
Governance gaps in the water sector is a prominent silence in water governance reform debates and scholarship. A key insight that the literature highlights is that the governance gaps are systemic: it is institutionalised and links the political and administrative spheres, while connecting these spheres with the private sector.
Water sector reforms and international development funding in India and Indonesia have attempted to safeguard against some of these issues. Literature on the implementation of such projects have provided some insights into the extent such projects and reforms have been able to address the challenges in the water sector. This project systematically explores these insights to produce deepened understanding of the factors and conditions shaping governance in the water sector, to contribute to better-informed debate and policy-making. This project addresses the following research question: what are the conditions that shape governance in the water sector in India and Indonesia, and what is the role of international funding support for infrastructure development in this?
This research project will:
- Analyse how national governance system and practices predetermine the creation, preservation, and reproduction of the patterns of governance in the water sector
- Analyse how the presence/absence of international development funding (agencies); shape water governance (reform) through its (their) role in engaging with political and administrative systems.
- Analyse how governance arrangements in the large scale irrigation and urban water supply sub-sectors differentially influence the implementation of water sector reforms
- Analyse how the characteristics of water infrastructure shape political and administrative water governance arrangements
- Derive short-term and long-term policy recommendations for water governance from these findings.
Expected results:
- Innovative analysis of governance challenges the water sector in India and Indonesia
- A new framework for systematic comparative analysis of governance reforms in the water sector
- Original contribution to national and global policy discussion on measures and strategies for implementation of water sector reforms.
About Preeta Dhar
Preeta is a doctoral candidate at SOAS University of London. She has trained and worked as a lawyer and policy researcher in India. She is interested in examining the complexities of governance and policy processes around natural resource governance. She is passionate about environmental rights, ecological justice, and participatory governance.
Her practice includes working on environmental litigations before the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal, working as a Parliamentary research Assistant and teaching at the School of Law, Environment and Planning at the Srishti Institute of Art Design and Technology. She has also worked on and coordinated research projects on transboundary water governance and coastal area management. Through her work, she looks at the interconnections of different practices and perspectives within the policy framework.
She holds a B.A.LL.B. (Hons.) from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore and has completed her LL.M. in Law and Development from the Azim Premji University, Bangalore.
LinkedIn profile: Preeta Dhar
Contact
Preeta Dhar
NEWAVE Early Stage Researcher, Ph.D. Candidate
SOAS University, United Kingdom
Website: www.soas.ac.uk
Prof. Peter Mollinga
Professor of Development Studies
Department of Development Studies, SOAS University, United Kingdom
Website: www.soas.ac.uk
Prof. François Molle
Directeur de Recherche Institute of Research for the Development (IRD), France
Website: www.en.ird.fr
Dr. Diana Suhardiman
Research Group Leader – Governance and Gender
International Water Management Institute (IWRM), Sri Lanka
Website: www.iwmi.cgiar.org
Dr. Barbara Schreiner
Executive Director
Water Integrity Network (WIN), Germany
Website: www.waterintegritynetwork.net
