Archive for category: News

From 27 to 30 August 2024, Oslo Metropolitan University and partner institutes organized the “Riverine Rights Conference” to discuss the findings of the Riverine Rights project. It presented its 4-years research on rivers in Colombia, New Zealand and India that were given legal personhood. Together with invited experts, the conferenced critically discussed the successes and challenges of this legal novelty, placing it in a broader context. ‘How and why were rivers given rights, and what are their implications?’ The organizers invited Riverhood and River Commons PI Rutgerd Boelens to give a keynote lecture and join their debate on policies, philosophies, concepts, strategies and findings.

The conference discussions centered around river degeneration in times environmental crises. ‘Does legal personhood offer ways of securing the wellbeing of rivers and communities living with them? Can legal personhood and rights of nature be useful elsewhere? Is it applicable to a Norwegian context?’.

Axel Borchgrevink presented the core ideas of the Riverine Rights research project and central notions regarding ‘River persons, rights and ontologies’. John Andrew McNeish joined with a conference on ‘The political ecology of river rights’, placing the Colombian river cases in a broader power perspective. Case presentations followed such as ‘Beyond legal personhood for the Whanganui River’ (Miriama Cribb), ‘The constitutional marasmus of the Atrato River’ (Catalina Vallejo), ‘Rights of rivers in India’ (Bibhu Prasad Nayak), ‘Religious environmentalism in India’ (Rahul Ranjan), ‘Legal rights for rivers as a watershed’ (Elizabeth Macpherson), ‘Rights of waters in Norway?’ (Malene Brandshaug), ‘Sami participation in Norway’s Tana River governance’ (Camilla Brattland) and a reflection on Sami indigenous struggles against extractivism, for environmental rights and territorial sovereignty, by Eva Maria Fjellheim (Arctic University of Norway).  Grant Wilson (Earth Law Centre) explained the central strategies of the Rights of Nature movement; Rachel Sieder (CIESAS, Mexico City) placed the Rights of Nature in a conceptual and political framework to understand its inherent legal pluralism politics;  Rutgerd Boelens presented core notions and strategies of Riverhood and River Commons (‘Riverhood: Rivers and social justice movements. Knowledge battles, subject-making and countermapping’); and Mihnea Tanasescu challenged nature’s legal personhood presenting a political-philosophical understanding of Modernity. Interventions from multiple conference’s participants followed, from Oslomet, the Rights, Power and Accountability Research Cluster at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, and Norwegian and international academic, policy and civil society partners, engaging in lively and critical debates. See: www.oslomet.no/en/about/events/happens-rivers-legal-personhood.

The final reflection document of the Moving Rivers Seminar Manizales Colombia is now available.

This document (in Spanish) reflects the main ideas and concepts presented during the presentations and debates in the plenary sessions and subsessions of the “Rivers in Motion” event.

The “Rivers in Motion” event was held in Manizales between March 11 and 15, 2024 and was organized by the projects Riverhood and River Commons of Wageningen University in alliance with: Water Justice Alliance, University of Caldas, Nodo Corporation, Natural Seeds Alliance, Kumanday Socio-Environmental Movement, Unitierra Manizales Collective Fabric and Southwestern Colombia, Tejinando Sentipensares (Weaving of walking pluriversities), CENSAT Agua Viva, and Association Broederlijk Delen.

On the 2 July 2024, members of the Riverhood & River Commons teams presented their ongoing research in two panels on “Translocal Social Movements for Riverine Justice in Latin America”, as part of the annual conference of the Society for Latin American Studies organised by CEDLA – University of Amsterdam.

The panels were organised by Jaime Hoogesteger, Carlota Houart and Rutgerd Boelens and chaired by Carlota Houart and Rutgerd Boelens, and presenters included: Ana Maria Arbeláez Trujillo; Catalina Rey Hernández; Meike Klarenbeek; Bibiana Duarte-Abadía; Sarah Kelly and long-time Mapuche-Williche collaborator Gladys Quintul; Carlota Houart; Lotte De Jong; and Jaime Hoogesteger.

Together they discussed topics ranging from local and trans-local river justice movements to resistance against hydropower development, legal mobilization, counter-mapping, dominant and counter-hegemonic river imaginaries, river commons, engaged research, and others.

