Water Ethics for First Nations and Biodiversity in Western Canada

• Main Author: Kenichi Matsui
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: University of Western Ontario 2012
• Subjects: water ethics; First Nations; biodiversity; traditional knowledge; Political science; J; Social Sciences; H; Canada; British Columbia
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/deaf1bd617644360995144676ec53e54

The increasing division of academic disciplines and bureaucracy has led to the compartmentalization of knowledge on water security, biodiversity, Indigenous rights, and traditional ecological knowledge policy. The attempt to re-establish links among these issues in academic studies can shed light on integrated watergovernance and the establishment of water ethics. In order to facilitate this effort, this paper discusses three propositions: (1) the establishment of strong legal and ethical frameworks is needed; (2) policymakers and scientists alike need to recognize links between biodiversity and water security; and (3) they need to improvecross-cultural understanding and communication in using the traditional knowledge of Indigenous peoples and local people. This article examines these issues in Western Canada (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba) because this region has invited cross-cultural and inter-jurisdictional conflicts since the twentieth century.