Indigenous Processes of Consent: Repoliticizing Water Governance through Legal Pluralism
While international instruments and a few state governments endorse the “free, prior and informed consent” of Indigenous peoples in decision-making about the water in their traditional territories, most state water governance regimes do not recognize Indigenous water rights and responsibilities. App...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:15d7625ab4514ed2915d9459084c4a3f 2023-05-15T16:16:00+02:00 Indigenous Processes of Consent: Repoliticizing Water Governance through Legal Pluralism Deborah Curran 2019-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/w11030571 https://doaj.org/article/15d7625ab4514ed2915d9459084c4a3f EN eng MDPI AG http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/11/3/571 https://doaj.org/toc/2073-4441 2073-4441 doi:10.3390/w11030571 https://doaj.org/article/15d7625ab4514ed2915d9459084c4a3f Water, Vol 11, Iss 3, p 571 (2019) water governance politics law decision-making processes governmentalities UNDRIP free prior and informed consent FPIC groundwater environmental flows environmental assessment Hydraulic engineering TC1-978 Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes TD201-500 article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/w11030571 2022-12-31T08:29:40Z While international instruments and a few state governments endorse the “free, prior and informed consent” of Indigenous peoples in decision-making about the water in their traditional territories, most state water governance regimes do not recognize Indigenous water rights and responsibilities. Applying a political ecology lens to the settler colonialism of water governance exposes the continued depoliticizing personality of natural resources decision-making and reveals water as an abstract, static resource in law and governance processes. Most plainly, these decision-making processes inadequately consider environmental flows or cumulative effects and are at odds with both Indigenous governance and social-ecological approaches to watershed management. Using the example of groundwater licensing in British Columbia, Canada as reinforcing colonialism in water governance, this article examines how First Nations are asserting Indigenous rights in response to natural resource decision-making. Both within and outside of colonial governance processes they are establishing administrative and governance structures that express their water laws and jurisdiction. These structures include the Syilx, Nadleh Wut’en and Stellat’en creating standards for water, the Tsleil-Waututh and Stk’emlúpsemc te Secwépemc community assessments of proposed pipeline and mining facilities, and the First Nations of the Nicola Valley planning process based on their own legal traditions. Where provincial and federal environmental governance has failed, Indigenous communities are repoliticizing colonial decision-making processes to shift jurisdiction towards Indigenous processes that institutionalize responsibilities for and relationships with water. Article in Journal/Newspaper First Nations Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Canada British Columbia ENVELOPE(-125.003,-125.003,54.000,54.000) Water 11 3 571 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
water governance politics law decision-making processes governmentalities UNDRIP free prior and informed consent FPIC groundwater environmental flows environmental assessment Hydraulic engineering TC1-978 Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes TD201-500 |
spellingShingle |
water governance politics law decision-making processes governmentalities UNDRIP free prior and informed consent FPIC groundwater environmental flows environmental assessment Hydraulic engineering TC1-978 Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes TD201-500 Deborah Curran Indigenous Processes of Consent: Repoliticizing Water Governance through Legal Pluralism |
topic_facet |
water governance politics law decision-making processes governmentalities UNDRIP free prior and informed consent FPIC groundwater environmental flows environmental assessment Hydraulic engineering TC1-978 Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes TD201-500 |
description |
While international instruments and a few state governments endorse the “free, prior and informed consent” of Indigenous peoples in decision-making about the water in their traditional territories, most state water governance regimes do not recognize Indigenous water rights and responsibilities. Applying a political ecology lens to the settler colonialism of water governance exposes the continued depoliticizing personality of natural resources decision-making and reveals water as an abstract, static resource in law and governance processes. Most plainly, these decision-making processes inadequately consider environmental flows or cumulative effects and are at odds with both Indigenous governance and social-ecological approaches to watershed management. Using the example of groundwater licensing in British Columbia, Canada as reinforcing colonialism in water governance, this article examines how First Nations are asserting Indigenous rights in response to natural resource decision-making. Both within and outside of colonial governance processes they are establishing administrative and governance structures that express their water laws and jurisdiction. These structures include the Syilx, Nadleh Wut’en and Stellat’en creating standards for water, the Tsleil-Waututh and Stk’emlúpsemc te Secwépemc community assessments of proposed pipeline and mining facilities, and the First Nations of the Nicola Valley planning process based on their own legal traditions. Where provincial and federal environmental governance has failed, Indigenous communities are repoliticizing colonial decision-making processes to shift jurisdiction towards Indigenous processes that institutionalize responsibilities for and relationships with water. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Deborah Curran |
author_facet |
Deborah Curran |
author_sort |
Deborah Curran |
title |
Indigenous Processes of Consent: Repoliticizing Water Governance through Legal Pluralism |
title_short |
Indigenous Processes of Consent: Repoliticizing Water Governance through Legal Pluralism |
title_full |
Indigenous Processes of Consent: Repoliticizing Water Governance through Legal Pluralism |
title_fullStr |
Indigenous Processes of Consent: Repoliticizing Water Governance through Legal Pluralism |
title_full_unstemmed |
Indigenous Processes of Consent: Repoliticizing Water Governance through Legal Pluralism |
title_sort |
indigenous processes of consent: repoliticizing water governance through legal pluralism |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/w11030571 https://doaj.org/article/15d7625ab4514ed2915d9459084c4a3f |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-125.003,-125.003,54.000,54.000) |
geographic |
Canada British Columbia |
geographic_facet |
Canada British Columbia |
genre |
First Nations |
genre_facet |
First Nations |
op_source |
Water, Vol 11, Iss 3, p 571 (2019) |
op_relation |
http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/11/3/571 https://doaj.org/toc/2073-4441 2073-4441 doi:10.3390/w11030571 https://doaj.org/article/15d7625ab4514ed2915d9459084c4a3f |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/w11030571 |
container_title |
Water |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
571 |
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1766001862507495424 |