The faculty of Italian Studies and Environmental Humanities at the University of St.Gallen is pleased to invite you to its Spring 2024 guest lecture:

Rutgerd Boelens: Rivers, Territories and Power. Water Justice Movements and Counter-mapping to Bridge River Struggles

Tuesday, May 14, 12:15 – 1:45 pm CEST
Online lecture: please register in advance here: https://lnkd.in/deHAJdpx

Mega-damming, pollution and depletion endanger rivers worldwide. Modernist imaginaries of ordering ‘unruly waters and humans’ have become cornerstones of hydraulic-bureaucratic and capitalist development. They separate hydro/social worlds, sideline river-commons cultures, and deepen socio-environmental injustices. However, myriad new water justice movements (NWJMs) proliferate: rooted, disruptive, transdisciplinary, multi-scalar coalitions that deploy alternative river–society ontologies, bridge South–North divides, and translate river-enlivening practices from local to global and vice-versa. In this guest lecture, Rutgerd Boelens presents a collective framework that conceptualizes ‘riverhood’ to engage with NWJMs and river commoning initiatives. It suggests four interrelated ontologies, situating river socionatures as arenas of material, social and symbolic co-production: ‘river-as-ecosociety’, ‘river-as-territory’, ‘river-as-subject’, and ‘river-as-movement’. Boelens further examines the Traveling Rivers initiative, linking grassroots activists, engaged academia and river commoning struggles through counter-mapping. Making rivers actively travel among six river conflict arenas in Colombia and Ecuador, the initiative seeks new grass-rooted understandings capable of strengthening ‘rivers of resistance’ that break away from river grabbing and imposed status quo river governance.

By Ana Arbelaez Trujillo

The global nature of the dynamics that affect rivers, bringing many of them close to ecological collapse and provoking political, cultural and socioeconomic crises, makes it essential to scale up and broaden place-based river struggles. Therefore, the international meeting of the Riverhood and River Commons projects was a space to exchange learnings about the problems of rivers worldwide, the main struggles, care practices and demands of those who inhabit them.

This meeting aimed to approach the rivers and their movements from different perspectives and provide a space for conversation, allowing close interaction among riverside communities, social movements, and academia. To this end, diverse art expressions played a central role. We used diverse methodologies for weaving conversations during the event, including audiovisuals, artistic pieces, river walks, alternative cartographies, songs, and academic presentations. Furthermore, we had a permanent art exhibition with the work of the collectives “NaaK Memorias del Agua”, “Entre Ríos” and “Orika” at the creative gallery Bestiario.

During the event, we also visited several of the micro-watersheds of the Kumanday bio-geo-territory: Cuenca Taguambí, Cuenca Quebrada Olivares, and Cuenca Río Chinchiná. These territorial visits were an invitation to understand the river as much more than a continuous stream of water flowing into the sea and an opportunity to learn about the work of local collectives such as Eco-finca La Soledad, Senderos de Luz, Líderes Alto del Castillo, Comunativa, Huerta Urbana NAKSI, and Tierra Libre.

The International Meeting “Rios en movimiento” was organised as one of the knowledge exchange activities of the Riverhood and River Commons research projects and had the support of Alianza Justicia Hídrica, Universidad de Caldas, Centro Cultural Universitario Rogelio Salmina, Corporación Nodo – NaaK Memorias del agua, Movimiento Socio-ambiental Kumanday, Natural Seeds Alliance, Tejido de Colectivos Unitierra Manizales y Suroccidente Colombiano,  Tejinando Sentipensares (Tejido de pluriveresidades de a pie), Asociación Broederlijk Delen y CENSAT Agua Viva.

 

The International Conference “Ríos en Movimiento” has been organised as one of the knowledge exchange activities of the Riverhood and River Commons research projects. The meeting took place in Manizales, Colombia, from 12 to 15 March 2024. Check out the article “Todas las luchas, todos los ríos, todas las vidas” about the event, published by the Popular Training Institute.

By Daniela Sánchez Romero, 19 march, 2024

“Entender el río como cuna ecosistémica, como bien común, como movimiento, como territorio o como un sujeto poseedor de derechos, han sido algunas maneras en las que organizaciones sociales, académicas y comunidades reconocen el papel de los ríos en los ecosistemas. 

Por eso, más de 100 organizaciones y entidades académicas de países como Colombia, México, Ecuador, India, España, Suráfrica y Zambia, tuvieron un espacio de diálogo y encuentro de saberes en el evento internacional Ríos en movimiento, impulsado por los proyectos de investigación Riverhood y River Commons.

