Tragedy of the Water Commons

Earth Matters

Transcript and Reference ListWhen most Australians can access all the water they could ever want with the simple twist of a tap it’s easy to think that water is a common resource. But even in our own backyard, Indigenous people are legally entitled to less than 0.1% of the Murray Darling Basin by the Australian government.Building on the concept of the “tragedy of the commons,” guest producers completing sociology at the University of Melbourne dive into the theory behind whether water can be collectively owned. Unpacking the sociology of sustainability, student producers are here to walk you through how climate racism and patriarchy operate to limit marginalised people’s right to water, and therefore right to life.Presenters & Topics:Zi Yuan: The tension between capitalism and water sustainability, focusing on the case study of the Fukushima dilemmaOla Wallis: Ecofeminism and the gender inequalities in relation to water access and sanitation, examining the experiences of low caste women in Mumbai, as well as Indigenous women in MoroccoBrionie Young: Looking at “epistemicides,” or the destruction of Indigenous knowledges through the colonisation of river systemsVida Davies: Indigenous in the case study of the Murray Darling river basin and the possibility of commoning water whilst upholding Indigenous sovereignty **Please note that producer Ola Wallis covers issues of sexual assault in discussion of ecofeminism at time stamps 7minutes-8minutes**Earth Matters #1434 was produced by Ola Wallis, Zi Yuan, Brionie Young & Vida Davies.