The comparative ethics of different categories of stakeholders along New Mexico's Rio Grande reveal cultural distinctions (and vice versa).

1. Water Ethics as a Cultural System:
A View from the Rio Grande of New Mexico
David Groenfeldt
Water-Culture Institute
SfAA Meetings – Denver
March 22, 2013

2. Contents
1.
Theoretical Framework (culture, ideology,
and science)
2.
Western Water Culture (general)
3.
Diversity of Water Culture and Ideologies
among Rio Grande Stakeholders
4.
Steps to a New Water Ethic

3. 1. Theory
 Culture vs. Ideology

Geertz, North, Facchini and Melki
 Ideology vs. Science

Latour, others??
 Dissonance as driver of change

“a situation in which the costs of justifying the
knowledge, crystallised in the norms and
beliefs, become prohibitive.” (Facchini and
Melki 2011)

4. 2. Western Water Culture
(as seen in the Middle Rio Grande)
 Water viewed as a disembodied resource
 Rio Grande is a conveyance channel

“…the Rio could die, and it would be a drag,
but not necessarily terribly impactful for…
water supply... It can always be piped in from
somewhere else. “They will figure something
out.” [RG Attitudes Survey, 2003]

5. Rio Grande Attitudes
“Few citizens…consider the ecosystem when
talking about the Rio. It is almost as if it exists in
isolation….There is virtually no acknowledgement
of an ecosystem, plants, animals, fish and the like.
The image that is burned into everyone ’s mind is a
solitary river (more like a canal) cutting through the
burning sands of the desert.”

6. Rio Grande Attitudes (cont.)
“The river as a habitat is not a readily available
construct in most people’s minds, and...most
accept the idea that species ‘come and go’. Only
one or two of the many, many people we spoke
with ever got close to the larger message of the
minnow and what its presence or absence
suggests about the ecosystem of the river.”

7. Rio Grande Attitudes (cont.)
“The identity of the river proved to be the single
most consistent element of this inquiry... The river
was always seen as a very old man – wizened,
brown, dry, thirsty, wrinkled, homeless, staggering,
and soon to die.... Many feel pity for this old heroic
fellow.
One of the Acequia folks…described the RG as an
old man with a walker, who was on death’s
doorstep. Environmental workers, he referred to as
hospice workers.”

8. Rio Grande Attitudes (cont.)
“There is also a great deal of pride and spirit in the
personality of the river…The river is a cagey,
intelligent, crafty, seasoned, wise, silent, austere
cold, solitary, and at times a bit grumpy. He is also
proud, able, fierce, mysterious, mercurial and freespirited. Unlike more abundant, serene, flowing
and female rivers, the RG is a bit of a renegade. A
bit of an outsider, living on the edge....it has a
mythic character.”

9. Rio Grande Attitudes (cont.)
"Most citizens say if the Rio had one dream, it
would be to flow. They acknowledge that it is the
presence of dams that have forever altered the
flow, the ‘natural’ state of the river. And most
equally easily suggest that the river can not and
will not flow naturally again. And they are OK with
this. In simple terms, it’s the river or us. And we
know who they will vote for on that one. Most
citizens view themselves as part of a long line of
people who have ‘rights’ to water.

10. Rio Grande Attitudes (Cont.)
“Who is watching over the Rio? Who has its best
interests at heart?...This question seemed to
mobilize and challenge people... It appeared to
help them come to grips with their own apathy and
detachment from the river…Right now there is no
authority, no address, no one to turn to when
questions of the river arise in people’s
minds....This is a clear vacuum that the citizen and
others want to see filled. They know something
needs to be done, and they know they aren’t doing
it – and fear no one else is.”

11. IMAG0815.jp
Rio Grande just north of Albuquerque

12. Dominant Water Ethic

Private water rights defined by:




Response to scarcity



increase supply
Protect existing users
Response to floods


Priority claims
Economically Beneficial Use
Use it or lose it
Dams and levees
Ecosystem valued for recreation and
“ecosystem services”

14. 7 Stakeholder Groups
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Pueblo Indian Tribes
Acequia Groups
Federal Water Agencies
State Water Agencies
Agricultural interests
Cities (Albuquerque)
Environmental Groups

15. 1. Pueblo Indian Water Ethics

“the Rio Grande used to be pure and clean. We
would harvest a tremendous bounty off the river.
All kinds of fish, from eels to catfish to carp.
One day the U.S. Corps of Engineers came and
they straightened the river out and the river was
destroyed. They destroyed a clean and pure
system of water clear from its headwaters down
through the village…” (Santa Clara man)