A través de diálogos desde un enfoque de ecología política y justicia hídrica, estos proyectos de investigación tienen como propósito motivar conversaciones y ejercicios de reflexión alrededor de los movimientos por la justicia del agua para una gobernanza equitativa y sostenible, y el apoyo a iniciativas de cogobernanza fluvial y sistemas fluviales socioecológicos sostenibles.”

Click here to check out the full article!

“Walking Along Rivers, Feeling Through Infrastructures” is a blog written by Laura Betancur Alarcón (Integrative Research Institute on Transformations of Human-Environment Systems-IRI THESys at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin) and Ana María Arbeláez-Trujillo (Water Resources Management Group at Wageningen University and Research), published by Engagement, the anthropology and environment society.

On her way to the La Miel River banks, Isaura walks across the mountain. Lying down as tree steam, she sees the 6-kilometer pipe that transports the river waters to the powerhouse of the hydroelectric plant. She can’t swim in the river anymore: a large tube carries a large part of its water, diminishing its flow. Also on foot but in the riverbanks of a dry forest valley, Pedro looks for a possible port to embark on the “piece of river” they have left. It is a 14-kilometer stretch of the Magdalena River left between two large dams. While he searches, the river expands and retracts with the rhythms of the energy power plants. Isaura and Pedro seek the rivers’ current in territories fragmented by infrastructure.  Following their footsteps, we travel along the banks and valleys of two rivers in the Colombian Andes. Ana walks with Isaura through the upper part of the La Miel River in the town of Bolivia, department of Caldas. The journey takes place around the influence area of the run-of-the-river hydroelectric project ‘El Edén’ -built in 2013- which partially diverted the river’s waters. Laura walks with Pedro along the upper Magdalena River, where the Betania Dam (1987) and the El Quimbo Dam (2015) were built in the department of Huila.  Large physical transformations caused by hydropower on rivers have been the focus of academic inquiries. But what about those daily experiences in the territories inhabited by ribereños and campesinos? How do they feel about those transformations?

Check out the full text here.

By Susana Zavala

The Environmental Justice in Practice course at Wageningen University proposes an approach that involves students in practical cases of competition for natural resources. In this sense, together with Sebastian, we will look at the case of the Páramo (highland) communities and the Licto (lowland) communities, who use water from the Páramo to irrigate their lands, without any retaliation or sense of reciprocity. Six students therefore set out to develop strategies to rebuild relations between the highland and lowland communities, addressing the complexities and dynamics of the case.

With the brief introduction we gave in the first meeting about the “twin rivers” and their actors, the paramo communities integrated in the ASARATY association (upper zone) and the irrigation communities that make up the Guarguallá Licto Irrigation Board (lower zone), the students drew up a report and presented the case as they understood it. Throughout this process, we held discussions to provide additional information and clarification. These dialogues focused on crucial aspects such as: the essential characteristics of the páramo ecosystem, its population and family livelihoods, which are based on alpaca breeding; the history of access to irrigation water; the initial relationship between the communities of the lower and upper zones; the changes in production resulting from the introduction of irrigation in the beneficiary communities; and the acquisition of land in the Molobog community.

However, we believe that these meetings with the students could be enriched with a complementary approach, specifically through interviews with the leaders of the organisations present in the upper and lower communities of Chimborazo, Ecuador.
In this context, we took the initiative to establish communication with the leaders of both the moorland communities (high zone) and the irrigation communities (low zone). The communication process began with the exchange of respectful greetings such as “Good morning, comrade” and responses such as “Good morning, miss”. It is worth noting that in this effort to connect, we received calls even in the early hours of the morning, demonstrating the time difference and the dedication of our colleagues to communicate and hear their voices.
Despite these minor setbacks, we were able to successfully schedule interviews with three key leaders in the context studied: Alfonso Guamán, head of the Molobog community and Licto parish; Galo Bonilla, president of the Guarguallá-Licto Irrigation Board; and Rafael Ushca, head of ASARATY, the representative organisation of the Guarguallá marshlands.

The first interview took place on Tuesday with Mr Alfonso Guamán. We took advantage of the internet connection to remove geographical barriers and allow instant communication. Although the students were able to meet Alfonso, they needed the support of Catalina (a student from Wageningen) to overcome the language barrier. The interview started with a general question: “This gave Alfonso the opportunity to express himself freely and share information about life before the arrival of the irrigation water, the process of land acquisition, and the changes the community experienced with access to water and land. This first approach made it possible to introduce the dynamics of the relationship with the highland communities.

