Water Security: Governance, Inequalities, and Sustainability
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Water Management".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 April 2026 | Viewed by 56
Special Issue Editors
Interests: climate change; water utilities; governance and regulation; operations research; MCDA and optimization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
2. RCM2+, Universidade Lusófona, Campo Grande 376, 1749-024 Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: inequalities in access to water; water security; evaluation of environmental public policies; sustainability indicators; data envelopment analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: strategic environmental impact assessment; water marketing; sustainable assessment; monitoring of environmental public policy; sustainable development
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The key conversations on water security over the past 20 years have shown that, while its multifaceted nature offers opportunities for a comprehensive approach, it also presents challenges by permitting multiple interpretations, making quantification and implementation complex in regional and local contexts. This Special Issue focuses on a range of dimensions of water security and the strategies developed to achieve it through good governance and by addressing inequalities and promoting sustainability. The discussion will focus on how to fulfil water demand, taking into account economic welfare, social equity, and environmental sustainability, while also addressing relevant risks towards robustness, flexibility, and resilience.
Regarding water governance, we aim to explore how legal frameworks, institutions, and capacity-building can ensure a sustainable and equitable management of water resources. Regarding disparities, we aim to comprehend how various dimensions of water insecurity may disproportionately impact people who are subjected to discrimination based on their social standing, gender, race, ethnicity, disability, age, migration status, or other socioeconomic circumstances. Regarding sustainability, we discuss water security within the framework of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome, and research areas may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Water governance and policy frameworks for sustainable and equitable resource management;
- The impacts of social inequalities on water security;
- Interconnections between water security and natural (e.g., climate change) and anthropogenic (e.g., pollution) risks;
- Methods for measuring water sustainability;
- Resource allocation strategies for equitable and efficient water supply;
- Water security as an enabler of the SDGs, focusing on SDG6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), and SDG 13 (Climate Action).
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Francisco Silva Pinto
Dr. Tiago Balieiro Cetrulo
Prof. Dr. Natália Molina Cetrulo
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- water security
- governance
- social inequalities
- climate change
- sustainable water management
- resource allocation
- Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
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