The ever-present relationship between large river basins and development has been a feature of global political economy for hundreds of years. A recognisable ‘water crisis’ narrative emerged in the last few decades of the 20th Century, which shifted attention to improving water governance and considering systems interconnectedness – a concept epitomised, perhaps, in the water-energy-food nexus advocated in policy circles and key global water events. Yet these relatively technocratic narratives have sat somewhat uneasily alongside wider discourse on values, the politics of contestation, everyday struggles over water and, increasingly, the actions taken up to deal with climate change.

Embedded in these new concerns and challenges are global politics of trade, shifting geopolitics,aid siloes, climate security and post-colonial legacies. These processes of complex value(re)construction, absorption and contestation are beginning to shape river basin systems in newways.

We are excited to be launching a webinar series at this particular moment of 2021, when theWorld Water Day 2021 theme is on valuing water. In this multi-episode series, we will examine values from a political economy perspective and with respect to a selection of the world’s key river basins and regions. Extending our thinking beyond the ‘water box’, we invite a range of speakers from multiple fields to join in on the conversation.