Valuing fresh waters

Abstract

In an era increasingly focused on the question of how to value fresh water, this essay argues that questions of value cannot be parsed apart from the multiple ontologies that undergird those value judgments. Returning to Nelson's observation that water exists "in a metaphysical blindspot," this essay describes what chastened metaphysics have to do with fresh waters' pluralities and depicts three apertures by which contemporary water discourses delineate fresh waters' values: economic theory and neoliberal market practice, paradigms of liberal governance, and culturalreligious multiplicities. In the latter, fresh waters' life-giving properties tend to be accorded central respect in ways that often exceed the ontological understandings and moral possibilities preferred by western liberal discourses in an era that has been decisively shaped by scientific, hydraulic/extractive modernity and rational planning. Parsing the ways that selected cultural-religious formulations align with or challenge dominant governance paradigms, this essay argues that decolonial ways of proceeding are necessary if value discourse and ethical action are to be substantially oriented toward the inclusive, long-term flourishing of human and other bodies of waters. The final section summarizes these claims and underscores necessary warnings. This article is categorized under: Human Water > Value of Water Human Water > Water as Imagined and Represented Human Water > Methods K E Y W O R D S cultural-religious multiplicities, decolonial methods, human right to water, ontology of fresh waters, value of water 1 | INTRODUCTION: FRAMING FRESH WATERS The value of water is a rising conceptual infatuation for twenty-first century agents of water distribution (High Level Panel on Water, 2018a; Value of Water Campaign, 2019; Watershed, 2017). Recognizing Nelson's (2003) assertion that "water exists in a metaphysical blindspot," this essay first argues that fresh waters are plural, not singular, and that questions of value cannot be parsed apart from the multiple ontologies that undergird those value judgments, with implications for contemporary water discourses. Next, this essay depicts three apertures by which contemporary water discourses delineate fresh waters' values: economic theory and neoliberal market practice, paradigms of liberal governance, and cultural-religious multiplicities. The typology provided by these three apertures is of course permeable, but it is also an instructive heuristic for the project of gaining clarity on how different strands of water discourse inflect the conclusions drawn about fresh waters' values. While the first two apertures on economic theory and governance, respectively, will be familiar to many readers, the third aperture-culturalreligious multiplicities-may seem far afield. "Cultural-religious multiplicities" is a term used here to depict the epistemic commitment that cultural, customary, and religious ecological rationalities and practices are often interwoven; that they are many in number and kind; and that th...

<b>Respiritualisasi dan Rekonfigurasi Praktik:</b>

“…63 Gagasan tentang air sebagai milik bersama menunjukkan tantangan moral terhadap asumsi kepemilikan pribadi dan keuntungan individual. 64 Air adalah anugerah dari Tuhan dan merupakan ciptaan baik yang ditujukan untuk semua orang, tanpa diskriminasi, melintasi ruang dan waktu. 65 Agama mana pun yang kehilangan aspek sakramental dengan alam akan tumbuh acuh tak acuh terhadapnya dan rentan terhadap penyalahgunaan.…”

An introduction to the human right to water: Law, politics, and beyond

“…On the one side there are those emphasizing the universal meanings and common understanding of water shared across places, times and cultural traditions—associating water to life and calling for its equitable sharing (Strang, ) as for instance in the case of three monotheistic religions of Islam, Christianity and Judaism (Lefers, Maliva, & Missimer, ). On the other side stand those advocating for a relational approach to water justice (Boelens, Perreault, & Vos, ) acknowledging that moral and political ideas about just distributions of water and its value are plural, dynamic and always situated (Zenner, ). In its Principles on Valuing Water, the UN High Level Panel on Water has attempted to hold together universality and situatedness, acknowledging both that “Valuing water means recognizing and considering all the diverse benefits and risks provided by water, and encompassing its economic, social, and ecological dimensions as well as its diverse cultural and religious meanings” and that “Universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation is a fundamental human right” (UNHLPW, ).…”

A Comprehensive Review of Ontologies in the Hydrology Towards Guiding Next Generation Artificial Intelligence Applications

“…They examined the UK Ordnance Survey Hydrology Ontology, which represented the topological features of water bodies. Zenner (2019) focused on reviewing the importance of fresh water in different sectors from a socio-economic point of view. Mughal et al (2021a) completed a review of streamflow and flood data management issues.…”