Implementing Indigenous and Western Knowledge Systems in Water Research and Management (Part 1): A Systematic Realist Review to Inform Water Policy and Governance in Canada

The implementation of Indigenous and Western knowledge systems in integrative water research and management is gaining prominence in the realm of academia, particularly in four countries with a shared, albeit different, history of British colonialism: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. While integrative water research in particular is gaining popularity, currently there is a gap in our understanding regarding where, when, why, how, and for whom this type of research has been successful. A systematic review method was used to identify peer-reviewed literature from each of the four countries and to understand where and when integrative water research projects were taking place. Then, we used a realist review method to synthesize and analyze the included peer-reviewed literature to determine why, how, and for whom this type of research has been successful, or not. Our systematic literature search provided 669 peer-reviewed articles from across the four countries, of which 97 met our inclusion criteria and were analyzed. Our findings indicate that the total number of integrative water research projects has been increasing since 2009, though these projects are largely concentrated within the realm of social science and conducted by non-Indigenous authors. Recognition of the value of Indigenous knowledge systems, coupled with an understanding that the use of Western knowledge systems alone has not remedied the disparity in access to safe water sources in Indigenous communities, has led researchers to recommend collaborative partnerships and governance structures as a potential pathway to effective integrative water research. Our research was conducted to enhance contemporary understanding of the strengths of implementing Indigenous and Western knowledge systems and to encourage readers to continue working towards a common goal of reconciliation and equality in all partnerships.

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Designing transdisciplinary projects for collaborative policy-making: The Integration and Implementation Sciences framework as a tool for reflection

GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society ◽

10.14512/gaia.29.3.7 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 29 (3) ◽

pp. 170-175

Author(s):

Melissa Robson-Williams ◽

Bruce Small ◽

Roger Robson-Williams

Keyword(s):

Water Policy ◽

Policy Making ◽

Practice Change ◽

Knowledge Systems ◽

Transdisciplinary Research ◽

Policy And Practice ◽

Community Values ◽

Project Completion ◽

Policy Making Process ◽

Environmental Limits

Collaborative policy-making has increased in New Zealand, and with it has brought new demands for supporting research. As a tool for reflection of projects where both research and societal outcomes of policy and practice change are pursued and multiple knowledges are recognised, we use the Integration and Implementation Sciences framework. We present insights for the design and implementation of transdisciplinary research from the Selwyn Waihora Project, which aimed to produce socially robust information to support land and water policy-making in New Zealand’s South Island.The Selwyn Waihora Project was a research project supporting a collaborative policy-making process to set environmental limits in the Selwyn Waihora catchment in New Zealand’s South Island. In this Design Report we reflect on this project based on data collected from a range of project participants approximately two years after project completion. The data collection was guided by the Integration and Implementation Sciences framework (i2S). On the basis of participant responses, and the authors’ first-hand experiences working on the project, we present insights for transdisciplinary research. Through the questions asked by the i2S framework insights emerged on: what it means to honour community values; the importance of context but that projects can pay too much attention to it; boundary objects to foster integration across multiple knowledge systems; the value of intra-team narratives for translation; the importance of considering the losers of the research; and sharing the burden of uncertainty.

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Canadian and Australian researchers' perspectives on promising practices for implementing Indigenous and Western knowledge systems in water research and management

Water Policy ◽

10.2166/wp.2017.181 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 19 (6) ◽

pp. 1063-1080 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

R. D. Stefanelli ◽

H. Castleden ◽

A. Cunsolo ◽

D. Martin ◽

S. L. Harper ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Community Based Participatory Research ◽

Knowledge Systems ◽

Collaborative Partnerships ◽

Research Projects ◽

Promising Practices ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Water Research ◽

Community Ownership ◽

International Policies ◽

Meaningful Engagement

Abstract National and international policies have called for the inclusion of Indigenous peoples and the uptake of Indigenous knowledge alongside Western knowledge in natural resource management. Such policy decisions have led to a recent proliferation of research projects seeking to apply both Indigenous and Western knowledge in water research and management. While these policies require people with knowledge from both Western and Indigenous perspectives to collaborate and share knowledge, how best to create and foster these partnerships is less understood. To elicit this understanding, 17 semi-structured interviews were completed with academic researchers from Canada and Australia who conduct integrative water research. Participants, most of whom were non-Indigenous, were asked to expand on their experiences in conducting integrative water research projects, and findings were thematically analyzed. Our findings suggest that Indigenous and Western knowledge systems influence how one relates to water, and that partnerships require a recognition and acceptance of these differences. We learned that community-based participatory research approaches, and the associated tenets of fostering mutual trust and community ownership for such an approach, are integral to the meaningful engagement that is essential for developing collaborative partnerships to implement both Indigenous and Western knowledge systems and better care for water.

