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Second Call for Papers Association of American Geographers 2008 Annual Meeting, April 15-19th Boston, MA Water and Development: A Fluid Relationship? Organizers: Farhana Sultana (King's College London) and Jessica Budds (The Open University) Sponsored by Cultural and Political Ecology Specialty Group and Water Resources Specialty Group The relationship between water and development is at the top of the agenda, in both academic and policy circles. Much attention has been given to the ability of water to foster development, largely through the need to extend access to water - above all drinking water - to poorer groups in low-income countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. At the same time, hazards research has focused on the power of water-related disasters, such as droughts and floods, to reduce the (potential) benefits of development to improve lives and livelihoods. These two elements converge in the idea that we are in the midst of a 'global water crisis'. Policy research and interventions have mostly focused on the need to improve the water situation of low-income groups by increasing access to water through piped systems, and undertaking more effective water resources management. These objectives are reflected in the Millennium Development Goals and Integrated Water Resources Management. While they are also increasingly inflected by market-oriented (or 'neoliberal') approaches, they continue to acknowledge the need for stakeholder and citizen participation. Such interventions, however, tend to be largely technocratic in nature, and often fail to interrogate the (problematic) notions of 'water' and 'development' that they are based upon. Recent work, by human geographers in particular, has reconfigured the relationship between water and society, whereby social power is embedded within flows of water, rather than external to them. Such developments have allowed scholars to use water as a 'lens' through which to explore changing social relations (inequalities, discourses) and physical space (landscapes, infrastructure). These perspectives have given us a fresh insight into the particular processes through which water has produced, coproduced and reproduced political ecologies in particular places. At the same time, post-development debates have centered on the idea that development may actually be counter-productive to the ends that it seeks to achieve, which, themselves, are often guided by 'Western' notions of modernity. Drawing on these debates, we invite papers that explore and discuss the multi-faceted relationship between water and development in different contexts. In particular, we wish to consider what these new insights can bring to bear on the multiple and contradictory roles that water plays in development, in terms of the power relations embedded within it, the meanings and discourses that are produced and mobilized, the styles of governance that are adopted, and the material outcomes of development interventions. Paper can address, but are not limited to, the following: . How have notions of a global water crisis influenced water politics and development initiatives? . What role has water's symbolic dimensions played in challenging and/or reconfiguring development schemes, such as privatization? . How have development initiatives around water (e.g. introduction of new technologies) transformed social relations (e.g. class, gender, race, ethnicity) in low-income contexts? . How are processes and discourses of neoliberalization influencing relations between donors, NGOs and clients in water resources management in the global South? . How have water rights schemes been negotiated and implemented, and how have these changed social relations and control over water on the ground? . How do Integrated Water Resources Management schemes (and the like) reconfigure socio-political relations within river basins? . How does the materiality of water disrupt narratives of developmental success, and what does it mean for understanding the socio-ecological role of water in development? . How can we further our understanding of the political ecologies of water-related natural disasters? . What are the politics of community water schemes, and to what extent can they challenge top-down interventions, as well as contribute towards the water needs of low-income groups? Please send in a title and brief abstract (max. 200 words) to Dr. Farhana Sultana ([log in to unmask]) before Oct. 15th, 2007. Please note that no financial assistance is available for this event. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~ Dr. Farhana Sultana Department of Geography King's College London The Strand London WC2R 2LS U.K. Tel: +44 (0)20 7848 1372 Fax: +44 (0)20 7848 2287 Email: [log in to unmask] Website: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/sspp/geography/people/acad/sultana/ ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~