Category: Indigenous Water Governance

Water is Medicine: Reimagining Water Security through Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Relationships to Treated and Traditional Water Sources in Yukon, Canada. 

Wilson, N.J., Harris, L.M., Joseph-Rear, A., Beaumont, J. and Satterfield, T. (2019). Water is Medicine: Reimagining Water Security through Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Relationships to Treated and Traditional Water Sources in Yukon, Canada. Water 11(3): 624. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11030624 Preprint PDF of the article here.

Small systems, big challenges: Review of small drinking water system governance.

Abstract:

Small drinking water systems (SDWS) are widely identified as presenting particular challenges for drinking water management and governance in industrialised nations because of their small customer base, geographic isolation, and limited human and financial capacity. Consequently, an increasing number and range of scholars have examined SDWS over the last 30 years. Much of this work has been technocentric in nature, focused on SDWS technologies and operations, with limited attention to how these systems are managed, governed, and situated within broader social and political–economic contexts. This review seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of the governance dimensions of SDWS by drawing together existing literature relating to SDWS governance and exploring its key themes, research foci, and emerging directions. This overview is intended to provide guidance to scholars and practitioners interested in specific aspects of SDWS governance and a baseline against which researchers can position future work. The review identified 117 academic articles published in English-language journals between 1990 and 2016 that referred to some aspect of drinking water governance in small, rural, and Indigenous communities in industrialised nations. The articles’ content and bibliographic information were analysed to identify the locations, methods, journals, and themes included in research on SDWS governance. Further analysis of SDWS’ governance dimensions is organised around four questions identified as central to SDWS research: what governance challenges are experienced by SDWS, and what are their causes, solutions, and effects? Overall, the review revealed that the SDWS governance literature is piecemeal and fragmented, with few attempts to theorise SDWS governance or to engage in interdisciplinary, cross-jurisdictional conversations. The majority of articles examine North American SDWS, retain a technocratic orientation to drinking water governance, and are published in technical or industry journals. Such research tends to focus on the governance challenges SDWS face and proposed solutions to systems’ performance, capacity, and regulatory challenges. A small but growing number of studies examine the causal factors underpinning these governance challenges and their socio-spatially differentiated impacts on communities. Looking forward, the review argues for a more holistic, integrative approach to research on SDWS governance, building on a water governance framework.

Keywords: Small Water Systems, Drinking Water, Governance, Rural, Indigenous, Literature Review 

Free Download (limited quantities):

http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full/10.1139/er-2018-0033.

McFarlane, K. and L. Harris (2018). “Small systems, big challenges: Review of small drinking water system governance.”Environmental Reviews.https://doi.org/10.1139/er-2018-0033

 

Governing transboundary waters: Canada, the United States and indigenous communities

Norman, E.S. (2015) Governing transboundary waters: Canada, the United States and indigenous communities. New York, Routledge.

Bringing together politics of coloniality and indigenous struggles for territorial, cultural and resource rights with water politics at the US-Canada border, this work makes significant conceptual and policy relevant contributions. Skillfully weaving diverse narratives, experiences, and moments of relevance for Indigenous communities on both sides of the border, the book makes for an inspiring read that explores key debates for contemporary water governance. – Karen Bakker and Leila Harris, Co-Directors, Program on Water Governance, University of British Columbia, Canada.

All of the water that is in our reserves and that is in our territories is ours”: Colonial and indigenous water governance in unceded indigenous territories in British Columbia

Harris, L. Simms, R. (2016). “All of the water that is in our reserves and that is in our territories is ours”: Colonial and indigenous water governance in unceded indigenous territories in British Columbia. Project Report. Canadian Water Network & Water, Economics, Policy and Governance Network. French version available here.

The main findings of this research and insights for decision makers are summarized in a policy brief, available in English and French.