Indigenous Water Justice
TL;DR: In this article, a conceptualization of indigenous water justice rooted in the historic United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) is presented, and the authors advocate for its realization in three major transboundary river basins: the Colorado (U.S.).
Abstract: Indigenous Peoples are struggling for water justice across the globe. These struggles stem from centuries-long, ongoing colonial legacies and hold profound significance for Indigenous Peoples’ socioeconomic development, cultural identity, and political autonomy and external relations within nation-states. Ultimately, Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determination is implicated. Growing out of a symposium hosted by the University of Colorado Law School and the Native American Rights Fund in June 2016, this Article expounds the concept of “indigenous water justice” and advocates for its realization in three major transboundary river basins: the Colorado (U.S./Mexico), Columbia (Canada/U.S.), and Murray-Darling (Australia). The Article begins with a novel conceptualization of indigenous water justice rooted in the historic United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)—specifically, UNDRIP’s foundational principle of self-determination. In turn, the Article offers overviews of the basins and narrative accounts of enduring water-justice struggles experienced by Indigenous Peoples therein. Finally, the Article synthesizes commonalities evident from the indigenous water justice struggles by introducing and deconstructing the concept of “water colonialism.” Against this backdrop, the Article revisits UNDRIP to articulate principles and prescriptions aimed at prospectively realizing indigenous water justice in the basins and around the world.
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Florida International University1, Griffith University2, Charles Darwin University3, University of Western Australia4, United States Environmental Protection Agency5, UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education6, University of Amsterdam7, Wildlife Conservation Society8, University of Saskatchewan9, University of Washington10, Charles Sturt University11, University of Idaho12, International Water Management Institute13, University of Oxford14, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University15, South African National Parks16, University of California, Berkeley17
TL;DR: Understanding of relationships between people and rivers as conceived under the renewed definition of environmental flows is synthesized and called for scientists and water managers to recognize the diversity of ways of knowing, relating to, and utilizing rivers, and to place this recognition at the center of future environmental flow assessments.
Abstract: River flows connect people, places, and other forms of life, inspiring and sustaining diverse cultural beliefs, values, and ways of life. The concept of environmental flows provides a framework for improving understanding of relationships between river flows and people, and for supporting those that are mutually beneficial. Nevertheless, most approaches to determining environmental flows remain grounded in the biophysical sciences. The newly revised Brisbane Declaration and Global Action Agenda on Environmental Flows (2018) represents a new phase in environmental flow science and an opportunity to better consider the co-constitution of river flows, ecosystems, and society, and to more explicitly incorporate these relationships into river management. We synthesize understanding of relationships between people and rivers as conceived under the renewed definition of environmental flows. We present case studies from Honduras, India, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia that illustrate multidisciplinary, collaborative efforts where recognizing and meeting diverse flow needs of human populations was central to establishing environmental flow recommendations. We also review a small body of literature to highlight examples of the diversity and interdependencies of human-flow relationships-such as the linkages between river flow and human well-being, spiritual needs, cultural identity, and sense of place-that are typically overlooked when environmental flows are assessed and negotiated. Finally, we call for scientists and water managers to recognize the diversity of ways of knowing, relating to, and utilizing rivers, and to place this recognition at the center of future environmental flow assessments. This article is categorized under: Water and Life > Conservation, Management, and Awareness Human Water > Water Governance Human Water > Water as Imagined and Represented.
117 citations
TL;DR: A review of the literature on Indigenous water rights in national frameworks of water governance from a range of disciplines is presented in this paper, which describes the leading approaches to recognition, representation, and redistribution that exist under the domestic arrangements of nation-states to recognize localized norms and rules of water use and custodianship, as well as Indigenous forms of political organization.
