Foreword

Summary

The Centre for Environment Education is concerned with bringing more innovative strategies to the notice of policymakers and the general public in order to sensitize them to the need for environmentally sound decisions. The current series has been planned as a means of providing access to alternative viewpoints, presented by development theorists and practitioners from diverse fields, backed by analysis and information on various policy aspects.

Water resource management is an issue that is of paramount significance in a country where equitable access is still a major concern. Both men and women have specific needs when it comes to the issue of water. Water resource management systems in any society ultimately aim at securing ways and means of fulfilling all such needs, both long-term and short-term. Such systems have scientific and social dimensions and these have been addressed in a range of national and global forums. One of the ways of classifying water resource management systems is to look at them from the “domestic” and “productive” perspectives. Within the domestic sphere of these systems, almost universally, we find a clear-cut gender-based role differentiation. As domestic water managers, women are expected to play a significant role in several capacities: as selectors of water source, as carriers of water, as caretakers of the water needs of infants and children, and managers of family health and hygiene. Women also need access to water for livelihood needs, whether as farmers (irrigation) or for micro-enterprises.