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Environmental Justice in Transboundary Water Management

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Environmental Justice in Transboundary Water Management AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF Julie Elkins Watson for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geography presented on July 15, 2015 Title: Beyond Cooperation: Environmental Justice in Transboundary Water Management Abstract approved: Aaron T. Wolf Since the Wolf, Yoffe, and Giordano 2003 Basins at Risk study, examining human interactions with transboundary water resources through a lens of conflict and cooperation has been a dominant paradigm. The Basins at Risk (BAR) method involves categorizing events on a scale from most conflictive (e.g. war or extensive casualties) to most cooperative (voluntary unification into one political unit). While this research provides significant insight into the nature of cooperation and conflict over water, it frames the discussion about water politics in terms of diplomatic, economic, and military hostility. However, a basin can exhibit an impressive level of cooperation, yet beneath the surface display tremendous environmental injustice to basin countries and basin sub-populations (e.g. indigenous groups, women). Recognizing that cooperation could mask various forms of conflict and looking at the nexus of water conflict and cooperation in terms of interactions rather than events, Mirumachi introduced the Transboundary Waters Interaction Nexus (TWINS) tool (Zeitoun & Mirumachi, 2008). Yet, this nexus also defines water conflict using high politics and militarized conceptualizations. Thus, I argue that the conflict-cooperation paradigm alone is insufficient for understanding the range of impacts from human interactions with transboundary water. Particularly, these scales do not sufficiently capture decisions and policies that have inequitable distributions of environmental costs and benefits. In other words, they do not capture the environmental justice (also referred to as structural violence) implications of water decisions, whether cooperative or conflictive. This is especially true for more nebulously defined qualitative needs like the cultural or aesthetic values for water resources. Furthermore, while institutions like treaties are key to cooperative (i.e. less direct violence) basins (according to Wolf et al., 2003), they may also solidify and reinforce existing power imbalances and injustices (Zeitoun & Mirumachi, 2008). Thus, if cooperation alone does not guarantee progress towards environmental justice, it is important to understand the role of institutions like treaties and river basin organizations (RBOs). Do they deter affected countries and communities from meeting their basic human needs, or can institutions be wielded to affirm those needs? What is the role of participatory processes? Practically, how can managers, policymakers, and environmental facilitators understand and respond to structural violence related to natural resource decisions? The purpose of this dissertation is to bridge the gap between pragmatism and social idealism, between real-world politics and the charge from great philosophers and leaders to create a more just world. Towards this goal, I developed a scale of structural violence in transboundary basins that complements the work of Wolf et al. and Mirumachi et al. (referred to as the London Water Research Group- or LWRG). This tool- called the Integrated Basins at Risk (iBAR) scale- draws from Wolf’s (2008) work on water and spirituality, mirroring Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. I developed a linked method to assess structural violence/environmental justice using the scale as a prism to assess archival events (newspaper articles), interviews, and observational data from conference and panel presentations. Using the Mekong Basin as a transboundary water case study, I tested the scale and methodology, painting a detailed picture of environmental justice in the basin and the institutional variables associated with positive and negative outcomes. From this, I drew conclusions and produced recommendations relevant to practitioners interested in improving justice outcomes in transboundary basins. Finally, I evaluated the iBAR method’s utility as an assessment tool for water conflict facilitators and water managers. ©Copyright by Julie Elkins Watson July 15, 2015 All Rights Reserved Beyond Cooperation: Environmental Justice in Transboundary Water Management by Julie Elkins Watson A DISSERTATION submitted to Oregon State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Presented July 15, 2015 Commencement June 2016 Doctor of Philosophy dissertation of Julie Elkins Watson presented on July 15, 2015 APPROVED: Major Professor, representing Geography Dean of the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences Dean of the Graduate School I understand that my dissertation will become part of the permanent collection of Oregon State University libraries. My signature below authorizes release of my dissertation to any reader upon request. Julie Elkins Watson, Author ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is amazing how a journey like the dissertation process can be so solitary and yet so fundamentally hinging on community. This dissertation was only possible because of the many, many amazing people who have opened doors, inspired, encouraged, and cared for me not just over the past three years of PhD work, or the five years I have spent at Oregon State University, but stretching back over my AmeriCorps work with the North Country Trail Association, my internship at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, my college years at Penn State Behrend, and all the way back through my K-12 years in Western Pennsylvania. A conscientious attempt to thank all of the people who nudged me in the direction of achieving this dream could easily double the length of this dissertation, so for the purpose of brevity, I will stick to a few highlights. However, if you are reading this and know me but don’t see your name, know that you are appreciated! First and foremost, I want to thank my parents, George and Lynne Elkins, who lovingly raised me and instilled in me a love of learning, a sense of adventure, a confidence in my ability to pursue my ambitions, and a willingness to persevere through the difficult and unknown. They support all of my endeavors, even when those endeavors take me to the other side of the world, and they continue to read my increasingly long academic papers (hi, mom!), doing their own follow-up research so we can talk about my work over a game of cards or a Skype call. Their love and support are immeasurable and will always be cherished. Beyond my parents, family and friends have been major influences in my life through this dissertation process. Brett Watson, Jenna Beck, Alison Doniger, Candice Weems, Kim Ogren, Elle Davis, my extended family, my sister Katie, and the Robinson/Kirkham family have all been amazing in too many ways to mention. Other friends have been major sources of inspiration and camaraderie, especially the incoming 2010 and 2011 (±) WRPM and Geosciences (+) crews (including Harmony Paulsen Burright, Greer Harewood, Miriah Russo Kelly, Brian Chaffin, Jen Veilleux, Mousa Diabat, & Mariya Pak Feuer, among many others). Oregon State University has been the ideal setting for this dissertation journey, and for my Master’s degree before it. I have been fortunate to meet, work with, and be mentored by a long list of outstanding faculty and staff. Thanks to Mary Santelmann, Julia Jones, Gregg Walker, Lynette de Silva, Todd Jarvis, Steve Cook, Demian Hommel, Renee Freeman, Melinda Jensen, and Stacey Schulte for all of your guidance and support throughout the years. Thanks also to the OSU Office for the Vice Provost for International Programs for the Graduate Internationalization Grant (GIG) that helped finance my fieldwork in Southeast Asia. More acutely, completing this journey was only possible because of the support, advice, and patience of my committee members: Bryan Tilt and Shireen Hyrapiet, who provided immensely helpful guidance on Political Ecology theory and methods, Michael Campana, who enlightened, inspired, and always made me feel like I really belong in the water community, Allen Thompson, who transcended his GCR role and helped me develop more precise ethical and philosophical positions in my work, and Aaron Wolf, my adviser and inspiration over the last five years. I knew I belonged at Oregon State when, after meeting Aaron and expressing a need for insight on life in Oregon, he pulled a map from his desk and created a hand-drawn road trip itinerary for the last day of my visit. The past five years have been filled with amazing opportunities to travel, to participate in transboundary water policy facilitation and capacity building, and to learn from Aaron’s wisdom and expertise. It has been an honor to work with him! Finally, if you are reading this, thank you! Either you know me and I have or haven’t already thanked you above, or you are opening this dissertation of your own free will (presumably). If you fit the latter, I hope you find something within these pages that helps or inspires you as you continue on whatever journey brought you here. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Chapter 1: Environmental Justice in Transboundary Water Management ........................ 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 Research Perspective & Definitions ................................................................................ 4 Water Conflict & Cooperation .......................................................................................
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