Trayectorias conceptuales y modelos en tensión en torno a la gobernanza hídrica

Abstract

The article is an essay that analyzes the use and contemporary discussions surrounding the concept of water governance. To organize the debate, a typology was constructed based on: how they define and value the concept of water governance, what type of participation they promote, the role assigned to conflict, and the political horizon they propose. The result was a typology with three approaches: institutionalist, participatory, and radically critical. The institutionalist approach is mainly expressed through Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), which introduces the concept of water governance, favoring technical knowledge and an economic vision. Throughout the concept's development, visions have emerged that react against the reductionism of the institutionalist approach and propose, in the case of the participatory approach, more complex visions in which technical management gives way to polycentric, participatory, adaptive, and learning-based governance. For its part, the critical perspective takes a more radical stance that questions the very foundations of water governance as proposed by multilateral organizations. Within this approach, there is a bifurcation between those who propose abandoning the term and those who advocate for a reinterpretation of its meaning.