Scales Of Governance And Indigenous Peoples Rights

This book takes an interdisciplinary approach to the complicated power relations surrounding the recognition and implementation of Indigenous Peoples’ rights at multiple scales. The adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007 was heralded as the beginning of a new era for Indigenous Peoples’ participation in global governance bodies, as well as for the realization of their rights – in particular, the right to self-determination. These rights are defined and agreed upon internationally, but must be enacted at regional, national, and local scales. Can the global movement to promote Indigenous Peoples’ rights change the experience of communities at the local level? Or are the concepts that it mobilizes, around rights and political tools, essentially a discourse circulating internationally, relatively disconnected from practical situations? Are the categories and processes associated with Indigenous Peoples simply an extension of colonial categories and processes, or do they challenge existing norms and structures? This collection draws together the works of anthropologists, political scientists, and legal scholars to address such questions. Examining the legal, historical, political, economic, and cultural dimensions of the Indigenous Peoples' rights movement, at global, regional, national, and local levels, the chapters present a series of case studies that reveal the complex power relations that inform the ongoing struggles of Indigenous Peoples to secure their human rights. The book will be of interest to social scientists and legal scholars studying Indigenous Peoples’ rights, and international human rights movements in general.

This republished Special Issue highlights recent and emergent concepts and approaches to water governance that re-centers the political in relation to water-related decision making, use, and management. To do so at once is to focus on diverse ontologies, meanings and values of water, and related contestations regarding its use, or its importance for livelihoods, identity, or place-making. Building on insights from science and technology studies, feminist, and postcolonial approaches, we engage broadly with the ways that water-related decision making is often depoliticized and evacuated of political content or meaning—and to what effect. Key themes that emerged from the contributions include the politics of water infrastructure and insecurity; participatory politics and multi-scalar governance dynamics; politics related to emergent technologies of water (bottled or packaged water, and water desalination); and Indigenous water governance.

Indigenous peoples, legal and other professionals have actively engaged a number of international and national legal mechanisms to achieve degees of self governance in Canada, the United States, Greenland, Denmark, Norway, New Zealand and Australia. This title presents these precedents in the ongoing effort for self governance.

The Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in Constitutions Assessment Tool helps users to analyse a constitution from the perspective of indigenous peoples’ rights. Using a series of questions, short explanations and example provisions from constitutions around the world, the Assessment Tool guides its users through the text of a constitution and allows for systematic analysis of the language and provisions of a constitutional text to assess how robustly indigenous peoples’ rights are reflected in it. A constitution articulates a vision that reflects a state’s values and history, as well as its aspirational objectives for the future. As the supreme law of a state, the constitution defines its structure and institutions, distributes political power, and recognizes and protects fundamental rights, critically determining the relationship between citizens and governments. Embedding in a constitution recognition of and rights-based protections for specific groups, such as indigenous peoples, can give these groups and their rights enhanced protection. This can be furthered by providing for specialized institutions and processes to deepen the realization of those rights in practice.

Indigenous research is an important and burgeoning field of study. With the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s call for the Indigenization of higher education and growing interest within academic institutions, scholars are exploring research methodologies that are centred in or emerge from Indigenous worldviews, epistemologies, and ontology. This new edited collection moves beyond asking what Indigenous research is and examines how Indigenous approaches to research are carried out in practice. Contributors share their personal experiences of conducting Indigenous research within the academy in collaboration with their communities and with guidance from Elders and other traditional knowledge keepers. Their stories are linked to current discussions and debates, and their unique journeys reflect the diversity of Indigenous languages, knowledges, and approaches to inquiry. Indigenous Research: Theories, Practices, and Relationships is essential reading for students in Indigenous studies programs, as well as for those studying research methodology in education, health sociology, anthropology, and history. It offers vital and timely guidance on the use of Indigenous research methods as a movement toward reconciliation.

This book offers multidisciplinary perspectives on the changing relationships between states, indigenous peoples and industries in the Arctic and beyond. It offers insights from Nordic countries, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Russia to present different systems of resource governance and practices of managing industry-indigenous peoples’ relations in the mining industry, renewable resource development and aquaculture. Chapters cover growing international interest on Arctic natural resources, globalization of extractive industries and increasing land use conflicts. It considers issues such as equity, use of knowledge, development of company practices, conflict-solving measures and the role of indigenous institutions. Focus on Indigenous peoples and Governance triangle Multidisciplinary: political science, legal studies, sociology, administrative studies, Indigenous studies Global approach: Nordic countries, Canada, Russia, Australia, New Zealand and Canada Thorough case studies, rich material and analysis The book will be of great interest to legal scholars, political scientists, experts in administrative sciences, authorities at different levels (local, regional and nations), experts in human rights and natural resources governance, experts in corporate social governance.

The importance of small-scale fisheries for sustainable livelihoods and communities, food security, and poverty eradication is indisputable. With the endorsement of the ‘Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries’, FAO member states recognize that governments, civil society organizations, and research communities all have a role to play in helping small-scale fisheries achieve these goals. This book argues that policies targeting small-scale fisheries need to be based on a solid and holistic knowledge foundation, and support the building of governance capacity at local, national, and global levels. The book provides rich illustrations from around the world of why such knowledge production needs to be transdisciplinary, drawing from multiple disciplinary perspectives and the knowledge that small-scale fisheries actors have, in order to identify problems and explore innovative solutions. Transdisciplinarity for Small-Scale Fisheries Governance: Analysis and Practice, edited by Ratana Chuenpagdee and Svein Jentoft, successfully demonstrates how small-scale fisheries are important and what social and political conditions are conducive to their wellbeing. The volume contributes tremendously to building capacity of fisheries communities and policy-makers to make the ideals of small-scale fisheries a reality. It establishes the ecological, social, and economic sense behind small-scale fisheries. A milestone reference for all those who believe in small-scale fisheries and are keen to defend them with quality evidence! — Sebastian Mathew, Executive Director, International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) The Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines guiding principles call for holistic and integrated approaches for their implementation. This book will help a new generation of scientists, policy-makers, and small-scale fisheries actors make the fundamental connections between different disciplines in science, traditional knowledge, and policy to guide a collective process towards sustainable small-scale fisheries. The book contains an inspiring collection of practical cases from around the world, complemented by deep dives into dimensions of small-scale fisheries, like food security, stewardship, climate change, and gender, which all call for transdisciplinary approaches. — Nicole Franz, Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Rome, Italy