Alfonso noted that at the beginning of the irrigation project there was a positive relationship between the communities. However, he noted that this relationship had deteriorated over time due to constant changes in leadership and the assumption of roles by individuals unfamiliar with the irrigation system and the struggle for water. Despite this deterioration, Alfonso was optimistic that there is a good chance of reaching harmonious agreements and rebuilding the relationship between the upland and lowland communities.

The following day, the students met with Galo Bonilla, who enriched the process with his experience and knowledge as the current president of the Junta de Riego. They then met with Rafael Ushca, who provided a unique perspective on environmental management in the páramo. It is important to highlight and express our sincere appreciation for the time given to the three leaders, as their contributions were fundamental in enriching the understanding of the case.

The colloquia and interviews with leaders have given the students in the Environmental Justice in Practice course a broad perspective on the history, dynamics and breakdown of inter-community relations between the highlands and the lowlands, and the challenges of managing their natural resources. This insight is reflected in the first outline of the students’ proposal, which consists of a collaborative timeline of the history and relationships between the two communities. They also plan to develop an exchange plan between the communities to deepen their mutual knowledge of their respective territories.

Moreover, this active and collaborative dialogue extended to other instances, as we presented and discussed the case with Masters students at Wageningen University, and they showed a marked interest in engaging with the issue.

By Susana Zavala

Finding a small bike in a society where the average height is 1.75 metres has proved to be a real challenge. In Ecuador, I live in an environment characterised by irregular topography, where the dominant presence of mountains defines visual boundaries. This geography also reveals a society marked by various disparities, whether in terms of gender, education, social status or other manifestations of inequality. The Netherlands, on the other hand, is a flat landscape where the view stretches as far as the eye can see.  From the moment I stepped off the plane, I could see the differences and challenges ahead: language, cycling, climate and pace of life. However, I have always been willing to adapt to changes and challenges.

I was eagerly awaiting the day when I would get to know Wageningen University, and when the long-awaited Monday arrived, a new challenge was unleashed: cycling to the site in cold weather that penetrated my clothes. It is worth mentioning that I had only recently learnt to ride a bike, which made it difficult to keep my feet on the pedals. At times I lost control and, to make matters worse, the rules of the road were very strict. However, with the help of tips from friends in Wageningen and despite a few mishaps, I managed to make it to the first meeting with the students of the Environmental Justice course.

There were six students waiting for us in the classroom, and here was another challenge, the language. Fortunately, Meike (a friend from Wageningen) helped us with the translation. Without much difficulty we were able to present the case of the above mentioned communities in the highlands and the lowlands. At the end of the presentation, several questions were asked by the students, showing their interest and curiosity about the case.

At the end of the academic days, in the middle of the darkness, I have to cycle along a road characterised by opaque street lamps and trees shaken by the wind, whose fallen leaves form a carpet that rustles when it comes into contact with the wheels of my bicycle. This scenario reminds me of a scene from a horror film. However, my conscience recognises that the Netherlands has high safety standards. Nevertheless, my subconscious allows a feeling of apprehension to creep in and keep me on my toes throughout the ride.

So far, the need to move around has improved my cycling skills, at least I am pedalling with more dexterity than before. As a result, I am now struggling to keep my balance in this new environment. In addition, I now live in two different landscapes and cultures, which intertwine to form a new mosaic rich in diversity.

Hello, I am Susana Zavala, Ecuadorian, student of Anthropology at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences, Ecuador. I am currently visiting Wageningen University, The Netherlands. My presence in this educational institution is mainly to share my knowledge and experiences about the communities of the Páramo (highlands) and the communities of Licto that are supplied with water by the Guarguallá-Licto Irrigation System (lowlands), in the context of water justice. At this moment, I would like to recall and share my journey from the Andean moors to the land of autumnal landscapes.

It all started when my thesis supervisor recommended a book about the peasant communities of the Licto community and the Guarguallá-Licto irrigation system in Ecuador, the same place where I wanted to do my Master’s thesis. I also come from the community of Molobog, which is part of the irrigation system. I immersed myself in the search for information about the author and, after confirming his relevance, I decided to contact Rutgerd Boelens by e-mail. We started communicating, exchanging information and news about Licto.

