Social water scarcity and water use : report to the Water Research Commission

Social scarcity of water refers to a social construct of ‘resource management’, which is determined by political, economic and social power dynamics underpinning the institutions that provide structure to social relations, security of access to bases of social power and productive wealth, and stability to the social organization of human societies. Since secure access to water is an integral part of people’s multi-faceted livelihoods, manifestations of social water scarcity become most evident at the micro-levels of social organization namely, communities and households at the local level. People at these micro-levels often perceive social water scarcity to be inadequacy of the quality and quantity of available water to meet their multiple-use requirements, which affects their capabilities to secure and enhance existing livelihood asset ‘portfolios’ against vulnerability to risks and hazards within their given contexts. As such, narratives over social water scarcity often allude to people’s unmet expectations for water services, on the one hand, and ‘wasteful’ water use, on the other hand. By contrast, narratives over social water security are often closely linked to narratives over livelihood sustainability. Such narratives are imbued with power dynamics underlying discourses over meanings and the structure of institutions governing social relations in organized society. [authors abstract]