Faculty of Economic, Social and Political Sciences and Communication (ESPO)/Centre for Development Studies (DVLP)

Challenges

Explore the link between the transition from a ‘supply management’ to a ‘demand management’ policy in Tunisia and demands for social justice in a context of water stress.

Since Tunisia’s independence in 1956, the country has focused on ‘supply management’ in the water sector, i.e., the maximum mobilisation of water resources using modern hydraulic infrastructure. In the 1980s, the country was impacted by a severe economic crisis. Under pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB), Tunisia adopted a Structural Adjustment Programme in 1986 aimed at strengthening the economic performance of various sectors and the liberalisation of the economy. Since then, Tunisia’s water policy has gradually shifted towards ‘demand management’. At the same time, the country has seen a rise in social demands in recent years. These reflect the urgent demands for social justice by marginalised populations, which also targeted the water sector, due to frequent water supply cuts, water pollution, water grabbing by certain actors and other water-related problems in a context of repeated droughts since 2015.

The aim of this research is to investigate the link between the transition from ‘supply management’ to ‘demand management’ on the one hand, and demands for social justice on the other, in a context of water stress. We investigate three dimensions of social justice in the water sector (‘water justice’), namely ‘recognition’, ‘participation’ and ‘(re)distribution’. These dimensions are analysed using three case studies in Tunisia (on the local level, in the Medjerda River basin, and on the national level, in relation to the draft for a new Water Code) in order to understand how the transition from ‘supply management’ to ‘demand management’ affects each of these dimensions.

UCLouvain’s contribution

The starting premise for this research was the water crisis in Tunisia, more specifically in the Medjerda River basin. On the one hand, the researcher's academic work is a reflection of their personal commitment to provide a response to popular demands for social justice in general and water justice in particular, which are part of the current socio-political reality in Tunisia. On the other, this research ties in perfectly with the field of research of the Centre for Development Studies (DVLP) at UCL Louvain. The latter brings together researchers who, while adopting a critical approach to development discourse and practices, seek to shed light on some of the issues that shape the future of our contemporary societies in a globalised world.