Governing waters as a common

The "Governing waters as a common: Innovative experiences of coproduction in South East Asia" project brings together targeted academics and NGOs from Europe, South-East Asia, and Australia, to form a interdisciplinary and international network to lead the discussion on governing waters as a common and to investigate new modalities of water governance based on coproduction processes.

The proposed core question discussed in this project is: How do we understand water as a complex, interrelational system, and what are the conditions for a dynamic of change? To investigate this research question, we will address: (1) an exploration of innovations in water governance approaches and perspectives in 3 countries (Thailand, Indonesia, France); (2) how ‘commoning approaches’ support changes in water access and livelihoods; (3) the role of coproduction – considering the role of the facilitator and power relationships – in transformative processes; and (4) how spatial and political contexts, and power hierarchies at the international, national and local levels, impact on inclusive water public policies. We will document empirical case studies and elaborate an innovative theoretical framework.

Three network events (workshops, field visits, writing retreats) will be organized each year of the project: in Thailand (2023), Indonesia (2024), France (2025) involving scholars and civil society.

Network coordinators

• Catherine Baron, Lereps, Political Institute of Toulouse and LAVUE/CNRS, Paris Nanterre
• Karen Delfau, PhD, Lereps, Political Institute of Toulouse, France

Network partners

• Alexandre Gaudry, PhD candidate, Political Science Institute, Toulouse, France
• Jean-François Kibler, Program Director, GRET, France (NGO)
• Michelle Kooy, IHE, Netherlands
• Chayanis Krittasudthacheewa, Deputy Director, Asia Centre, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and Director of SUMERNET, Bangkok
• Kanokwan Manorom, Associate Professor and Director of MSSRC, University of Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand
• Carl Middleton, Director CSDS, Associate Professor, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
• Anindrya Nastiti, Assistant Professor, Bandung Institute of Technology, Indonesia
• Jérôme Samuel, Director CNRS / IRASEC, UMIFRE, Thailand
• Pichamon Yeophantong, Associate Professor, Deakin University, Australia and Australian Research Council Fellow

Agenda

June 15 and 16, 2023: "Assessing ‘Successful’ Community Based Research: How has Knowledge been Co-Produced?" workshop
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