16. …The river is more than water. She is the link between
land and sky…she has ’organs’ made up of plant and
animal communities. She is a whole community, living and
breathing. Her skin is the soil; it breathes, sweats, and
nourishes her. Her lungs are the trees and other plants.
They cleanse the air of carbon dioxide and give us oxygen
instead! Her blood is the water flowing in her channel, and
her kidneys are the wetlands. Together they nourish and
cleanse the body of the land.
- adapted from conclusions of conference on Water
and Culture, Santa Fe, 2003

17. Cochiti Dam looking north

18. Construction of Cochiti Dam
(according to Regis Pecos, 2007)
“One of the most emotional periods in our history was
watching our ancestors torn from their resting places,
removed during excavation. The places of worship were
dynamited, destroyed, and desecrated by the construction.
The traditional homelands were destroyed. When the flood
gates closed and waters filled Cochiti Lake, to see the
devastation to all of the agricultural land upon which we
had walked and had learned the lessons of life from our
grandfathers destroyed before our eyes was like the world
was coming to an end. And all we could do was watch.”

19. “All of you [water professionals] deal only with water. Those
who come to the table on behalf of tribal governments and
their people come with extraordinary loads of responsibility
with a…historical perspective. These are all issues
intricately tied and related to one another. Discussions on
water, the sacredness of its spirit, the source of all life is at
the heart of our sacred trust.” [Regis Pecos]

20. 2. Acequia Water Ethics
“The tacit, underlying premise is that all living creatures
have a right to water” (Rodriguez, p. 115).
Another cultural core belief related to water as that its use
should be shared: “The principle of water sharing belongs
to a larger moral economy that promotes cooperative
economic behavior through inculcating the core value of
respecto and gendered norms of personal comportment”
(p. 116

21. Embudo Valley, NM

24. New Mexico Acequia Association:
“Our mission is to sustain our way of life by protecting
water as a community resource and strengthening the
farming and ranching traditions of our families and
communities.”
"El Agua es la Vida" is our campaign to defend water as a
community resource. Demands to move water out of
traditional communities to industry, sprawling cities, and
commercial uses that are often viewed as "higher economic
uses" threaten the survival of acequias and the water
security of the historic, agricultural communities of New
Mexico.

26. 3. Federal Agency Water Ethics
The Middle Rio Grande Project was authorized by the
Congress to improve and stabilize the economy of the
Middle Rio Grande Valley by rehabilitation of the Middle Rio
Grande Conservancy District facilities and by controlling
sedimentation and flooding in the Rio Grande….
USACE: The Corps of Engineers was assigned the
construction of flood control reservoirs and levees for flood
protection.
Ecosystem restoration is not an authorized objective for
USACE flood control operations (Would need special
authorization).

27. USBR: “The authorized maintenance goals for the Middle
Rio Grande Project have evolved over time and include:
Provide for effective transport of water and sediment to
Elephant Butte Reservoir
Conserve surface water
Protect riverside structures and facilities
Reduce and/or eliminate aggradation
Reduce the rate of channel degradation from Cochiti Dam
south to Socorro
Provide habitat improvements for Endangered Species
Act (ESA)-listed species within the Project area

28. USBR Collaborative Program – goals are to (1) alleviate
jeopardy to listed species, (2) conserve and contribute to
the recovery of the listed species, (3) protect existing and
future water uses, and (4) report to the community about
their work.
US Fish and Wildlife Service Middle Rio Grande Bosque
Initiative: The objective of the MRGBI is to protect,
enhance, and restore biological values and “the bosque’s
health” by addressing ecological functions within the Middle
Rio Grande through an integrated "ecosystem approach" to
restoration.

29. Jetty Jacks near Albuquerque

30. 4. State Agency Water Ethics
Office of the State Engineer:
No mention of the Rio Grande as a river. The operational
agreement between New Mexico and USBR concerns
water allocation and deliveries only; no purpose statement
included.

31. Middle Rio Grande Habitat Restoration projects DO have
ecological purpose, but specific to ESA (Silvery minnow):

“The Middle Rio Grande Riverine Habitat Restoration
Project Phase IIa will implement and evaluate specific
restoration techniques designed to improve the river
ecosystem function and provide greater diversity in aquatic
habitat for the endangered Rio Grande silvery Minnow.” –
from OSE website


33. 5. Farmers’ River Ethics
 Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District




32,000 ha irrigated area
14,000 ha valley forest (bosque)
Water diverted for agriculture “is reused time and time
again to irrigate crops, sustains the cottonwood
bosque along the Rio Grande, helps create and
maintain habitat for the endangered Rio Grande
silvery minnow and recharges the aquifer.
Motto: “Keep the Valley Green”

35. Farmer Ethics (cont.)
“Farmers do not appear to have any more
tenderness for the river than anyone else. For
them water and the river are two different things.
The river is simply a delivery vehicle for water.”
(RG Attitude Survey 2003)

36. 6. Municipal Water Ethics

Albuquergue-Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority
 No mission statement

…regional issues that need to be pursued include… an
inclusive public process to determine acceptable
tradeoffs among urban, agricultural, and riparian water
needs; equitable sharing of costs and benefits… (2007
Water Strategy)

“the regional aquifer, Bosque and the Rio Grande are
exceptional resources of great value to both residents
and wildlife that provide the region with an environment
unique in the West. The Authority should adopt policies
…to protect these environmental features.”

