Bringing production back to development

Jessica Budds is Professor of Development Geography at the University of Bonn since 2022. She has an interdisciplinary background in Latin American studies and environmental studies, and has worked at the interface of human geography and development studies over the last two decades, with a regional focus on Latin America. Her research explores how economic change shapes environmental policy in the Global South, and its implications and effects for the lives, livelihoods and landscapes of low-income groups. Her main foci have comprised neoliberal policies including water privatisation and markets, the increased demand for water for industrial sector growth, and the concept and implementation of water security, especially in response to drought. She uses a framework based on hydrosocial relations to understand how water-society relations are shaped by power, and the implications and effects of these in different contexts. She also co-chairs the University of Bonn’s innovative joint master’s programme with the United Nations University, MSc Geography of Environmental Risks and Human Security.