One day, unexpectedly, I received an invitation from Rutgerd Boelens, the principal investigator of the Riverhood and River Commons projects, to participate in the selection of a river in Ecuador to carry out a counter-mapping exercise. This exercise was carried out in Colombia by the Ríos Viajeros team, linked to the aforementioned projects.  Although the Nagsiche River in Cotopaxi was initially considered for this project, the possibility of carrying out the exercise on the Guarguallá River, with which I was already familiar thanks to its irrigation system, was raised. The information gathered would be an integral part of the seminar ‘Rivers, territories and power: political cartography and alternative hydro-social representations’, which took place in the city of Riobamba, Ecuador. So I accepted without much hesitation.

In this preliminary phase, Meike (from Wageningen University) and Sebastian (from the Central University of Ecuador) joined us, people whose names were unknown until then. Together we formed a team and set off on this journey. The aim of the previous visit was to establish dialogue with local actors who had knowledge of the river area. This would allow us to understand the relationship between the population and the river, analyse its uses and conflicts, and assess the feasibility and relevance of the mapping process. In the course of planning our trip, we exchanged information and news about the controversies surrounding the supply of drinking water to Riobamba. In this context, the importance of the Alao River was identified and highlighted, and we decided to include it in our pre-visit.

The Alao and Guarguallá rivers originate in the Andean highlands and, although separated by a hill, follow parallel courses until they meet and form part of the Chambo River. Despite these similarities, each river has its own dynamics and actors, which is why we call them “twin rivers”.

In this context, we informed the Travelling Rivers team, which led to a virtual meeting with Rutgerd, who showed interest in our case. During this virtual meeting I had the opportunity to put a face to a person with whom I had been corresponding for several months. Unexpectedly, when I introduced myself, he discovered that I belonged to the Molobog community and that my mother had been part of the Guarguallá-Licto irrigation project 25 years ago. This project brought irrigation water to peasant communities that had been historically marginalised and exploited by landowners, the church and mestizos. It not only changed the geographical landscape, but also represented a significant social construction in the communities. A few days later, their response was positive, and at the end of June they would visit the rivers and their actors.

As part of this project, I took on the logistical responsibility and direct contact with the actors involved in river management, using my knowledge of the area. Over the course of two days, we travelled through the páramo and along the riverbanks, making contact with the users. Although exhausting, these days were an enriching learning experience.

On the third day, the counter-mapping exercise took place, which marked a significant milestone by bringing together the leaders of the páramo communities (upper zone) and the irrigation communities (lower zone), who had not met for more than a decade. This collective approach projected the territory as a single entity without borders, underlining the interconnectedness and interdependence of the communities. It also highlighted the challenges and problems faced by these communities. These included mining, hydropower, non-compliance with projects, agrochemical abuse and migration.Our commitment was to return the “Community and Solidarity Water Management Map between upper and lower communities”, a tool designed to reflect the reality and shared aspirations of the upper and lower communities.

After almost two months of counter-mapping, we reopened a channel of communication with the communities of Licto and those of the Guarguallá páramo. The message focused on the return of the product of their work, the map. This approach provoked a series of reactions: “I thought they had forgotten us”, “where did you come from”, “thank you for inviting us”, and similar reactions. The mistrust of community organisations towards the institutions is notorious, due to bad experiences, because in some cases they are only the object of studies and subject to the extractivism of information and knowledge.

The Junta de Riego Guarguallá-Licto offered us a space where we could officially hand over the map, the fruit of our collective work. Before the meeting began, we placed the map in a place where it could be seen by all, attracting the attention of our fellow farmers. Intrigued, they approached to observe and identify their localities, while others said that their territories were not there, noting that the landscape was even more complex and extensive.

The handover was well received by the farmers. In my case, I experienced an emotional sense of belonging, and the most gratifying thing was to hear the leaders express the possibility of initiating dialogue between the upper and lower communities in order to re-establish inter-community relations. This was an important gesture, given that some 25 years ago these communities had a relationship that had weakened over time to the point of disengagement.

