Conclusion and reflections - Governing Transboundary Waters: Canada, the United States, and Indigenous Communities - page 185

these borders to include cultural considerations and seeing the politics, understanding
that borders are often more complex than originally conceived.
Moving forward
At the beginning of the topic, I likened the process of analyzing transboundary
water governance to a roadside geologist where, at the site of an international
border, you can see the nested scales of governance: federal, tribal, provincial, state,
and municipal, each operating within (seemingly) neatly defined responsibilities
and purviews. In the pages that followed, I blurred these scales, suggesting that the
governance process being considered as a complex hydrosocial process, explicitly
engaging with the cultural, political, and ecological aspects of bordering , provides a
greater understanding of transborder water governance (something that is largely
missing in the literature). This engagement, therefore, leads to an increased
recognition of how institutions and governance mechanisms influence and reify
established power-dynamics and colonially interpreted landscapes.
Analyzing the rescaling of environmental governance mechanisms through an
exploration of water governance is an important exercise, as the “slippery”
characteristics of water are, for the most part, non-allegiant to state boundaries.
Unlike trees, which are rooted in place and can easily be characterized as part of
one side or the other, water flows through, over, and under political delineations.
As the stories in this topic remind us, water blurs borders of all kind.
The undeniable fact that all life requires water raises the stakes. Some argue
that the next wars will be fought over water. I, however, suggest that water pro-
vides a great opportunity to address fundamental issues related to governance, and
cultural and environmental politics. This is both an academic and a practical task.
Academically, this is accomplished by closer attention to discursive practices,
by opening up conceptual space for alternative dialogues and ways of seeing, by
remembering our history, and learning from our past. This work is ongoing.
Although great strides have no doubt occurred in decolonizing practices over the
past century, much work remains. The work now is for people to “see” the invisible.
Practically, on an individual level, this means incorporating the core lessons of
respect and integrity into daily practice. This includes respect and integrity for the
resources that sustain us: for water - our lifesource, and for the treatment of others
- our neighbors. It is also about knowing (and learning from) our own story, and
the stories of our ancestors. It means thinking beyond the scope of your own
lifetime, to think about the generations ahead of us.
Although the task is big, I remain hopeful. Water, after all, is a great unifier. It
helps us realize that we are literally and metaphorically “all in the same boat” and
“all upstream to someone”. Putting this knowledge into practice is the next step.