Water Justice and Integrated Water Resources Management: Constitutionality Processes Favoring Sustainable Water Governance in Mexico

This research analyzes four ongoing water conflicts in Jalisco state, Mexico, through the lens of constitutionality. Constitutionality refers to a bottom-up institution building process based on the activation of emic perceptions of people who are often marginalized in policymaking, as well as on al...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Ochoa-García, Heliodoro, Rist, Stephan
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2018
País:México
Institución:Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente
Repositorio:Repositorio Institucional del ITESO
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:rei.iteso.mx:11117/5318
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/11117/5318
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Constitutionality
Integrated water resources managemet
Sustainable water governance
Water justice
Gobernanza sustentable del agua
Gestión integrada de los recursos hídricos
Justicia hídrica
Innovación institucional
Conflictos por agua
Descripción
Sumario:This research analyzes four ongoing water conflicts in Jalisco state, Mexico, through the lens of constitutionality. Constitutionality refers to a bottom-up institution building process based on the activation of emic perceptions of people who are often marginalized in policymaking, as well as on alliances with external actors, with the aim of achieving recognition by the state of self-created institutions. Results show that the constitutionality concept helps to link analysis of local people’s resistance movements against top-down water policies with an emerging process of institutional innovation that aims for more sustainable water governance. Local institutional innovations embody the principles of water justice; these are recognized by the state as being part of its own Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) policy, and thus find their way into state policy arenas. This analysis provided the basis for the formulation of a conceptual framework that integrates water conflicts, water justice, and IWRM into the concept of constitutionality.