Heterodox Thinking on Water Economics, Values, and Governance
Global water crises are, finally, near the top of the agendas at the United Nations and at multilateral initiatives and organizations. A social sciences– and humanities-informed emerging literature that we call Heterodox Thinking offers alternatives to much of the current decision-making on water. Rooted in water economics, values, and governance, Heterodox Thinking comprises developments in nonmarket valuation, systems thinking, risk assessments and mitigation, infrastructure investments, and understanding injustices and relationality. It is characterized by the Three Ps: People (e.g., who has voice and power and who does not), Place (e.g., locally informed and justice-based), and Planet (e.g., system interconnections, risks, and ecological and nonhuman considerations). At its best, Heterodox Thinking is informed by on-the-ground evidence and multiple disciplines and knowledge, and it seeks to value water, expose power imbalances, support human rights and well-being, and mitigate systemic risks. If effectively operationalized, it can deliver more equitable, risk-mitigated, and sustainable responses to the many different and localized water crises.
Authors
- Long Chu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2954-0575)
- Wikton Adamowicz
- Roy Brouwer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0525-2050)
- Julia Talbot-Jones (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8425-1792)
- Luc Doyen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8272-6187)
- Edoardo Borgomeo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8351-9064)
- Darla Hatton MacDonald (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1374-9128)
- Ana Manero (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3636-9534)
- Cecilia Tortajada (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6308-4924)
- Sonia Akter (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5644-9403)
- John Williams
- Sheri Longboat
- Nhat-Mai Nguyen
- Sarah Wheeler
- Lien Le
- James Horne
- Paul Wyrwoll
- Djiby Thiam
- Sarah Milne
- William Nikolakis
- Peter Coombes
- Safa Fanaian
- R. Quentin Grafton
- Jesper Svensson
- Asit Biswas
- Tom Kompas
- Claudia Ringler
- Rita Martins
- Pamela Katic
Institutions
- Australian National University (AU)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- University of Tasmania (AU)
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- International Food Policy Research Institute (US)
- University of Waterloo (CA)
- University of Alberta (CA)
- University of Cape Town (ZA)
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- Flinders University (AU)
- The University of Western Australia (AU)
- Lund University (SE)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Government of South Australia (AU)
- Government of New Zealand (NZ)
- Victoria University of Wellington (NZ)
- Nepal Development Research Institute (NP)
- Institut de Recherche en Infectiologie de Montpellier (FR)
- Wilmar International (Singapore) (SG)
- University of Greenwich (GB)
- Wilfrid Laurier University (CA)
- University of Coimbra (PT)
- University of Glasgow (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Annual Review of Environment and Resources
- Published
- 2026-04-30
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-112624-021419
- Primary Topic
- Water Governance and Infrastructure
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00