Voices from the field - Experiences of WOTRO researchers in their Ph.D. or post-doc projects

10 september 2010

We asked five questions to Jaime Hoogesteger van Dijk, PhD researcher within the irrigation and water engineering group of Wageningen University & Research centre. Jaime studies social movements and collective action to defend water rights in the Ecuadorian Andes, which is part of a WOTRO Integrated Programme of Professor Vincent (WUR) and Dr. Salmon (Pontifical Catholic University of Peru).

My research contributes to a better understanding of how peasant and indigenous water user groups in the Ecuadorian Andes organize themselves. They forge strategic alliances at different scales to asset their claims on water and decision making power in water governance.

What is the main result of your research so far?
The organizational base on which grassroots organizations are able to mobilize the water users of the rural countryside for collective action is the community. Nonetheless, in the consolidation of provincial water user federations and national water movements some NGOs have played a critical role through institutional strengthening programs. At present, in Ecuador, the water centred networks and strategic alliances between grassroots organizations, local and national NGOs, universities and research institutes have become a strong political voice. They struggle for more equitable and democratic water policies and programs at provincial and national level.

Please describe one day in the field.
My alarm goes off, it’s four o’clock in the morning, today I’m joining a two day workshop to discuss how integrated watershed management can best be introduced in Ecuador. After a four hour bus ride we arrive in Cuenca. At the conference centre, representatives of different grassroots organizations, NGOs, state agencies and environmental groups from all over Ecuador arrive and at 9:00 the workshop starts. The day goes by with diverse presentations which are followed by heated discussions, in which inclusion, participation and representation of the water users in governance structures is a recurring issue. For the afternoon programme the National Minister of Water Affairs arrives with his advisory team. After the event I join the grassroots representatives for a late supper in town where we discuss the workshop held that day and the impact it might have on the Minister and the national water policies that are being developed.

What motivates you to do this research?
I am convinced that by researching and understanding the grassroots initiatives, I’ll get new insights on diverse ways in which water governance can be made more democratic, equitable and inclusive by including the often marginalized peasant and indigenous communities. Through my academic work, I hope to contribute to the water users struggles for more equitable and democratic water policies and programs.

Can you give your fellow researchers do’s and don’ts when starting a research of this kind in Latin America?
I have profited a lot from longstanding engagement through action research with our partners and their networks. I’ve learned the most from the day to day interactions and the participation in- and support of- their activities. This has given me much more insights into their struggles than unengaged interviews. I would also highly recommend researchers to work through networks; arriving at a community when being introduced often opens up doors.