Article-By-Pokharel-Et-Al1.Pdf

NEW Nepal Journal of Published by NPRN Pokharel etSocial al. Science and Natural resources and social justice agendaHosted in Nepalby SIAS ANGLE Public Policy Available at www.nepalpolicynet.com December 2018, Vol. 5(1), pp. 1-17 [in Press] WATER SECURITY IN URBAN WATER GOVERNANCE: A CASE STUDY OF DHULIKHEL MUNICIPALITY, KAVREPALANCHOWK, NEPAL Kushal Pokharel1, Tikeshwari Joshi2, Jagannath Adhikari3 & Kaustav Raj Neupane2 ABSTRACT This paper locates the issue of water ‘core’ areas, the paper depicts the growing security within the larger discourse of inequity across the 9 wards of Dhulikhel Environmental Justice which has become pertaining to water access and distribution more encompassing and broader in scope, based on caste, class, ethnicity and gender. forms and processes penetrating the Two fundamental questions that guide this issues of political, economic and cultural paper are: 1) Why disparities exist between distribution of resources. The concept of the core and fringe categories in Dhulikhel urban governance and water security is Municipality? 2) How does the core-fringe inextricably tied as the need of improved category shape the power of communities in water services historically grew with the water governance? The findings clearly the expansion of cities calling for critical show that there is a huge discrimination governance arrangements. In light of the between the core and the fringe, the above, this paper examines the existing state poor and the non-poor within the core in of water security in Dhulikhel. By examining water availability, distribution and decision the power relations between ‘fringe’ and the making. Establishing an equitable water 1 Independent Social Science Researcher, Corresponding Author: [email protected] 2 Southasia Institute of Advanced Studies (SIAS), Kathmandu, Nepal 3 Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia. © Pokharel et at., 2018 1 New Angle: Nepal Journal of Social Science and Public Policy Vol. 5(1), December 2018 justice system calls for uprooting the existing rooted in the notion of urban governance. social discrimination in water security to With the expansion of the state and its empower the fringe communities. services, demand for improved water system increased. The concept of water security Keywords : water security, core and fringe, emphasizes access to safe, affordable and Dhulikhel, environmental justice clean water for every person to enable a healthy and productive life including the protection of the communities from INTRODUCTION water borne diseases and water-induced disasters (GWP, 2000). Asian Development Universal notion of justice and equity Bank framework for national water security has remained highly elusive although the prioritizes the security needs of cities, movements for these goals are growing. environment, resilient communities and Such concepts are deeply entrenched in economies (AWDO, 2013). the real needs and struggles of people and are often linked with the notion of While there is a plethora of literature on sustainability (Agyeman, Bullard and Evans, water security in agrarian contexts (Boelens 2002). Embedded in this idea is the principle et al., 1998), urban contexts (Bakker, of environmental justice, the use of which 2001; Debanne and Keil, 2004), or at the has become more encompassing that regional level (Giordano and Wolf, 2001), links marginalization with environmental limited studies related to the issues of services and is considered important for equity and justice in peri-urban contexts sustainable development. Instead of a are available (Allen et al., 2006; Edwards, universal use of the term, the concept of 2002). Moreover, the question of how peri- Environmental Justice (EJ) is increasingly urban transformation shapes water access applied in a contextualized way so that it is and affects water justice remains an under- more relevant in helping to solve problems. researched area. The term ‘environment’ itself has become Nepal is one of the rapidly urbanizing more comprehensive inclucating the access countries in Asia. According to the of environmental goods and resources- economic survey of 2015-16, 42 percent water, energy and greenspace and the of the population in Nepal lives in urban natural as well as technologically produced areas (MOF, 2016). The problem of water risks (Walker et al., 2006; Adger et al., 2003; insecurity in peri-urban fringe has become Pelling, 2005). more critical not due to technical problems Within this larger discourse of EJ, issues like burgeoning air pollution, falling relating to water security have greatly groundwater levels but more importantly emerged. The history of water security is by the process of socio-cultural and political marginalization. Access to piped water in 2 Pokharel et al. Natural resources and social justice agenda in Nepal urban areas declined from 68% to 58% the 9 wards of Dhulikhel in terms of water from 2003 to 2010 as a result of growing access and distribution. We use the term social inequality and economic disparities ‘fringe’ in the context of power relationships manifested in inadequate service delivery to refer to areas that are politically and and sustained increase in urban population physically marginal to an incorporated city. (World Bank, 2013). We also look into how the fringe is formed from historical marginalization within the What is more concerning is the ‘core urban’ and rural areas adjoining the disproportionate impact of water scarcity urban, which later develops as urban fringe in the urban society. Widespread poverty in the process of expansion. coupled by lack of access to productive resources have increased the vulnerabilities We begin with problematizing the water of the marginalized groups including justice system in our context followed by women, children, old aged and differently a section on the conceptual review of the abled people which often manifest in their wider discourses of water justice and equity inability to get access to water as a basic under the notion of EJ. Two fundamental human need. Three issues are crucial in questions that guide this paper are: Why the context of assessing the water justice disparities exist between the core and fringe scenario in Nepal: fair distribution of categories in Dhulikhel Municipality? and; benefits, burdens and risks related to water How does the core-fringe category shape resource development; the recognition the power of the communities in water- of diverse needs and values; their just based governance? In the next section, representation in policy making arenas (Sen, we present the empirical findings on the 2009). The escalation of tensions between situation of water availability including communities and states have manifested management and distribution system, in the development of large-scale water participation of various groups in the infrastructures in Nepal (Gyawali, 2013). decision-making processes and further Moreover, Onta and Tamang (2013) analyze the disproportionate access to and discusses the water resource development control over water resources in core and characteristics in Nepal from the standpoint fringe communities. of under representation of the marginalized and disadvantaged groups in the project design and weak accountability structures. THE JUSTICE CONUNDRUM In light of the above, this paper examines the As the universal notion of justice has existing state of water security in Dhulikhel remained elusive in the absence of a municipality. By examining the power unifying framework and conceptual clarity relations between ‘fringe’ and the ‘core’ (Ikeme, 2003), alternative interpretations area, we depict the growing inequity across 3 New Angle: Nepal Journal of Social Science and Public Policy Vol. 5(1), December 2018 of justice examining its moral and the the distributive justice underpins the idea ideological character have resulted in of ‘justice to whom’ encompassing the multiple perspectives within the practical demographic and gendered differences and analytical contexts. While scholars along with the rights of the future generation emphasize the diversity in the theory (Dobson, 1998). Furthermore, the fairness of justice and rejects the possibility of a of the processes in the distribution of measurable and universal notion (Debbane environmental goods and services imply and Keil, 2004), the theoretical contestation the equitable opportunities for individuals is rife with the issue of ‘redistribution’ and communities to mitigate risks (Walker vs ‘recognition’, the latter becoming et al., 2005). more dominant demanding a differential treatment of the racial, ethnic and gendered identity (Fraser, 1996; Scholsberg, 2004). ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND The principle of recognition takes into WATER SECURITY account the locally grounded dynamics of inequities across different scales- the term Building a strong and resilient water local not being confined to geographic system is high on the international political space but more importantly signaling the agenda but lack of unanimously acceptable multi-scalar interaction of institutions and definition of water security remains processes (Debanne and Keil, 2004). pertinent. In an attempt to provide a more Transcending beyond its origin and measurable and acceptable definition, Grey initial framing in the US, the concept and Sadoff (2007) explain this concept as of environmental justice has become the availability of an acceptable quantity more encompassing and broader in and quality of water for health, livelihoods,

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