Indigenous women, while water custodians in their own communities, have little say in water governance at large.

Achieving sustainable water resources management between 2015 and 2030 requires an estimated annual investment of $1.04 trillion. Yet in 2022, over 75 per cent of 121 countries and territories reported insufficient funding for water, sanitation and hygiene strategies. Service gaps particularly impact the most vulnerable women and girls, such as those from indigenous communities. In Paraguay, 50.2 per cent of women and girls in Indigenous households lack access to an improved water source within a 30-minute distance compared to just 3.8 per cent of women overall. Indigenous women in Guyana are nearly twice as likely to live without basic sanitation facilities compared to the national average (21.6 per cent and 10.9 per cent, respectively). These disparities stem from broader intersectional inequalities and exclusions, including historic failures to recognize Indigenous rights.

Effective water management rests on involving women and girls, especially Indigenous women and communities. They must have central roles in leading decisions about the conservation of resources with cultural and economic significance. Yet in 2023, only 19 per cent of countries cited regular participation by vulnerable groups in water management; only 29 countries have explicitly described indigenous peoples as among the “vulnerable groups” in their country. Some 14 per cent of countries still have limited or no gender mainstreaming mechanisms in water management. 

Even so, positive examples are emerging. In Southern Africa, joint water institutions have begun integrating gender mainstreaming in transboundary water cooperation; one example is the Limpopo Basin Commission’s Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Strategy (2021–2025). In Bolivia (Plurinational State of) and Peru, Indigenous women have played crucial parts in governing the Titicaca-Desaguadero-Poopó-Salar de Coipasa system. Efforts to address gender imbalances in transboundary water governance are rare, however. Renewed, targeted actions to achieve women’s access and participation are urgently needed.