Session Description: Discussion Panel (session one of four): The relationship between water and development is at the top of the agenda, in both academic and policy circles. Much attention has been given to the ability of water to foster development, largely through the need to extend access to water - above all drinking water - to poorer groups in low-income countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. At the same time, hazards research has focused on the power of water-related disasters, such as droughts and floods, to reduce the (potential) benefits of development to improve lives and livelihoods. These two elements converge in the idea that we are in the midst of a 'global water crisis'. Drawing on various debates, the sessions explore and discuss the multi-faceted relationship between water and development in different contexts. In particular, we wish to consider what these new insights can bring to bear on the multiple and contradictory roles that water plays in development, in terms of the power relations embedded within it, the meanings and discourses that are produced and mobilized, the styles of governance that are adopted, and the material outcomes of development interventions.
