New Water Policy and Practice Issue 4, Number 1, Fall 2017 | Page 55

New Water Policy & Practice Journal • Volume 4, Number 1 • Fall 2017
Water Governance: a Motivation
Introducing Larissa Varela:
L
arissa Varela—PhD student. Climate Change and
Policies for Sustainable Development—Developing
Research in Water Governance Assessment
In 2013 Larissa started the doctoral program of Cli-
mate Change and Policies for Sustainable Development, in
Instituto Superior Técnico—Lisbon University. Her research
study is in the field of Water Governance in Islands and
High-Water Stress Contexts.
Water Governance for fulfilling beyond a duty
I
used to dream, and still do, with water springs filled with water, drinkable
water in the streams and a green cloak covering all the landscape. This is
a scenario of satisfaction for those who live in the absolute water scarcity
countries and has to deal everyday with many difficulties to access water.
The commitment for improvement of this reality has promoted respect for
the needs, the power, and the influence of people, and, at the same time,
demanded intellectual capacity to overcome the challenges this same reality
imposes in harmony.
My first conscious interaction with water happened when I was still
a child, and began my first search for the satisfaction on water services. My
daily routine included a more than a kilometre track, going and coming back,
with three or four repetitions, to transport water for domestic and animal
consumption. Before I was 8 years old, I used to carry 10 litres of water. Until
I was 15, I carried either 20 or 25 litres of water on my head. It is important
to notice the high level of efficiency in water uses in the past. There was no
waste of water. However, the coverage of hygiene and cleaning services and
needs was very weak. We didn’t use water for the sanitary discharges. In
fact, we didn’t have toilets and defecation out in the open was a generalized
practice in the community. Water transportation wasn’t a solitary task. Every
woman and child