Inequality by the Gallon: The Hidden Water Powering Our Lives
About the session
Everyday products rely on vast amounts of hidden water. From the electronics we use to the food we eat, global supply chains often depend on water resources far from where those products are consumed. In many cases, the impacts are felt most acutely by communities in the Global South.
This interactive session explores the hidden water behind everyday consumption and its links to extractivism and water injustice. Using the lens of fair water footprints across global supply chains, the discussion will examine how patterns of consumption connect to water security and climate resilience for local communities.
The session will also introduce the Fair Water Action Fund, which supports decolonial and community led responses to water injustice, in a changing geopolitical context where civil society and community leaders face risks for speaking out, and traditional sources of funding and support are drying up.
Through a series of short case-based inputs, participants will explore how civil society is holding powerful actors to account and promoting responsible water stewardship so that water security for citizens, businesses, and ecosystems is protected and strengthened. Examples include the relationship between global food systems and water depletion in Peru, the role of mining in the electronics supply chain and its effects on water access in Zimbabwe, and how community champions are scaling up accountability for water in South Africa.
A panel featuring representatives from Zimbabwe and South Africa involved in Action Fund-supported work will reflect on their experiences, including how community led research and advocacy can shift the conversation around water justice by holding institutions and corporations to account. They'll explore advocacy approaches such as engaging collaboratively with duty bearers and, where appropriate, pursuing legal remedies.
The session will close with an open discussion inviting questions from funders, practitioners, and activists, and a reflection on why flexible, community led funding mechanisms are essential for addressing water injustice.
Who this is for
This session is for funders, practitioners, activists, and others interested in the intersection of water, climate resilience, and global supply chains. It is particularly relevant for those exploring how international collaboration and funding can better support community led responses to extractivism and water injustice.
What you will get out of it
A clearer understanding of the hidden water embedded in everyday products
Case examples from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Peru illustrating the impacts of global supply chains on local water access
Perspectives from community leaders involved in research, advocacy, and action
A discussion on how funding and partnerships can better support locally led solutions to water injustice, and opportunities to explore collaboration