Environmental Policy and Governance in Malawi

The first virtual event of Global Dialogues: The Worsening Water Crisis was moderated by Jackline Oluoch-Aridi, Director for Notre Dame International (NDI) Nairobi, Kenya and featured special guest Ellis Adjei Adams, Notre Dame Professor of Geography and Environmental Policy. The goal of this session was to expand on Prof. Adams’ current research and its three main domains: 1) urban water insecurity, 2) water policy and governance, and 3) gender, water, and sustainable development as well as his pre-recorded videos. 

The event consisted of a free-flowing discussion and Q+A session with Prof. Adams, led by Dr. Oluoch-Aridi. She began by asking Prof. Adams about his interest and work surrounding the issues of water and water governance and why he began researching these topics. Prof. Adams mentioned that these topics were not only research topics for him, but also topics from his childhood and things he has dealt with firsthand. He explained that water was not just for showering, etc but was central to many of the things his mother needed to do, such as cooking food. For Prof. Adams, he naturally came to focus on water and water quality for his thesis in university. However, after graduating and working for an NGO, Prof. Adams realized that the issue of water policy and access was even more important, and this became his focus during his post-graduate work in the United States.

Dr. Oluoch-Aridi went on to ask Prof. Adams about his views on if there is a global water crisis, based on his work all over the world relating to water access. Prof. Adams stated that there are different versions of the water crisis in different parts of the world. He also explained that there is only about 1% or less of the Earth’s water that we actually have easy access to. He went on to discuss the dimensions of the crisis to illustrate the point that the crisis might manifest differently depending on where you are:

1. The crises of overuse
2. The crisis of globalization and virtual water
3. The lack of basic water
4. The crisis of infrastructure 
5. The criss of too much water (flooding)

Prof. Adams went on to discuss his own recent research in Malawi in understanding decision-making around water and what it entails. He used an example of the process of getting water in Malawi for an average woman and the things they need to consider – what the shortest route is, how much money you have and if it’s enough for the water for the day, and the decision whether to take your laundry to the river to save water, the size of your family, etc. These factors have been included in Prof. Adams’ work and what he calls a “decision tree” to look at the thinking and emotions that comes with simply getting water. Prof. Adams further discussed the feminization of water and the expectations that have emerged in culture because of that. The expectations that have arisen surrounding what water is needed for include food/cooking and cleaning and Prof. Adams discussed how difficult it is for women to have to manage these unrealistic expectations while not always having the means to do so (i.e. If there is not enough water) while also putting their health at risk any time they need to collect water. 

Dr. Oluoch-Aridi went on to ask about the possible solutions to the problems outlined above. One thing Prof. Adams mentioned as a stumbling block was that there is a large disconnect between global policies and local processes. In relation to this, Prof. Adams brought up the UN Sustainability Goals and the inclusion of gender equality and dissecting the roles women play in societies. He notes that an issue with global policies is in political participation – countries may have female representation in political bodies, but that does not mean they are able to voice their opinions on water issues. He mentions that in general, policies need to do better with how they are coordinated, including women’s education and health. Prof. Adams went on to discuss the barriers women face in entering government and being elected, due to lack of education options, time constraints for campaigning, etc and that the government therefore tends to be very male-dominated. This is a good example of where representation does not mean active participation and it instead becomes a tokenism model where on paper, they can show women’s participation, but in reality this is not the case.

Dr. Oluoch-Aridi and Prof. Adams finished the event with questions from the audience, including questions surrounding Malawi as a case-study for water governance and the water crisis, a successful change regarding water governance within micro and local-level communities, and how COVID has affected the water crisis in countries in Africa and positive interventions by countries surrounding COVID and water.

Visit the event page for more.