On the 28 April 2016, Dr. Naho Mirumachi organised a full day workshop entitled “Transformative natural resources governance: an explorative case of water, food and human wellbeing” which took place at King’s College London.
With the idea that adaptive practices may not suffice to address contemporary and future challenges in the water sector, participants discussed the potential for deliberate and incremental change in water governance systems, and what the bottlenecks to such changes might be. This closed-door workshop brought together academics, researchers from leading think tanks and consultancies, as well as King’s own PhD and MSc water students. The group shared empirical insights and professional experience on whether and how a transformative space for the governance of water, through linkages to food and human wellbeing can be created. Bringing expertise from research undertaken around the world but mostly from Eastern and Southern Africa, discussion focused on regulatory tools and rights that would have the potential to open up or constrain the options for addressing governance. Tensions and implications around considering water as an economic good were also debated. Finally, reflecting on the impacts of change (by whom and for whom) encouraged attendants to identify potential actors and institutions involved in transformative practices.
This workshop was funded by the Transformative Research Fellowship Scheme, under the ESRC Transformative Research programme