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The Hidden Politics of Water Systems with Margreet Zwarteveen

Professor Margreet Zwarteveen, an internationally recognised scholar of water governance, irrigation, gender, and the politics of natural resources, speaks about how a technical solution always reflects a social choice.

May 12, 2026

Why is water never just a technical problem? Who gets water, who loses access, and who gets to decide?

In this episode of The Water Data Podcast, host Veena Srinivasan speaks with Professor Margreet Zwarteveen, an internationally recognised scholar of water governance, irrigation, gender, and the politics of natural resources.

 


Margreet Zwarteveen is Professor of Water Governance Education at IHE Delft and Professor of Governance and Inclusive Development at the University of Amsterdam. Trained first as an irrigation engineer and later as a social scientist, her work bridges engineering, social science, policy, activism and citizen science.

In this conversation, Margreet argues that water systems are never neutral. Every dam, canal, borewell, drip irrigation system, water market or performance indicator shapes who gets access to water, who carries risk, whose labour is recognised, and whose knowledge counts.

The episode explores how irrigation schemes have historically ignored women’s land and water rights, how “farmer participation” can sometimes shift costs and responsibilities onto farmers, and how water markets and titling can deepen inequality. It also looks at why efficiency metrics can be misleading, how women’s water work is often invisible, and why groundwater control increasingly depends on who can invest in wells, pumps and pipelines.

This episode is essential listening for students, researchers, water professionals, policymakers, practitioners, funders and anyone interested in building more just and inclusive water systems.

Resources:

  1. Margreet Zwarteveen- LinkedIn, Website, Google scholar
  2. Zwarteveen, Margreet. (2010). The politics of gender in water and the gender of water politics. The Politics of Water. A Survey.
  3. Zwarteveen, M. (2017). Hydrocracies, Engineers and Power: Questioning Masculinities in Water*. Engineering Studies, 9(2), 78–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/19378629.2017.1358730
  4. Zwarteveen, M. Z., & Boelens, R. (2014). Defining, researching and struggling for water justice: some conceptual building blocks for research and action. Water International, 39(2), 143–158. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2014.891168
  5. Transformations to groundwater sustainability: from individuals and pumps to communities and aquifers
  6. Shaping the contours of groundwater governance in India
  7. Roth D, Zwarteveen M, Joy KJ, Kulkarni S. Water Governance as a Question of Justice: Politics, Rights, and Representation. In: Boelens R, Perreault T, Vos J, eds. Water Justice. Cambridge University Press; 2018:43-58.

The WELL Labs Show features rich conversations on water, environment, land and livelihoods, from the people and partners of WELL Labs. Hosted by Pavan Srinath, each episode explores complex environmental and social issues and helps you understand systems and dynamics better.

Subscribe to The WELL Labs show on the WELL Labs YouTube channel. 

Recording by Nabina Chakraborty and Nanditha Gogate  

Video editing by Vraj Acharya

Graphics and artwork by Kanishka Goyal and Aparna Nambiar

Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath

 

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