Safa Fanaian, Quentin Grafton and Mai Nguyen will be presenting at the Second International Day for Water Justice on 26-27 January in Mexico. In this piece, they present their perspectives on water justice informed by the work of the Water Justice Hub and a recent comprehensive review of the water justice literature in WIREs Water based on 470 peer-reviewed publications (2012–2023), co-authored by them with Ana Manero.
Water justice, what is it good for? To the 4.4 billion in 2020 estimated to not have access to safely managed drinking water services it can be the difference between life and death. And it’s not just about drinking water. Only one in three people in low- and middle-income countries have access to safely managed drinking waterservices.
Climate change adds to the injustice by intensifying droughts, floods, and pollution and which magnify vulnerabilities among the already disadvantaged and vulnerable. Competition for scarce clean water between agricultural, industrial, and urban water uses often sidelines rural and Indigenous communities. The last 11 years comprise the warmest years ever recorded with the years 2023 (silver), 2024 (gold) and 2025 (bronze) delivering the world’s Hottest Olympics.
