The protection of water ecosystems depends on supportive values (ethics), and analyzing those ethics can contribute to conservation strategies. (Presented as part of a WWF-sponsored session at the World Water Forum)

1. Water Ethics for People
and Ecosystems
David Groenfeldt, Director
Water-Culture Institute
14 March, 2012
dgroenfeldt@waterculture.org

2. Why Worry about Water Ethics?
Cultural and individual values motivate water behavior;
Values/ethics constitute an important (but usually
neglected) dimension of water governance;
Current management of water ecosystems is
unsustainable;
Values can and do change;
We can improve water governance through managing
values.

3. An Alternative to “Payment for Ecosystem Services”
“Payment” is a management tool
Let’s call it “management” instead of “payment”
“Ecosystem services” are defined through a lens of cultural
values (ethics)
Which services are given priority? (a cultural and ethical judgment)
Integrate the management of ecosystem services with the management of
other benefit categories (social, cultural)
Let’s call these benefits “ethical services”
“Management for Ethical Services” = MES

4. What Ethics? Where are they?
1. Choices about how ecosystems are managed
Rivers, lakes, wetlands
Aquifers
2.
Decisions about how water is used
Agriculture
Urban / domestic
Industrial
3.
Priorities in how water is governed
Participation
Equity

5. 1. Ethical Choices in Ecosystem Management
Physical Manipulation
Channel straightening (Rhine, Rio Grande)
Levees (“Room for Rivers”)
Dams and reservoirs (Mekong)
Impacts to Flow Regime / Quantity
Environmental Flow concepts (Santa Fe River; TNC Water Funds)
Impacts to Water Quality (Territ’Eau)
Water quality standards
Principle of “Polluter pays”

6. 2. Ethics of Water Use
Agriculture (agro-system services)
Culture heritage (Agricultural Heritage sites; EU Ag Policy)
Social welfare (Large-scale farming – Malaysia Grainary Policy)
Environmental sustainability (Finger millet in India)
Urban / Domestic
Water conservation / reuse [Project WET]
Access
>Human right to water & sanitation (WASH programs)
Industrial / Extractive
Reducing use and impacts (Water Footprinting)
Community stewardship (Corporate Social Responsibility)
Cross-sectoral allocation
(IWRM)

7. 3. Ethics of Water Governance
Irrigation
Farmer/community participation (PIM – INWEPF)
Water Supply and Sanitation
Human right to water/sanitation (Butterfly Effect)
Local vs centralized systems (Eau Vive – Mali)
Watersheds and River Basins
River Basin Approaches (WFD, Wladir River Commission)
Community Watershed Groups (Jal Bhagirathi Foundation)

8. Conclusion: Using Water Ethics to Promote Sustainability
Uncover the ethics motivating existing policies and practices ;
Help agencies / organizations / communities discover the values underlying their
water behavior
Develop methodologies for doing this (“ethics analysis”)
Incorporate ethical principles into the process of consensus building
around water management options
Deciding on alternative project / policy strategies
Dispute resolution (including transboundry negotiations)
Make sure key ethical views (e.g., Indigenous Peoples) are included
Build on Environmental Concepts
From Environmental Flows to cultural, social, and economic flows
From PES  MES

9. New Job Descriptions…
Environmental groups
Look for synergies with economic, social, and cultural values
Policy-makers
Consider total “ethical” value of water flows
Researchers
Case studies and better methodologies for analyzing ethics

10. MERCI / THANK YOU
worldwaterforum6.org
solutionsforwater.org