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Decolonizing water governance through Indigenous knowledge, self-determination, and relationships with water

Co-organized by the United Nations Academic Impact Hub for SDG 6 at University of Manitoba, Carcross/Tagish First Nation, Decolonizing Water, Future Earth, and the Himalayan Peace Foundation.

This side event will focus on the role of Indigenous Peoples in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6, “Clean water and sanitation for all.”

Indigenous Peoples are critical actors in water governance and sustainability. Globally, there is a growing acknowledgement of Indigenous rights and self-determination. Indigenous Peoples should play a significant role in decision-making about water. Yet, these communities are underrepresented in international water policy. In this side meeting, we ask, what is needed to better engage and respect Indigenous peoples, their knowledge, and governance systems to address global water challenges? Indigenous governance, law and knowledge continue to be a major theme for decision-makers about water around the world, but Indigenous people continue to lack a voice and to be marginalized by historical and ongoing colonialism.

This side event will address the challenges of present approaches to water governance and sustainability for Indigenous peoples. It will examine the contributions of Indigenous knowledge systems as complete bodies of knowledge that include information about science, policy, law, cosmology and more. Furthermore, we will explore how best to respect Indigenous peoples and their governance systems which centre on understandings of water as a living entity.

Mar 22, 2023 11:30 AM in Winnipeg