Drawing Lessons from Regulatory and Collaborative Approaches to Water Management in Western United States and Canada

The laws and regulations governing water management in the western United States and Canada were created in the 19th century, founded on visions of bringing agriculture to an arid land and developing natural resources. In the early 21st century, fundamental elements of the legal landscape remain the same, but the social and environmental context has changed significantly. In the face of extended droughts and future climate change, shifting populations and economies, and increased recognition of environmental values and the needs of indigenous and other marginalized communities, this two-part session asks: how have western water institutions and management practices adapted? What new techniques have been developed to support alternative resource management goals?

The second in this two-part session will address themes around equity, power sharing, and knowledge systems affecting collaborative watershed management. Based on case studies and project work in western Canada and the U.S., panelists will consider how communities, agencies, and regulators are responding to some of the uneven power dynamics that shape watershed management decisions in practice. The panel will consider key issues of how institutions are addressing Indigenous sovereignty; how we can better facilitate data sharing to foster collective understanding; how to reexamine our assumptions about watershed scale; and how we can incorporate ecological functions and values as part of a long-term water conservation strategy. The panel will close with recommendations for how new watershed management institutions can address the situated perspectives of marginalized communities.