🌱 How could water management by improved using Indigenous knowledge?
An overarching issue in modern water management and Indigenous Peoples’ access to water is “water and sanitation projects not having a sustainable strategy to prevent funding exhaustion”.[i] One way to solve this is to factor in the knowledge and know-how of Indigenous Peoples. The beliefs and practices of Indigenous Peoples provide “a genuine expression of the sustainability and eco-systemic approach, which today we are trying to promote in the planning and management of water throughout the world”.[ii]
🌱 Why are Indigenous Peoples considered guardians of biodiversity and water?
Overall, “[t]he territories of indigenous peoples comprise about 25 per cent of the world’s land surface, including approximately 40 per cent of all protected land areas and ecologically intact landscapes”. All in all, “indigenous peoples have preserved 80 per cent of the remaining terrestrial biodiversity”.[iii] It is estimated that there are currently 476 million Indigenous individuals living spread across more than 90 countries. Therewith, Indigenous Peoples represent 6.2% of the world population. Yet, they also make up 18.7% of “the extremely poor” and approximately 33% of people “living in extreme poverty in rural areas”.[iv] Despite the threats and hardships Indigenous People have faced, “[t]he availability of quality water in [many] indigenous peoples’ territories was preserved due to their sustainable practices as well as [the] difficult accessibility of their territories”.[v]
🌱 How do Indigenous Peoples view water?
By Indigenous communities, “[w]ater is not considered or managed as a resource but is considered to be part of an interconnected whole”. In line with this, water “management is based on an integrated territorial vision and on deep respect and care for rivers, springs, lakes and wetlands”.[vi] Moreover, “[i]n many indigenous cultures, the role of women as carriers and stewards of water is linked to their role as life-givers”. In line with this, Indigenous women and girls “have a sacred mission to care for water for present and future generations”. They “ensure the availability of quality water”. Additionally, they “play an essential role in spiritual ceremonies, protect water bodies from pollution, [as well as] care for the forests, plants and herbs to maintain the ability of the soil to absorb and retain water”.[vii]
🌱 Why is Indigenous knowledge disregarded?
All in all, Indigenous Peoples “offer us valuable ways to address the global water crisis through their traditional practices, both in terms of the sustainable management of aquatic ecosystems and the democratic governance of safe drinking water and sanitation”.[viii] Despite this, Indigenous Peoples are commonly left out “from planning and strategic decision-making in climate change prevention and adaptation”. This “often increases the risks they face in water and sanitation”.[ix] Overall, “the richness of indigenous peoples' knowledge and their evolution to adapt to climate change in their territories are often ignored”.[x] In line with this, “mainstream approaches to water management often dismiss indigenous peoples’ water knowledge and management systems as unscientific or folkloric”. This disregards “the fact that their knowledge is based on empirical experience, resulting from living in their territories from generation to generation”.[xi]
This post has been adapted from a newsletter written by Krisna Baghouzian and Christine Nikander. The newsletter titled “What role do Indigenous rights to water play in sustainable development?” was originally published in “The Just Transition Newsletter” by Palsa & Pulk.
[i] Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Indigenous peoples face growing challenges to access safe water. https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2022/10/indigenous-peoples-face-growing-challenges-access-safe-water (19.03.2025); The Indigenous Foundation, Lack of Clean Drinking Water in Indigenous communities. https://www.theindigenousfoundation.org/articles/lack-of-clean-drinking-water-in-indigenous-communities (19.03.2025).
[ii] Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Indigenous peoples face growing challenges to access safe water. https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2022/10/indigenous-peoples-face-growing-challenges-access-safe-water (19.03.2025).
[iii] Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Indigenous peoples face growing challenges to access safe water. https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2022/10/indigenous-peoples-face-growing-challenges-access-safe-water (19.03.2025).
[iv] Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Indigenous peoples face growing challenges to access safe water. https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2022/10/indigenous-peoples-face-growing-challenges-access-safe-water (19.03.2025).
[v] Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Indigenous peoples face growing challenges to access safe water. https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2022/10/indigenous-peoples-face-growing-challenges-access-safe-water (19.03.2025).
[vi] Pedro Arrojo Agudo, Human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation of indigenous peoples: State of affairs and lessons from ancestral cultures. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, p. 2. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/water/2022-11-04/A-HRC-51-24-Friendly-version-EN.pdf (19.03.2025).
[vii] Pedro Arrojo Agudo, Human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation of indigenous peoples: State of affairs and lessons from ancestral cultures. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, p. 4. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/water/2022-11-04/A-HRC-51-24-Friendly-version-EN.pdf (19.03.2025).
[viii] Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, A/HRC/51/24: Human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation of indigenous peoples: state of affairs and lessons from ancestral cultures. https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/ahrc5124-human-rights-safe-drinking-water-and-sanitation-indigenous (19.03.2025); Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Indigenous peoples face growing challenges to access safe water. https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2022/10/indigenous-peoples-face-growing-challenges-access-safe-water (19.03.2025).
[ix] Pedro Arrojo Agudo, Human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation of indigenous peoples: State of affairs and lessons from ancestral cultures. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, p. 9. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/water/2022-11-04/A-HRC-51-24-Friendly-version-EN.pdf (19.03.2025); The Indigenous Foundation, Lack of Clean Drinking Water in Indigenous communities. https://www.theindigenousfoundation.org/articles/lack-of-clean-drinking-water-in-indigenous-communities (19.03.2025).
[x] Pedro Arrojo Agudo, Human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation of indigenous peoples: State of affairs and lessons from ancestral cultures. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, p. 9. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/water/2022-11-04/A-HRC-51-24-Friendly-version-EN.pdf (19.03.2025).
[xi] Pedro Arrojo Agudo, Human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation of indigenous peoples: State of affairs and lessons from ancestral cultures. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, p. 3. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/water/2022-11-04/A-HRC-51-24-Friendly-version-EN.pdf (19.03.2025).