Indigenous Water Justice

Robison, Jason Anthony; Cosens, Barbara; Jackson, Sue; Léonard, Karen; McCool, Daniel

doi:10.2139/ssrn.3013470

Cited by 28 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Rivers as a source of cultural continuity Parapito River, Bolivia Ortiz et al (2008) Interacting with rivers provides a means to teach young, work together, share food and gear (fishing) and fulfill ethical obligations to nonhuman life Fraser River, Canada Jacob et al (2010) (Continues) many cases, colonial) approaches to water management (see Emanuel, 2019;Estes, 2017;Robison, Cosens, Jacskon, Leonard, & McCool, 2018). In 1915, in a move to recognize the aesthetic value of a river, Oregon (USA) prohibited the diversion of water from certain streams that sustained the spectacular falls of the Columbia River Gorge (Lamb & Doerksen, 1987).…”

Section: Identity Cultural Transmission and Family And Group Cohesionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding rivers and their social relations: A critical step to advance environmental water management

et al. 2019

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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 AwarenessHuman Water > Water GovernanceHuman Water > Water as Imagined and Represented

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Section: Identity Cultural Transmission and Family And Group Cohesionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding rivers and their social relations: A critical step to advance environmental water management

et al. 2019

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“…A 2014 report applied an ecosystem services framework to estimate the total economic value of the Colorado River, indicating economic benefits from US$56.6 to US$466.5 billion per year with an underlying asset value between US$1.5 and US$11.5 trillion [113]. The cultural values have proven difficult to integrate into decision-making, as illustrated by efforts to address lingering controversies over indigenous water justice and historical exclusion of indigenous groups from water planning and allocation [114].…”

Section: (3) Water Valuationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Water Governance Reform Framework: Overview and Applications to Australia, Mexico, Tanzania, U.S.A and Vietnam

Grafton

Garrick

Manero

et al. 2019

Water

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The world faces critical water risks in relation to water availability, yet water demand is increasing in most countries. To respond to these risks, some governments and water authorities are reforming their governance frameworks to achieve convergence between water supply and demand and ensure freshwater ecosystem services are sustained. To assist in this reform process, the Water Governance Reform Framework (WGRF) is proposed, which includes seven key strategic considerations: (1) well-defined and publicly available reform objectives; (2) transparency in decision-making and public access to available data; (3) water valuation of uses and non-uses to assess trade-offs and winners and losers; (4) compensation for the marginalized or mitigation for persons who are disadvantaged by reform; (5) reform oversight and "champions"; (6) capacity to deliver; and (7) resilient decision-making. Using these reform criteria, we assess current and possible water reforms in five countries: Murray-Darling Basin (Australia); Rufiji Basin (Tanzania); Colorado Basin (USA and Mexico); and Vietnam. We contend that the WGRF provides a valuable approach to both evaluate and to improve water governance reform and, if employed within a broader water policy cycle, will help deliver both improved water outcomes and more effective water reforms. will need to lower its projected 2050 total water demand by almost 40% (292 Billion Cubic Meters, BCM), the rest of South Asia by 43% (100 BCM), the Middle East by 42% (168 BCM) and North Africa by 17% (30 BCM), if water extractions are not to exceed the current total renewable water resources of these regions.Aeschbach-Hertig and Gleeson [6] argue that current food production in key farming regions of India, China and the USA cannot be maintained unless groundwater levels are stabilized. Another concern is that Wada et al. [7] estimate that, in 2000, non-renewable groundwater extraction contributed to 20% of global irrigation water extraction. This has important implications for food production because, globally, irrigation accounts for about 70% of global freshwater extractions and provides 40% of total human food calories. This tension between water for food production and other purposes is likely to be exacerbated into the future. For instance, by 2050: (1) the current water supply is projected to be less than the projected water applied for irrigation in major food-producing countries with production methods, and (2) a plateau is projected in terms of crop food production from water extractions if there are no further increases in the global irrigated agriculture area [8]. The key point is that in the absence of reform that includes: (1) better water governance and (2) how water is currently extracted and consumed, there are large, and with climate change, increasing risks to future food security [9].Government responses to the global water crises have, typically, been to adopt a "hard" infrastructure or engineering solutions to increase water supply that has sometimes been part of "water natio...

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“…They may also be instigated by grass-roots protagonism by Indigenous leaders, through advocacy for environmental restoration, or evolution of legal frameworks initiated by court action or a government or tribunal commitment seeking to redress historical injustices. Such moments may also coexist with international agreements which represent a key source of influence (Boelens et al, 2007) but are not reviewed here (see Gupta, Hildering, & Misiedjan, 2014;Robison, Cosens, Jackson, Leonard, & McCool, 2018;UNESCO, 2006).…”

Section: This Article Is Categorized Undermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These documents describe underlying Indigenous relationships to water, outline principles of Indigenous rights and interests in water with reference to customary law and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Subsequent declarations made at World Water Fora by Indigenous peoples have reaffirmed that the struggle for water is tied fundamentally to the struggle for the right of self-determination (see the Tlatokan Atlahuak Declaration of 2006 issued from Mexico and Robison et al 2018).…”

Section: Indigenous Peoples' Water Declarationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water and Indigenous rights: Mechanisms and pathways of recognition, representation, and redistribution

Jackson

2018

WIREs Water

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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

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Indigenous Water Justice

Cited by 28 publications

References 48 publications

Understanding rivers and their social relations: A critical step to advance environmental water management

Understanding rivers and their social relations: A critical step to advance environmental water management

The Water Governance Reform Framework: Overview and Applications to Australia, Mexico, Tanzania, U.S.A and Vietnam

Water and Indigenous rights: Mechanisms and pathways of recognition, representation, and redistribution

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