http://rsj.e-contentmanagement.com/ Latest Articles Web Feed from Rural Society Journal http://rsj.e-contentmanagement.com/archives/vol/18/issue/3/article/2581 2008-12-01 00:00:00 http://rsj.e-contentmanagement.com/archives/vol/18/issue/3/article/2582 2008-12-01 00:00:00 http://rsj.e-contentmanagement.com/archives/vol/18/issue/3/article/2583 The World Bank imported the concept of Water User Association (WUA) to China in 1994, promoting participatory irrigation management in China to address the increasing scarcity of water resources. The purpose was to involve rural communities in water use and management in a more equitable, fair, effective and sustainable way. This has led 2008-12-01 00:00:00 http://rsj.e-contentmanagement.com/archives/vol/18/issue/3/article/2584 Water insecurity is one of the most pressing issues currently faced by Malawi. The consequences of these issues are borne significantly by women, who are most directly involved with water provision and use, particularly at the household level. Since the mid-1990s, Malawi has undertaken a process of water policy reform. Reflective of inte 2008-12-01 00:00:00 http://rsj.e-contentmanagement.com/archives/vol/18/issue/3/article/2585 Water collection in rural areas of Uganda is left primarily to women and children. Katosi Women Development Trust, an NGO based in rural Uganda has focused on addressing the gender-linked issue of increased water sources near the home through the construction of rain water collection tanks. In an effort to improve the income of members as well as d 2008-12-01 00:00:00 http://rsj.e-contentmanagement.com/archives/vol/18/issue/3/article/2586 An important area in the discourse on gender and water is water supply where women are seen as the key actors and beneficiaries. A human rights approach to development has been adopted with access to safe water explicitly recognized as a basic human right. This right places a legal obligation upon governments to translate the international norms in 2008-12-01 00:00:00 http://rsj.e-contentmanagement.com/archives/vol/18/issue/3/article/2587 In rural sub-Saharan Africa, small scale water abstraction could be described as the manual withdrawal of water usually from the banks of shallow surface water systems by people with the aid of 10- and/or 20-litre containers mainly for domestic use. The gender composition of human visitors during water abstraction at the middle and upper reaches o 2008-12-01 00:00:00 http://rsj.e-contentmanagement.com/archives/vol/18/issue/3/article/2588 Drinking water is one of the most vital elements to the well-being of all species on earth, yet is something many humans in developed nations take for granted. Drawing from face-to-face interviews with 169 Australian residents in five capital cities (Brisbane, Hobart, Melbourne, Sydney) and rural locations (Wagga Wagga and other localities), w 2008-12-01 00:00:00 http://rsj.e-contentmanagement.com/archives/vol/18/issue/3/article/2589 Water, or lack of it, has become an issue of national and international significance. Who gets it and for what purpose are critical decisions being made right around the globe. In this paper we argue that the bodies through which these decisions are made are significantly gendered, with men dominating the ranks of water decision making bodies. 2008-12-01 00:00:00 http://rsj.e-contentmanagement.com/archives/vol/18/issue/3/article/2590 In January 2007, South-East Queensland became the first region in Australia to formally decide to introduce recycled water into the drinking supplies. Internationally, although water recycling occurs in the United States, United Kingdom, Singapore and Belgium, surprisingly little is known about public perceptions. This article explores g 2008-12-01 00:00:00