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Achieving water security is one of the major global challenges in the age of climate change, urbanization, rapid population increase, and weak water institutions. Despite the proliferation of water institutions and policies at national and local levels, the slow response to address water scarcity remains a puzzle in Nepal. This study investigated the state of water insecurity in relation to institutional structures, particularly focusing at the local level in Nepal. A qualitative research approach was used in two case study cities: Dhulikhel in central Nepal and Dharan in the east. The study found that failing to achieve water security is not due to a lack of an abundant supply of physical water in the country; rather, the problem is more about resolving the institutional complexity resulting from the existence of multiple water institutions with overlapping and competing roles and responsibilities. The authors conclude that strengthening institutional capacity is the key, including some fundamental rethinking to ensure clearly articulated and complementary roles, responsibilities, and relationships.

Gender‐based inequality has long been recognized as a challenge in water governance and urban development. Women do most of the water collection‐related tasks in the majority of low‐income country's urban areas, as they do in rural areas for drinking, household consumption, kitchen gardening, and farming. However, their voice is rarely heard in water governance. When climate change exacerbates water scarcity, it becomes harder for people to secure water with more pronounced effects on women. Drawing on the narratives of men and women involved in water management practices and also the views of the stakeholders who are part of water resource management in two towns in Nepal, this paper demonstrates emerging forms of gender inequality concerning access to and control over water resources, as well as associated services such as sanitation. We found that women's voice in water governance is systematically excluded, and such gender‐based disadvantage intersects with economic disadvantage as women in low‐income poor urban settlements are experiencing additional difficulty in accessing water and sanitation services. Gender inequity persists in the urban water sector, and of course the wider social structures, despite some progressive policy changes in recent years, such as the 30% quota reserved for women in local‐level water management bodies in Nepal. The paper concludes that tackling gender inequity in water management requires a transformative approach that seriously takes into account women's voice, critical awareness, and open deliberation over the causes and consequences of the current approaches and practices. Moreover, gender‐inclusive outcomes on water management are linked to changes in areas outside of the water sector, such as property ownership structures that constrain or enable women's access to water and related services.

This article explores the dynamics of brokerage at the intersection between the justice conceptions enshrined in global norms and the notions of justice asserted in specific socio-environmental struggles. Using the case of a small hydropower project in Nepal, we trace the attempts of an indigenous activist to enrol villagers in his campaign against the background of villagers' everyday negotiations with the hydropower company. The study shows how global norms, such as indigenous peoples' rights, may fail to gain traction on the ground or even become sources of injustice in particular contexts. RÉSUMÉ Cet article explore les négociations et les dynamiques d'intermédiation qui interviennent à l'intersection des conceptions de la justice inscrites dans les normes internationales et celles qui sont revendiquées dans des luttes socio-environnementales spécifiques. À partir du cas d'un petit projet hydroélectrique au Népal, nous décrivons comment un activiste autochtone a tenté de convaincre les villageois de se joindre à sa campagne, dans le contexte de négociations quotidiennes entre les villageois et l'entreprise hydroélectrique. L'étude montre que les normes internationales, comme les droits des peuples autochtones, risquent de ne pas être respectées sur le terrain ou même d'être des sources d'injustice dans certains contextes.

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