Protecting Water Ecosystems

Background Note:  Indigenous Peoples and Water

Indigenous peoples face at least four types of water-related challenges which this website seeks to elucidate:  (1) Indigenous cultural and spiritual understandings about water are misunderstood or simply ignored by the dominant Western societies; (2) Indigenous communities are not included meaningfully in water policy and planning processes; (3)  Customary access and rights to water is seldom recognized by the state authorities that now control indigenous areas, and (4) Waterbodies that are critical to cultural and physical wellbeing are being polluted by outside forces beyond their control.

At both the national and international levels, indigenous peoples are seldom recognized as a legitimate stakeholders in water-related policy decisions, and typically lack the institutional structures and capacities to promote their water interests to the outside world.  Bringing indigenous peoples into water policy discussions requires active interest and commitment from the water "establishment".  Even in the context of the last Water Forum in The Hague (March 2000), which explicitly welcomed diversity of participation and where NGOs were well represented, the sense among the few indigenous participants and by many Forum organizers themselves was that indigenous peoples had been largely overlooked in the Global Water Vision process, and in  the Forum itself.  

During the intervening two years, the policy climate has shifted in favor of a more open and honest dialogue  among indigenous representatives and between the indigenous participants as a group and the many other water stakeholder groups.  The report of the World Commission on Dams (November 2000)  gave prominence to the land and water rights of indigenous peoples and this single report has done much to legitimize discussion about indigenous land and water rights as a topic that should be of concern to the development community at large.  The Bonn Freshwater Conference made an effort to include indigenous NGOs, but even today the unique water  interests and perspectives of indigenous peoples are severely mis-understood or under-recognized by many water professionals and the public at large.  Whereas any national government would view the pollution of a river as an economic and social concern, and perhaps as a health emergency, when an entire indigenous society depends on that river for its livelihood as well as its cultural identity, the stakes are that much higher.  The environmental status of the river becomes a matter of cultural survival or cultural demise.  This is where indigenous water rights take on the attributes of fundamental human rights, and where dialogue becomes critical.  These are the types of issues which the proposed session will seek to address in an atmosphere of mutual respect and common interest in the sustainability of water resources.

Objective of this Website.  The overall objective of this website is to give voice to the perspectives of indigenous peoples on water-related issues, including water rights, agriculture, environmental health (related to water), religion and spirituality related to water, and sustainability of water resources.  The purpose of "giving voice" to indigenous perspectives goes beyond a simple appreciation of indigenous culture and beliefs; our objectives are both to empower indigenous communities through a sharing of knowledge and experience, and to enhance cross-cultural understanding and respect for different approaches to water and water development.  Both these objectives have practical and tangible expressions in the realm of improved legal frameworks, agricultural practices, water quality, health, etc.  The unique contribution of this initiative will be to engage indigenous peoples in expressing their own interpretations (perspectives) on water priorities and on what constitutes "improvements" and "progress" for their societies.