Abstract: Indigenous water rights contests take many forms, manifesting in conflict over water resource development, exclusion from decision‐making, marginalization in regional political economies and opposition to environmental degradation A growing number of institutional options are available to recognize Indigenous water rights and a diversity of approaches is being taken by governments, courts of law, Indigenous peoples and others in response to historical and contemporary inequities and discrimination in patterns of distribution and participation in the institutions of water governance Although not the only arena, political action directed towards change in state‐based institutions is a principal focus for Indigenous peoples engaged in water struggles This article reviews the literature on Indigenous water rights in national frameworks of water governance from a range of disciplines It describes the leading approaches to recognition, representation, and redistribution that exist under the domestic arrangements of nation‐states to recognize localized norms and rules of water use and custodianship, as well as Indigenous forms of political organization These include statutory mechanisms to increase water access, treaties and settlements, constitutional protections for collective rights, self‐organized or internal governance models, market‐based approaches and moves in law to recognize reciprocal relationships to water and legitimize custodianship of rivers Rather than take recognition for granted as an essential condition of or ideal end‐point to Indigenous water rights struggles, the paper critically reflects on the multi‐faceted dimensions of this ambivalent concept, revealing the opportunities as well as tensions and dilemmas in the leading approaches to addressing Indigenous water rights claims
This article is categorized under:
Human Water > Rights to Water
Human Water > Water Governance
45 citations
Cites background from "Indigenous Water Justice"
..., 2007), there are few published studies that have taken a comparative approach (see Bark et al., 2012; Cosens & Chaffin, 2016; Macpherson, 2017; Robison et al., 2018; Tarlock, 2010)....
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19 Feb 2019
TL;DR: The Australian Academy of Science Expert Panel: Craig Moritz, Linda Blackall, Jenny Davis, Tim Flannery, Lee Godden, Lesley Head, Sue Jackson, Richard Kingsford, Sarah Wheeler, John Williams as discussed by the authors
Abstract: Australian Academy of Science, Expert Panel: Craig Moritz, Linda Blackall, Jenny Davis, Tim Flannery, Lee Godden, Lesley Head, Sue Jackson, Richard Kingsford, Sarah Wheeler, John Williams
38 citations
Cites background from "Indigenous Water Justice"
...During such moments, Indigenous representatives were prevented from influencing the rules governing access to water (Robison et al. 2018)....
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...2% of the basin (Morgan 2012), signalling a higher level of dispossession than many other Australian regions (Robison et al. 2018)....
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...Navigation and irrigation then preoccupied political leaders’ deliberations, with no thought given to the implications for Aboriginal peoples of altering flow regimes or intensifying water resource development (Robison et al. 2018)....
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36 citations
22 Nov 2019
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used a transdisciplinary approach to develop a model of ecological values and a wider set of values held by Indigenous peoples in north-western Australia, and identified the need to recognize Indigenous and non-Indigenous governance and management systems at multiple scales to build legitimacy in e-flows and water planning.
Abstract: Summary Environmental flow assessments (e-flows) are widely used within water allocation planning to address the threat to rivers and human communities posed by water extraction. However, conceptual models underpinning e-flows tend to include only biophysical interactions, eschewing socio-cultural complexity, local knowledge, and governance arrangements. These are critical where Indigenous people have strong connections with rivers and knowledge to contribute to planning. We used a transdisciplinary approach to develop a model of ecological values and a wider set of values held by Indigenous peoples in north-western Australia. Our model demonstrates the importance of hydrological connectivity for maintaining hydro-ecological values and Indigenous use for food and amenity and meeting religious responsibilities. We identified the need to recognize Indigenous and non-Indigenous governance and management systems at multiple scales to build legitimacy in e-flows and water planning. We propose guiding principles for using e-flows to protect aquatic ecosystems and their dependent human cultures and livelihoods.
28 citations
Cites background from "Indigenous Water Justice"
...Water allocation regimes in the United States, Canada, and New Zealand, for example, have also excluded Indigenous peoples as they have prioritized the interests and water needs of ‘‘settler’’ communities.(19,21,22) New approaches to water allocation planning and management are needed to ensure that Indigenous people’s waterrelated values, ethics, and practices can shape allocation outcomes, including distributive outcomes....
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...They are directly relevant to most of northern Australia but may also be helpful in other regions where Indigenous peoples are reasserting water-management responsibilities and rights on their territories, such as is occurring in the Murray-Darling Basin of south-eastern Australia(38,83) or elsewhere.(21,22) Globally, there is now a number of cases where legal processes have stepped beyond heritage recognition to seek to acknowledge the relational values and ontologies of Indigenous communities by conferring rivers as subjects of rights....
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