Larry Swatuk, PhD (He/Him)

Larry Swatuk is Professor Emeritus in the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development (SEED), University of Waterloo, Canada. He also holds a number of other positions: Extraordinary Professor in the Institute for Water Studies at the University of Western Cape, South Africa; External Researcher in the Bonn Institute for Conflict Studies, Bonn, Germany; Vice-President of the Environmental Peacebuilding Association; Member of the Board of Directors at Oxfam Canada. Swatuk is an activist academic and development practitioner with a particular focus on peace, sustainability and social equity through environmental collaboration. He currently makes his home in Sackville, New Brunswick. After spending fourteen years in Sub-Saharan Africa, he moved to Canada to take up a position at the University of Waterloo. During his time in SEED, he developed and delivered undergraduate and graduate programs in international development, while helping to establish a global association of Masters programs in development practice. Find out more about him here: https://radio2050.com/episode/larry-swatuk and about the Global MDP here: http://mdpglobal.org/

• conflict resolution

• environmental peacebuilding

• natural resource management

• sub-Saharan Africa

• sustainable development

• water governance

Swatuk's research primarily focuses on the political economy of natural resources with an emphasis on freshwater governance and management in the Global South. He has had a particular interest in urban water security since the late 2010s. His work combines theory and practice, where comparative case study research informs policy at different levels of social organization, from local communities to states and inter-governmental organizations.

• 1993. Doctorate, Department of Political Science, Dalhousie University, Canada

• 1985. M.A., Department of Political Science, University of Windsor, Canada

• 1983. B.A., Department of Political Science, University of Windsor, Canada

• October 2024. WaterNet Silver Jubilee Award in recognition of long-standing service to the advancement of the water sector in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. Presented at the 25th WaterNet/WARFSA/GWPSA Symposium held in Maseru, Lesotho.

• 2009-11, 2017-18, 2022-24 Director, Master of Development Practice Program (MDP), School of Environment, Enterprise and Development (SEED)..

• 2008-2014 Director, International Development Program (INDEV), SEED.

• Occasional Acting Interim-Director, SEED.

• 2008-2024 (various, all Faculty of Environment). Executive Committee; Dean’s Advisory Group; Undergraduate Curriculum Review Committee; SEED Planning Committee; Undergraduate Studies Committee; Canada Research Chair committee; Space Planning Committee.

• 2012-2024 Water Institute Strategic Planning Committee and Water Institute Graduate Program Development Committee.

• 2008-2023 (various, all Balsillie School of International Affairs). Research Grants Committee; Master of Global Governance (MAGG) Scholarship Committee; Vanier Scholarship Committee; OGS Scholarship Committee (2023); Governing Council.

• 2008-2024 (various, all University level). Senior Management Committee, Water Institute; ENV Faculty Representative, University Graduate Program Review Committee; ENV Faculty Representative on University PhD Chairs Committee; President’s Strategic Advisory Committee on Internationalisation.

• Environmental Peacebuilding Association

• International Studies Association

• Canadian Association for the Study of International Development

• Associate Editor, Water Alternatives

• Editorial Board Member, Canadian Journal of Development Studies

• Board Member, Oxfam Canada

• Board Member & Vice-President, Enviornmental Peacebuilding Association

• Board Member, Institute for Water Studies, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of the Western Cape, South Africa

• Senior Resident Water Expert, W12+ (not-for-profit organization)

• Advisory Committee Member, NRF/WRC Research Advisory Committee on SARCHi Research Chair focused on Governance and Economics of Water and Santitation Institutions, South Africa

• ENBUS 408 - Best Practices in Regulations
  • Taught in 2023
• ENVS 205 - Sustainability: The Future We Want
  • Taught in 2021
• INDEV 200 - The Political Economy of Development
  • Taught in 2021, 2023
• INDEV 404 - International Development Theory
  • Taught in 2021, 2023
• INDEV 490A - Honours Thesis: Project Preparation
  • Taught in 2023
• INDEV 490B - Honours Thesis: Project Completion
  • Taught in 2023
• INDEV 601 - Foundations of Sustainable Development Practice
  • Taught in 2023
• INDEV 602 - International Development: Theories and Practice
  • Taught in 2021, 2023
• INDEV 608 - Water and Security
  • Taught in 2021, 2023, 2024

* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.

• C. Bruch, R. Weaver, R. Matthew, E. Weinthal, L.A. Swatuk, eds, 2026. Essential Concepts of Environmental Peacebuilding: An A-Z Guide. London: Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/Essential-Concepts-of-Environmental-Peacebuilding-An-A-Z-Guide/Bruch-Weaver-Matthew-Weinthal-Swatuk/p/book/9781032994390

• Glenn Galloway, Karen Brown, Pádraig Carmody, Lucia Rodriguez, Larry A. Swatuk, eds, 2026. Transforming Education for Sustainable Development: Perspectives from a Global Network, Classrooms and the ‘Field’, London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003392743

• Natasha Tang Kai and Larry Swatuk, 2023. Prioritizing the Environment in Urban Sustainability Planning: Policies and Practices of Canadian Cities, (Palgrave: Macmillan). https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-46522-2

• Corrine Cash and Larry A. Swatuk, eds, 2022. The Political Economy of Climate Finance: Lessons from International Development, (Palgrave: Macmillan).

• Larry A. Swatuk and Corrine Cash, eds, 2022. The Political Economy of Urban Water Security under Climate Change, (Palgrave: Macmillan).

• Larry A. Swatuk et al., eds, 2021. Towards the Blue-Green City: Building Urban Water Resilience, (Pretoria: Water Research Commission).

• Rennie Munyayi, Larry. A. Swatuk, Dominic Mazvimavi, Thomas Chiramba, Benjamin Mapani (2026). Household Water Insecurity Severity Across Urban Areas with Varying Aridity Levels in Sub-Saharan Africa: Examples from Namibia. Water Security 28: 100200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasec.2026.100200

• Victor Mawutor Agbo and L.A. Swatuk (2023). From Conflict to Collaboration: Atewa Forest Governance, Natural Resources Forum 47(1): 134-151. https://doi.org/10.1111/1477-8947.12273

• Tang Kai, N. M., Swatuk, L., Suffling, R., & Seasons, M. (2022). Ecosystem Services in Canadian City Planning: Opportunities for Policy and Practice in an Era of Climate Change. Canadian Planning and Policy / Aménagement Et Politique Au Canada, 2022(1), 151–171. https://doi.org/10.24908/cpp-apc.v2022i1.15654