A mechanism that bonds all life on this planet is the basic structural need and instinctual survival tendencies for water. The root of any success of an individual or any group of individuals, is to first have their basic needs met. The basic needs of individuals today are broad ranging and can be hard to define or categorize to a simple list. However, one need that that will always remain a necessity for human life is water. Since water is so substantial, it can be used to manipulate and control groups of people and to dominate power over particular societies - often marginalized communities. Traditionally, when water ‘scarcity’ and a water ‘crisis’ arise, they are perceived as natural phenomenons or as originating with little to no human
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The concept that all communities, across national or transnational borders, will be affected similarly is often not true and many times the opposite. With that being said, some individuals have the privilege of receiving safe nontoxic water right to their home, while others must walk miles for water that will often make them sick. When a certain community is facing issues with water depletion or water toxicity, the focus must be centralized to their communities so that the solution can reflect the context of the situation. Generalizing can undermine the affected communities and take away any needed attention from their context and story. As stated by Margreet Z. Zwarteveen and Rutgerd Boelens in Defining, researching and struggling for water justice: some conceptual building blocks for research and action, “Often, for example, water scarcity is presented as a global and natural phenomenon that threatens humanity as a whole. Yet, not everyone is equally threatened by water scarcity […]and accumulation by some often goes hand in hand with deepening scarcity as experienced by others” (Zwarteveen and Boelens 145). From this lens, we can see that the interplay with power dynamics and the potential for abuse and exploitation is high. When resources are depleted from one community, another community or group of individuals can
The concept that all communities, across national or transnational borders, will be affected similarly is often not true and many times the opposite. With that being said, some individuals have the privilege of receiving safe nontoxic water right to their home, while others must walk miles for water that will often make them sick. When a certain community is facing issues with water depletion or water toxicity, the focus must be centralized to their communities so that the solution can reflect the context of the situation. Generalizing can undermine the affected communities and take away any needed attention from their context and story. As stated by Margreet Z. Zwarteveen and Rutgerd Boelens in Defining, researching and struggling for water justice: some conceptual building blocks for research and action, “Often, for example, water scarcity is presented as a global and natural phenomenon that threatens humanity as a whole. Yet, not everyone is equally threatened by water scarcity […]and accumulation by some often goes hand in hand with deepening scarcity as experienced by others” (Zwarteveen and Boelens 145). From this lens, we can see that the interplay with power dynamics and the potential for abuse and exploitation is high. When resources are depleted from one community, another community or group of individuals can