Events

Indigenous Water Initiative

Events

UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, May 2009, New York. Three Side Events were convened by the Indigenous World Forum on Water and Peace with sponsorship from the UNU-IAS TKI, the Seventh Generation Fund for Indian Development, and the Nehiyaw Cree Language and Cultural Society. The topics were: (1) “Indigenous Women, Climate Change and Water,” (2) “Indigenous Peoples, Water, and Peace,” and (3) “Our Sacred Waters.” Participants developed a collective statement that was presented to the 8th Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. [Download the statement, PDF 66KB]

Indigenous Peoples' Global Summit on Climate Change (Anchorage Alaska, 20-24 April 2009)
The purpose of the summit was to enable Indigenous peoples from all regions of the globe to exchange their knowledge and experience in adapting to the impacts of climate change, and to develop messages and recommendations to be articulated to the world at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen, in December 2009. Details of the summit, including the declaration and background documents, are available from the conference website, www.indigenoussummit.com.

Indigenous Sessions at the 2009 World Water Forum, Istanbul, Turkey. On Saturday March 21, 2009, Indigenous representatives from Latin America, Africa, North America, Australia and the Pacific participated in a panel hosted by United Nations University - Institute of Advanced Studies Traditional Knowledge Initiative (www.unutki.org) and Bigli Istanbul University at the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul, Turkey. Click here for a report on the sessions.

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Indigenous Session at the World Water Forum, Mexico, March 2006. A session entitled, Is Water Alive? Indigenous Understandings of Water, was organized by the Indigenous Water Initiative and Indigenous Environmental Network. Click here for a report on the session,

International Workshop on African Water Laws, January 2005, Johannesburg, South Africa. A workshop on Plural Legislative Frameworks for Rural Water Management in Africa was organized by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), the Global Water Partnership (GWP); International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI); Natural Resources Institute (NRI) with the Faculty of Law and the Institute of Resources Assessment, at the University of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. Of particular interest to indigenous issues is the paper by Stefano Burchi, "The interface between customary and statutory water rights - a statutory perspective."
(Download PDF 169KB)

Canadian Forum on Our Waters, Our Responsibility: Indigenous Water Rights. 13-15 May 2004, Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada) .A national forum highlighting Indigenous water rights was organized by the Anglican Church of Canada and drew together leaders, elders, and decision-makers from Indigenous communities who have been at the forefront of actions related to water rights in Aboriginal territories within Canada. The forum emphasized a rights-based approach to waters in Aboriginal territories, building a framework for action based on the recognition and implementation of Aboriginal title, rights, and treaties. Download the draft proceedings of this Forum (PDF 259KB)

UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-12 ), 19-30 April 2004, New York met at UN Headquarters in New York from 19-30 April 2004 to focus on the theme of "Water, Sanitation, and Human Settlements." Part of the discussions addressed water resource policies relevant to indigenous communities. A discussion paper representing indigenous perspectives on this theme was prepared by Tebtebba Foundation and the Indigenous Environment Network (IEN).   Download the discussion paper (PDF 75KB)

Rio Grande Cultural Water Conference, June 2003, Santa Fe, New Mexico (USA).  This 2-day conference, organized by Jose Lucero of Santa Clara Pueblo, brought together about 60 participants from the region, including Indian tribes, environmental groups, acequia (irrigation) organizations, and interested citizens. The purpose of the conference was (1) to foster an understanding of how people from all cultures can begin to work with the beautiful and endangered Rio Grande, (2) to enable networking among the participants, and (3) to gather ideas for preservation and sustenance of the Rio Grande. The concluding document from the conference was not the usual set of recommendations, but a brief story entitled, The River Who Thirsts for Herself (PDF 72KB)

Indigenous Sessions at the World Water Forum, March 2003, Kyoto, Japan. Indigenous issues were addressed in several sessions. Several indigenous leaders spoke during the opening plenary session of the theme, "Water and Cultural Diversity" (organized by UNESCO and the French Water Academy).   Other sessions presented indigenous perspectives on how water is used and conceptualized, how indigenous communities face processes of encroachment and denial of access, and what "water resources development" looks like when the process is controlled by the indigenous communities themselves. These sessions were organized by the Center for Life and Respect of Environment (CRLE), Wageningen University, UN-ECLAC, Tebtebba Foundation, and Fundacion Solon. The two session topics were: (1) Indigenous spiritual and cultural values - How water is viewed socially and spiritually, and cultural consequences of water degradation from outside development: and (2) Indigenous water rights and management - strategies and actions being taken to gain legal and practical recognition of customary rights; how water management supports indigenous food production; how their management practices are under increasing pressure from new policies, interventions and outside stakeholders, and illustrations of indigenously derived agricultural development. Download report of Indigenous Sessions (PDF 134KB)

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