Just water futures: Michael Pryke joins global network

Professor Michael Pryke has become part of Just Water Futures, a global network of scholars and activists providing evidence-based interventions into the questions related to water financing and the increasing power of financial actors in water governance. Founded in October 2024 in Hannover, Germany, the network emerged from discussions on the impact of financialization on the hydro-social cycle, from Thames Water in London to the Water Futures market in California and new hydro-power infrastructures in Brazil and India. We identify a critical gap: while water justice movements have successfully politicised the privatisation of water services and challenged water grabs globally, international water forums continue to champion public-private partnerships, blended finance, market-based conservation and impact investing as solutions to realising SDG6 and the Human Right to Water and Sanitation. Water corporations have responded by skillfully arguing that private water can successfully contribute to the human right to water in this process. Cash-strapped municipalities and public providers often lack accessible evidence-based policy alternatives. Just Water Futures exists to bridge this gap. Find out more about Just Water Futures here: https://justwaterfutures.org/