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Implementing Indigenous and Western Knowledge Systems (Part 2): “You Have to Take a Backseat” and Abandon the Arrogance of Expertise

International Indigenous Policy Journal ◽

10.18584/iipj.2017.8.4.8 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Heather E Castleden ◽

Debbie Martin ◽

Ashlee Cunsolo ◽

Sherilee Harper ◽

Catherine Hart ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Indigenous Knowledge ◽

Indigenous Communities ◽

Knowledge Systems ◽

Real Problem ◽

Community Based ◽

Water Research ◽

Financial Investment ◽

The Real ◽

Indigenous Knowledge Systems ◽

Decolonizing Research

Despite innovative technological "solutions" to address ongoing water crises in Indigenous communities, significant disparities persist in Canada. Financial investment in infrastructure is necessary, but it is hardly sufficient to address the real problem: entrenched colonialism. One of the greatest challenges in decolonizing research is to prevent that research from reproducing the very categories it is seeking to critique and dismantle. We share findings from thematically-analyzed interviews with academic and community-based researchers who conducted water research with a stated intent to implement Western and Indigenous knowledge systems. Findings revealed that while there is co-learning, ontological and epistemological assumptions carried into these relationships often impede truly integrative practice. Respondents shared how they worked through these persistent barriers of a colonial system.

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"The Legacy Will Be the Change": Reconciling How We Live with and Relate to Water

International Indigenous Policy Journal ◽

10.18584/iipj.2020.11.3.10937 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 1-23

Author(s):

Lindsay Day ◽

Ashlee Cunsolo ◽

Heather Castleden ◽

Alex Sawatzky ◽

Debbie Martin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lived Experience ◽

First Nations ◽

Indigenous Peoples ◽

Water Policy ◽

Water Governance ◽

Ways Of Knowing ◽

Knowledge Systems ◽

Indigenous Ways Of Knowing ◽

Be The Change ◽

Canada Data

Current challenges relating to water governance in Canada are motivating calls for approaches that implement Indigenous and Western knowledge systems together, as well as calls to form equitable partnerships with Indigenous Peoples grounded in respectful Nation-to-Nation relationships. By foregrounding the perspectives of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples, this study explores the nature and dimensions of Indigenous ways of knowing around water and examines what the inclusion of Indigenous voices, lived experience, and knowledge mean for water policy and research. Data were collected during a National Water Gathering that brought together 32 Indigenous and non-Indigenous water experts, researchers, and knowledge holders from across Canada. Data were analyzed thematically through a collaborative podcasting methodology, which also contributed to an audio-documentary podcast (www.WaterDialogues.ca).

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Water Policy and Economic Optimizing: Some Conceptual Problems in Water Research * 1

Natural Resource Economics: Selected Papers ◽

10.4324/9780429035210-8 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 67-76

Author(s):

S. V. Ciriacy-Wantrup

Keyword(s):

Water Policy ◽

Water Research ◽

Conceptual Problems

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The water governance challenge: the discrepancy between what is and what should be

Water Science & Technology Water Supply ◽

10.2166/ws.2012.056 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 12 (6) ◽

pp. 799-809 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

H. M. Ravnborg ◽

K. M. Jensen

Keyword(s):

Water Policy ◽

Water Governance ◽

Research Programme ◽

Legal Framework ◽

Governance Reform ◽

Human Right ◽

Water Research ◽

Access To Water ◽

Underlying Causes ◽

The Right

In 2010, the UN General Assembly declared the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights. Yet, findings from the Competing for Water research programme suggest that all too often, people in need of water for domestic purposes lose out to people and companies who claim access to water for productive purposes. Likewise, in many countries, specific water authorities at national as well as basin and watershed level have been formed and assigned the responsibility to allocate water according to the water policy and the associated legal framework. Yet, findings from the Competing for Water research programme show that real-world water allocation takes place through a wide array of institutions, ranging from the rural community, over agreements mediated by local lawyers, district officials and non-governmental organisations, to decisions made in the president's office. The Competing for Water programme entails empirical research conducted in Bolivia, Mali, Nicaragua, Vietnam and Zambia. Based on findings from this research, this paper identifies the discrepancies between statutory and actual water governance, analyses the underlying causes and explores the implications for ongoing water governance reform.

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