Suchergebnisse

First Nations in British Columbia (BC), Canada, have historically been—and largely continue to be—excluded from colonial governments' decision-making and management frameworks for fresh water. However, in light of recent legal and legislative changes, and also changes in water governance and policy, there is growing emphasis in scholarship and among legal, policy and advocacy communities on shifting water governance away from a centralized single authority towards an approach that is watershed-based, collaborative, and involves First Nations as central to decisionmaking processes. Drawing on community-based research, interviews with First Nations natural resource staff and community members, and document review, the paper analyzes the tensions in collaborative water governance, by identifying First Nations' concerns within the current water governance system and exploring how a move towards collaborative watershed governance may serve to either address, or further entrench, these concerns. This paper concludes with recommendations for collaborative water governance frameworks which are specifically focused on British Columbia, but which have relevance to broader debates over Indigenous water governance. ; Science, Faculty of ; Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), Institute for ; Reviewed ; Faculty ; Graduate

We ask what it would mean to take seriously the possibility of multiple water ontologies, and what the implications of this would be for water governance in theory and practice. We contribute to a growing body of literature that is reformulating understanding of human– water relations and refocusing on the fundamental question of what water 'is'. Interrogating the political–ontological 'problem space' of water governance, we explore a series of ontological disjunctures that persist. Rather than seeking to characterize any individual ontology, we focus on the limitations of silencing diverse ontologies, and on the potential of embracing ontological plurality in water governance. Exploring these ideas in relation to examples from the Canadian province of British Columbia, we develop the notion of ontological conjunctures, which is based on networked dialogue among multiple water ontologies and which points to forms of water governance that begin to embrace such a dialogue. We highlight water as siwlkw and the processual concept of En'owkin as examples of this approach, emphasizing the significance of cross-pollinating scholarship across debates on water and multiple ontologies. ; Science, Faculty of ; Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), Institute for ; Reviewed ; Faculty ; Postdoctoral ; Graduate

Bacteria, protozoa and viruses are ubiquitous in aquatic environments and may pose threats to water quality for both human and ecosystem health. Microbial risk assessment and management in the water sector is a focus of governmental regulation and scientific inquiry; however, stark gaps remain in their application and interpretation. This paper evaluates how water managers practice microbial risk assessment and management in two Canadian provinces (BC and Ontario). We assess three types of entities engaged in water management along the source-to-tap spectrum (watershed agencies, water utilities, and public health authorities). We analyze and compare the approaches used by these agencies to assess and manage microbial risk (including scope, frequency, and tools). We evaluate key similarities and differences, and situate them with respect to international best practices derived from literatures related to microbial risk assessment and management. We find considerable variability in microbial risk assessment frameworks and management tools in that approaches 1) vary between provinces; 2) vary within provinces and between similar types of agencies; 3) have limited focus on microbial risk assessment for ecosystem health and 4) diverge considerably from the literature on best practices.We find that risk assessments that are formalized, routine and applied system-wide (i.e. from source-to-tap) are limited. We identify key limitations of current testing methodologies and looking forward consider the outcomes of this research within the context of new developments in microbial water quality monitoring such as tests derived from genomics and metagenomics based research. ; Medicine, Faculty of ; Science, Faculty of ; Other UBC ; Non UBC ; Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Department of ; Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), Institute for ; Reviewed ; Faculty

For many in the Global North, urban life means that your shit is not your problem. We postulate that a possible reason for the global sanitation failure in urban areas is a disconnect between sanitation expectations—what we term the urban sanitation imaginary—and the practices required by proposed sanitation solutions. The case study presented here is based on interviews with residents of Villa Lamadrid, a marginalized neighborhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which faces significant public health impacts from an inadequate sewage management system. We solicited feedback regarding specific sanitation technologies frequently prescribed for poor urban communities—among them a urine diversion dry toilet with dehydration vaults. Even as this system is posited as 'sustainable' for the context of Villa Lamadrid in terms of ecological and economic factors, conversations with residents revealed why this option might not be sustainable in terms of social expectations. On the basis of interviews with community members we have defined four aspects of residents' urban sanitation imaginaries that we consider highly relevant for any consideration of sanitation solutions in this context: (1) an urban citizen does not engage physically or mentally with their shit or its management; (2) an appropriate urban sanitation system requires flushing; (3) systems that require user's engagement with their shit and its management signify rural, underdeveloped, and backward lifestyles; and (4) urban sanitation is a state responsibility, not a local one. Highlighting the urban sanitation imaginary methodologically and analytically goes beyond a discussion of culturally and contextually appropriate technologies. It examines linkages between user expectations and notions of urban citizenship and modernity. Ultimately it also draws attention to the sociopolitical dynamics and environmental justice issues embedded in discussions of sanitation and hygiene. While some of our results are specific to the Villa Lamadrid context, our research more generally suggests the need to consider sanitation imaginaries to reframe the discussion on sanitation interventions, particularly in underserved and impoverished urban areas.

This republished Special Issue highlights recent and emergent concepts and approaches to water governance that re-centers the political in relation to water-related decision making, use, and management. To do so at once is to focus on diverse ontologies, meanings and values of water, and related contestations regarding its use, or its importance for livelihoods, identity, or place-making. Building on insights from science and technology studies, feminist, and postcolonial approaches, we engage broadly with the ways that water-related decision making is often depoliticized and evacuated of political content or meaning—and to what effect. Key themes that emerged from the contributions include the politics of water infrastructure and insecurity; participatory politics and multi-scalar governance dynamics; politics related to emergent technologies of water (bottled or packaged water, and water desalination); and Indigenous water governance.

