VALUES AND ETHICS IN INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT. David C. Garen, Ph.D.

Transcription

1 VALUES AND ETHICS IN INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT I M P L I C I T O R E X P L I C I T? David C. Garen, Ph.D.

2 Values and Ethics: Definitions Here, I use the words values and ethics in these specific ways: Values are things I feel are important, either concrete items (e.g., money, nature) or abstract ideas (e.g., love, generosity, respect). An ethic is a set of values or principles that combine into a worldview and that guide my decisions and lifestyle.

3 Examples of ethics Money, power Conquest of nature Economic development / opportunity Reverence for life (Albert Schweitzer) Precautionary Principle Small ecological / carbon footprint Water soft path

4 Changing values, changing paradigms: Klamath River Began irrigated agriculture in early 20th century 2001 drought, 2002 fish kill Flow requirements for two endangered fish species Increasing influence and political power of Native American tribes Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (2010)

5 Ethics in IWRM IWRM itself contains some embedded ethics. In reports, these ideas are sometimes mentioned, sometimes not, usually not fully developed. That is, the ethics tend to be implicit rather than explicit.

6 Progress What people think is progress or movement to a more desirable state has changed over the years. Past paradigms considered progress to be control of nature, economic development, engineering works, etc. Current paradigms consider progress to include preservation of nature, etc. Both paradigms are based on values and ethics...

7 Needs What is a need and what is a want (i.e., when is water scarce )? How much water is Depends on values and ethics and strikes at the heart of the humannature relationship needed for environmental flows?

8 Balance IWRM papers are full of the word balance, as in balancing various needs for water. What is the basis of the choices to be made to Rests upon values and ethics... achieve balance?

9 CONVENTIONAL: WATER USES, ANTHROPOCENTRIC FOCUS water supply sanitation agriculture hydropower navigation environment COUNTERPOINT: WATER USES, ECOCENTRIC FOCUS instream flows fish wetlands water quality aquatic ecosystems riparian vegetation human interests

10 The biggest problems are not necessarily scientific or technical.

11 Addressing the problems Is more scientific information and technology what is needed? Or are the issues primarily ethical in nature? Solutions considered depend on how deeply we ask questions.

12 Knowledge and its limits Knowledge is good as is seeking to increase it. But also: Real knowledge is to know the extent of one s ignorance. -- Confucius Irreducible uncertainty in complex systems poses limits on increasing our knowledge.

13 Knowledge-based versus ignorance-based worldview Knowledgebased worldview assumes: Ignorancebased worldview recognizes: Systems are understood, effects of human interventions can be predicted accurately Systems are not well understood, effects of human interventions cannot be predicted accurately

14 Decision paradigms Analytical decision situation paradigm, such as modeling, prediction, and cost-benefit analysis Knowledgebased Ignorancebased situation Alternative decision paradigm, based on principle rather than analysis and calculation

15 Principle-based decision paradigm: Example of slavery Slavery was abolished based on a humanitarian principle rather than on economic costs and benefits.

16 Possible decision principles Precautionary Principle Small ecological footprint Sustainability Water security Social justice/equity Intrinsic value of nature

17 Paradigms, ethics, worldviews, and expectations Knowledge Assumptions Beliefs Paradigms Values Ethics Changing paradigms Worldview Rejecters Adopters Expectations Old expectations New expectations

18 Changing values, changing paradigms: Klamath River Began irrigated agriculture in early 20th century 2001 drought, 2002 fish kill Flow requirements for two endangered fish species Increasing influence and political power of Native American tribes Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (2010)

19 Ethical questions for IWRM How much water should be allocated to the preservation of ecosystems? Does setting an environmental flow mean that humans can legitimately take all water in excess of this? Is the concept of ecosystem services helpful, or is it inadequate, too anthropocentric, and does it lead to the commodification of nature? Does nature have an intrinsic value and right to exist? Do humans need to make a compassionate retreat from their demands on nature?

20 Conclusion Water management decisions have their roots in values and ethics. Conflicts in water management have their roots in differing values and ethics. IWRM could progress with the explicit statement and discussion of values and ethics.

21 Resources Groenfeldt, David (2013). Water Ethics: A Values Approach to Solving the Water Crisis. Routledge. ( ) Schmidt, Jeremy (2013). Blog page on water ethics resources: Vitek, Bill, and Wes Jackson (2008). The Virtues of Ignorance: Complexity, Sustainability, and the Limits of Knowledge. The University Press of Kentucky. Worster, Donald (1985). Rivers of Empire: Water, Aridity, and the Growth of the American West. Pantheon Books, New York.