Toward a feminist political ecology of household food and water security during drought in northern Nicaragua

Lisa C Kelley,Iris T Stewart,Christopher M Bacon

doi:10.5751/es-12716-270116

Abstract

Bacon, C., L. C. Kelley, and I. T. Stewart. 2021. Toward a feminist political ecology of household food and water security during drought in northern Nicaragua. Ecology and Society 27(1):16. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-12716-270116

Highlights

Despite growing global concern about rural food and water access, research assessing how food and water security relate to each other, gender, and institutions remains comparatively sparse (Wutich and Brewis 2014)
We conducted a mixed-methods comparative case study in northern Nicaragua, with smallholders from two neighboring communities that differed in water availability and institutional strength, using a feminist political ecology framework and food and water security definitions that focus on access, availability, use, and stability
Our study highlights the need for theory, methods, and field research that integrate the analysis of food and water security, and it contributes to developing a feminist political ecology approach that unifies this analysis with a focus on gender

Summary

Introduction

Despite growing global concern about rural food and water access, research assessing how food and water security relate to each other, gender, and institutions remains comparatively sparse (Wutich and Brewis 2014). The gap in research linking food and water security is compounded by a still comparatively small body of holistic, comparable research methods for assessing household and individual experiences of water security (Jepson et al 2017, Young et al 2019). We use an interdisciplinary, mixed-methods approach rooted in feminist political ecology (FPE; Rocheleau et al 1996, Elmhirst 2011, Sundberg 2017) to understand the connections between food and water security, gender, and institutions in northern Nicaragua. FPE studies critically examine how meanings about nature, gender, and associated biophysical processes are co-produced and altered over time

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion