Consultation is not consent: hydraulic fracturing and water governance on Indigenous lands in Canada

• Published in: Wiley interdisciplinary reviews. Water Vol. 4; no. 1; pp. np - n/a
• Main Authors: Moore, Michele‐Lee, von der Porten, Suzanne, Castleden, Heather
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.01.2017; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Agreements; Co-management; Consultation; Criticism; Decision making; Engineering; Environmental engineering; Environmental governance; Environmental policy; Governance; Human rights; Hydraulic fracturing; Indigenous peoples; Jurisdiction; Native literature; Native peoples; Native rights; Natural gas exploration; Natural resource management; Private sector; Resource management; Sedimentary rocks; Self determination; Shale; Shale gas; Solutions; Sustainability; Water engineering; Water governance; Water quality; Water rights; Water supply; Canada; ANW, Canada
• ISSN: 2049-1948; 2049-1948
• DOI: 10.1002/wat2.1180

The rapid increase in private sector proposals and permit applications to use water for the purpose of hydraulic fracturing has led to significant concerns in nearly every jurisdiction in the world where shale gas development has been explored. In addition to concerns about risks to water quantity and quality, in Canada, shale gas development has highlighted how the Crown (federal and provincial governments) continues to struggle in its approach to honor, respect, and uphold Nation‐to‐Nation relationships with Indigenous peoples. But moving beyond the criticism, we argue that these circumstances have provided a renewed opportunity to explore alternative governance approaches. Existing water governance challenges are exacerbated by historical injustices generated by resource management approaches that have exposed Indigenous nations to disproportionate environmental risks. Furthermore, the inadequacy of current water governance approaches to recognizing Indigenous rights, self‐determination, ways of knowing, and values has been well established in literature relating to environmental governance and Indigenous peoples. Given these circumstances, if water is allocated to hydraulic fracturing in Canada with continued disregard for Indigenous rights and risks, we contend that this only further intensifies unjust environmental and cultural harm to Indigenous peoples. In the quest for solutions, we discuss the challenges to alternative models (co‐management, collaborative governance, and impact benefit agreements) that are frequently cited in environment‐Indigenous literature. We conclude with recommendations to address the unresolved challenges inherent in these governance models, in the interest of improving water decision‐making. WIREs Water 2017, 4:e1180. doi: 10.1002/wat2.1180 This article is categorized under: Human Water > Rights to Water Engineering Water > Sustainable Engineering of Water Human Water > Water Governance Hydraulic fracturing's demands on water, and the impact on such activities in Indigenous territories across Canada, has highlighted the need to transform water governance locally and beyond our borders. Such a transformation would include respect for Indigenous knowledge systems, a cumulative effects framework, and a paradigm shift in colonially entrenched decision‐making.