Across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) urban water supply systems face a range of challenges—so much so that the situation across the region has been classified by the United Nations as being among the most dire globally with respect to provision of water and sanitation (UN-HABITAT 2007). Among the tremendous challenges is the issue of uneven and variable delivery of services, often with some middle and high-income locales receiving safe and affordable water, while nearby lower income areas do not even enjoy basic access to safe water for drinking and other domestic uses. This report provides data from a survey implemented early in 2012 with focus on basic household water uses and sources, perceptions of accessibility and affordability, and other elements of the lived experience associated with water access and governance in four relatively underserved sites of Accra, Ghana and Cape Town, South Africa. Please note that we targeted underserved sites for the survey, so the data speaks to the conditions in these sites, rather than for the cities overall. Specifically, the survey was undertaken in the communities of Teshie and Ashaiman in Accra, and Philippi and Khayletisha in Cape Town (see Maps 1 and 2). In Ghana there were a total of 243 respondents, with 123 respondents from Ashaiman (Roman Down) and 120 from Teshie (51% of the Ghanaian sample were female, and 49% male). For the South African sites, there were a total of 256 respondents—132 from Khayelitsha and 124 from Philippi (of the South African survey respondents, 61% were female and 39% male). There are considerable socio-cultural, political-economic and other differences across these study sites. The survey results presented here help to capture and elaborate some of these differences. The data, both in aggregate senses, and for each specific country, also serves to capture how relatively impoverished and underserved communities in both urban contexts access and assess water as part of their everyday lives. Indeed, we find the differences across the sites to be instructive in several ways, including highlighting key concerns that face relatively impoverished communities in either context, and also as background information to evaluate and understand the importance and effects of different policy and historical contexts that help to shape the realities as reported by respondents. For instance, one observation is that affordability is a key concern in Ghana, yet respondents in this country do not believe that water should be free, revealing a stark difference from their South African counterparts. Our survey results have also informed several publications, as noted in the bibliography. ; Science, Faculty of ; Non UBC ; Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), Institute for ; Unreviewed ; Faculty ; Graduate

Based on focus groups with women in two Canadian provinces, Ontario and B.C, we analyze key themes as women discuss their concerns and interests related to water. We find that women highlight key concerns related to water in a way that attends to the connections among people, as well as between humans and other life. The types of subjectivities we witness among the women interviewed recognize the social embeddedness of water, integrating questions of social, ecological, and intergenerational justice in relation to complex and changing waterscapes. While our evidence certainly illuminates a gender perspective consistent with discussions in feminist political ecology, we also find narratives that clearly highlight nuanced and intersectional understandings, with focus group discussions that clearly articulate key linkages between gender, class, and Indigeneity. ; Science, Faculty of ; Reviewed ; Faculty ; Graduate

This work examines the communication interactions of water suppliers and health authorities with the general public regarding microbial source water quality for recreational and drinking water. We compare current approaches to risk communication observable in British Columbia (BC), Canada, with best practices derived from the communications literature, finding significant gaps between theory and practice. By considering public views and government practices together, we identify key disconnects, leading to the conclusion that at present, neither the public's needs nor public health officials' goals are being met. We find: (1) there is a general lack of awareness and poor understanding by the public of microbial threats to water and the associated health implications; (2) the public often does not know where to find water quality information; (3) public information needs are not identified or met; (4) information sharing by authorities is predominantly one-way and reactive (crisis-oriented); and (5) the effectiveness of communications is not evaluated. There is a need for both improved public understanding of water quality-related risks, and new approaches to ensure information related to water quality reaches audiences. Overall, greater attention should be given to planning and goal setting related to microbial water risk communication. ; Arts, Faculty of ; Medicine, Faculty of ; Non UBC ; Geography, Department of ; Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Department of ; Population and Public Health (SPPH), School of ; Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), Institute for ; Reviewed ; Faculty ; Graduate

We analyze the relationship between perceptions of domestic water access, and quality, in relation community engagement. While others have suggested linkages between material conditions of water access and engagement (e.g., that poor water access might spur engagement), to date there have been no studies those test these relationships using statistical methods. Based on a quantitative analysis of survey data from underserved sites in Accra, Ghana, and Cape Town, South Africa, our results show that water access and quality are both predictive of community engagement. The analysis also makes a strong case that there are different dimensions when considering the material conditions of water—in this case, water access and quality each condition engagement in opposite directions. Furthermore, consistent with other studies, our study also shows different demographics (notably gender) mediate these relationships in important ways. ; Arts, Faculty of ; Science, Faculty of ; Non UBC ; Political Science, Department of ; Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), Institute for ; Reviewed ; Faculty ; Postdoctoral ; Graduate

There is growing acknowledgement that the material dimensions of water security alone are inadequate; we also need to engage with a broader set of hydrosocial relationships. Indeed, more holistic approaches are needed to explain Indigenous peoples' relationships to water including the use of traditional water sources such as mountain creeks and springs. In this paper, we seek to reimagine water security through a case study of Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in's relationships to both treated and traditional water sources throughout the First Nation's traditional territory in Yukon, Canada. Through community-based research including interviews with Elders and other community members, we examine the importance of traditional water sources for meeting important health requirements including physical, spiritual and cultural wellbeing. This intervention contributes to ongoing debates about what it means to secure safe and affordable water in three key ways: First, we argue that Indigenous water relations invite a shift towards more a holistic understanding of water security; second, we contend that settler colonial politics should be understood as a root cause of water insecurity; finally, we explore how Two-Eyed Seeing can be applied as an alternative to the 'integration' of Western scientific and Indigenous approaches to drinking water. ; Arts, Faculty of ; Law, Peter A. Allard School of ; Science, Faculty of ; Non UBC ; Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice, Institute for ; Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), Institute for ; Reviewed ; Faculty