Wednesday, 08 November 2023   I   14-16 CET 

The second episode of our (online) discussion series on social inclusion focused on tokenism in knowing and managing water. We need to continue to learn more about concepts and practices related to inclusion, environmental ethics and justice. This is evident in, for example, the growing global movement advocating for granting legal rights or personhood to rivers and freshwater ecosystems.  

Historically, a number of indigenous communities have embraced this rights-based approach. In the recent past, some countries have passed laws for recognizing rivers as legal entities with rights. There are increasing attention from political and academic arenas that largely focuses on the scopes of the rights of rivers and what types of litigation they could entail. 

We, the organizing team of the online discussion series, welcome the rights of rivers approach that challenges the traditions of considering rivers as properties and resources for human use. We are curious to understand what it means for the rivers to have legal rights; how the rights work – or not; and what happens to the rivers and those who rely on them when the rights are not protected.  

In episode 3, we invite participants to share ideas and insights about the rights of rivers together with speakers working on protecting the rights from various perspectives related to their socio-cultural identities, prejudices, epistemic understandings, and practices.  

A reflection on the discussions will be published in a blogpost to contribute to the "Unlearning and Relearning: Making Sense about Social Inclusion and Justice in Managing Water", an inspirational source for knowing and questioning water.  

Speakers:

Shristee Bajpai, Researcher and author on rights of nature, political ecology and justice 

Sharif Jamil, water and climate activist and a council member of Waterkeeper Alliance 

Erik Mosselman, River engineer and fluvial morphologist 

Natalija Vojno, Environmental mediation, and faith and peace

Program:

• Welcome and introduction

• Session 1: Understanding Rights of Rivers

  • Deep dive into the essence of granting rivers legal rights and its implications in today's world.

• Session 2: Group discussions

  • Engage in interactive group discussions, sharing perspectives, and learning from varied experiences.

• Reflections and Closing

  • Summarizing key takeaways and the path forward.

For more information and collaboration: shahnoor.hasan@deltares.nl

*This Online Discussion will be recorded. By participating, you are providing consent for the same.*