38. Levee Task Force
The role of the LTF was to evaluate the current state of the
Rio Grande levees and to determine significant issues of
compliance under recently established levee regulations
and to formulate recommendations for needed
improvements or reconstruction of the Rio Grande levees.
The LTF was also requested to look into the flood risks
associated with the levees and the possible environmental
and economic impacts of the overall levee system. [Third
Report to the New Mexico Water and Natural Resources
Committee, Oct. 2011]

40. 7. Environmental NGOs’ Water Ethics

NM Audubon Society – “Balancing the water needs of
a healthy river ecosystem with the water demands of
Rio Grande basin residents is the most pressing issue
facing the Rio Grande today”…. “Audubon New Mexico
is advocating for protection, restoration, and in some
cases acquisition, of critical lands along the Rio Grande.
We also partner with other organizations to host
volunteer restoration work-days, lead field trips, and
sponsor community events to highlight significant river
birds and wildlife and foster stewardship of the Rio
Grande.”

41. NGO values (cont.)
Wild Earth Guardians – is working to give the river a right
to its own water; and prioritize the river’s own water as
having priority over low-value agriculture such as alfalfa.
The group has initiated litigation to challenge water
transfers, floodplain development, water pollution and other
activities that threaten the Rio Grande.

43. What are the Operative Water Ethics?

Pueblos, Environmental Groups, and Acequias:



State and Federal Agencies




River has a right to its own water and health
Wildlife has intrinsic value
Protect senior rights holders and “beneficial use”
Environmental values only if recognized in law (e.g., ESA) and not
for intrinsice value of ecosystem
Law recognizes intrinsic value of endangered species only
Farmers and Local Governments


Amenity value of river ecosystem is recognized but low priority
Water security to support status quo and (within this) cost
effectiveness are paramount

44. Ethics, Sense, and Sustainability
Pueblos vs Enviros vs Acequias?
 Intrinsic value of nature (all can agree)

Environment as stakeholder
 Right of the river to flow (Rights of Nature)


Qualified support by mainstream enviros and
acaquias
Absolute support by Pueblos and some
enviros

45. Transition Discourse



Is our goal a sustainable global system or just
one pluriverse (Escobar)?

“e pluribus unum”
Can water policies become a “model for” living
sustainably rather than a “model of” neoliberal
greed?
Can water discourse contribute to Thomas
Berry’s “Great Work” to usher in the Ecozoic era,
or will we remain stuck in the Anthropocene?

46. How Can We Use Water Ethics?

Reveal operational ethics in local contexts and
compare with local and international ideals




UNESCO principles of water ethics
IUCN principles of international enviornmental law
Stimulate sense of ideological dissonance through
stakeholder dialogue and debate
Incorporate new values into management goals

Setting value-based goals is fundamental to water
governance and management

47. Fundamental Princples of Water Ethics
(UNESCO)









Human dignity: for there is no life without water;
Participation: everyone should be involved in water planning and
management
Solidarity: upstream-downstream interdependence
Human equality:
Common Good:
Stewardship: intergenerational equity and sustainable use of
ecosystems;
Transparency and universal access to information:
Inclusiveness: Minority interests must be protected
Empowerment: “Best ethical practice will enable stakeholders to
influence management.”

48. Ethical Principles from International Law
(not specific to water)
(from K. Kintzele, IUCN Committee on Ethics and Law)









Prevention of trans-boundary harm/prior notification
Precautionary/cautionary
Polluter pays
Common heritage of mankind
Conserve environment and natural resources
Public rights: access to information, to justice; participation
in decision-making
Public trust
Intergenerational rights – respecting past and present
Cultural rights of indigenous peoples

49. Incorporating Ethics into Water Governance

Enlarging and clarifying the frame of “stakeholder”






Applying principles of ecological, social, and cultural justice
Critiquing legal and economic frameworks from an ethical
perspective
Applying “rights” principles to



From only water rights holders to everyone within the basin
Including Nature as a stakeholder
Including future generations
Rights of Rivers and water ecosystems
Rights of Cultures (UN-DRIP)
Developing a Water Ethics Charter (starting April 2013)

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