Gender, Politics, and Water in Australia and Bangladesh

Citation:

Alston, Margaret. 2019. "Gender, Politics, and Water in Australia and Bangladesh." In People and Climate Change: Vulnerability, Adaptation, and Social Justice, edited by Lisa Reyes Mason and Jonathan Rigg, 165-83. New York: Oxford University Press.

Author: Margaret Alston

Keywords: water, gender, women, policy, Australia, Bangladesh

Annotation:

Summary:
In the wake of climate change, environmental degradation, and increasing global populations, food and water security are under threat throughout the world. This chapter focuses on the impacts of climate change on water security in Australia and Bangladesh, noting in particular the gendered implications and the way policies influence and shape gendered responses. In Bangladesh, for example, following disasters, access to safe, uncontaminated water may involve women walking significant distances. Australian research has examined the impact of water policies on gendered livelihood strategies as farming families readjust to their reduced access to irrigation water. A critical feature of this chapter is an examination of the way water has become “commodified” and reconfigured around new forms of market value. The chapter poses questions about the ongoing impact of water insecurity in the face of predicted and extreme climate events. (Summary from Oxford Scholarship Online)

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Livelihoods, Security, Food Security Regions: Asia, South Asia, Oceania Countries: Australia, Bangladesh

Year: 2019