The handing over of the map to the highland and lowland communities took place in a context that aims to be a turning point, in a way that points towards new relationships and collaborations between communities and academia, promoting justice and equity. In this sense, Rutgerd invited Sebastian and me to share our knowledge and experience of the Twin Rivers and their actors, the Páramo and irrigation communities, with the students of the Water Justice course in the Netherlands. This news filled me with enthusiasm, as it offered the opportunity to immerse myself in the reality of the communities, to amplify the voices of fellow farmers and to explore a new environment. So I landed in the Netherlands, immersed in an autumnal landscape.

by Catalina Rey-Hernández & Laura Giraldo-Martínez 

 

On the 22nd of September, 2023, a citizen science event (De Berkel Home River Bioblitz) was hosted in the re-meandered area of De Berkel River next to the village of Almen, Netherlands. 

De Berkel Home River Bioblitz was realized as part of Catalina Rey-Hernández’s PhD project (Wageningen University of Research) and as part of the wider project “The Home River Bioblitz” (https://www.homeriverbioblitz.org/). 

A Home River Bioblitz is a global citizen science initiative documenting animals, plants, and fungi living in and around rivers. It is a collaboration among citizens, scientists, naturalists, river enthusiasts, and volunteers of all ages to conduct a field study of biodiversity over a short period of time to show the importance of free-flowing rivers as hosts of much of the world’s biodiversity. 

During this Bioblitz students from Wageningen University, Hogeschool van Hall Larenstein, ecologists from the Rijn en IJssel waterschap, historians, and other researchers, connected and explored the biodiversity of the Berkel River through the identification of species, participatory mapping, and creating ‘portraits of the river’. 

  

Biodiversity identification 

At the start of the day, we documented the biodiversity in and around the river through a digital tool called “iNaturalist”. 

iNaturalist an online social network of people sharing biodiversity information to help each other to learn about nature. This app helped us to identify plants and animals in the river to generate data for science and conservation. At the same time, by sharing our observations through this app, we were able to connect with the species of the river and to understand and sustain biodiversity through the practice of observing wild organisms and sharing information about them. 

Through a couple of hours we were able to identify 74 different species with 145 collective observations. 

 

Participatory mapping 

After collecting these observations we represented our findings through a participatory mapping activity where we spatially located the identified species and at the same time we reflected on other elements such as infrastructures, contamination, land use, human activities, agriculture, etc. And through that exercise we were able to re-construct connections and interactions between these different elements, understanding that the river is not only the water and its ecosystem but also its history and connection with other actors that are constantly interacting with it.    

This map also allowed us to share knowledge among us, co-creating a visual representation of De Berkel to understand the different river-territorial insights that each participant had about the river. The main objective was to co-create an eco-political map based on alternative visualization of spaces usually not represented by official state agencies. To do so, we gather around an initial canvas where we discuss, explain, and draw ecopolitical relations, landscape interventions, and territorial transformations. 

Cyanotypes workshop with water from the Berkel River 

To conclude the day we did a special activity carried out by researcher Laura Giraldo based on a methodology created by the Colombian photographer Fernando Cruz in the Bogotá River Project developed by the entre—ríos network. With this method, we created portraits of the river using the same water samples. With that, we revealed images made in situ without a camera using the water of the Berkel.​ This workshop is a variation on the traditional way of making cyanotypes or blueprints. 

What is a cyanotype or “blueprint”? 

The cyanotyping (or blueprinting) process consists of reacting ultraviolet light to a chemical mixture. This mixture consists of ferric ammoniacal citrate and potassium ferricyanide diluted in water. The sun-printing process is produced by the incidence of the light against the negative. And the light that reaches the cyanotype through the translucent areas is what causes the photosensitive reaction showing those Prussian blue tones. 

Finally, we closed with some discussions and reflections about the activities of the day​. 

Voices of the Piatúa – a campaign to protect a free-flowing river in the Ecuadorian Amazon

By Carlota Houart, September 2023

The Piatúa River is born in the Llanganates Mountains of Ecuador and runs through the Amazon rainforest. It is thought to be millions of years old and home to a vast diversity of animal and plant species, some of which have not yet been scientifically identified[1]. It is also one of the last free-flowing rivers of the Ecuadorian Amazon to have so far escaped negative human interference (e.g., from mining, pollution, or deforestation)[2]. The Piatúa’s riverbanks have been inhabited by more than twenty Kichwa communities for multiple generations, and there are ancient signs of human presence in the area found in petroglyphs carved on rocks along the course of the river. The river’s stones are, indeed, one of its most striking features: the Piatúa is known in Kichwa as Mayu waka rumi, “the river of sacred stones”, and it is believed by the local Kichwa communities to be a sacred, living being with healing powers, inherent wisdom, and its own guardian spirits[3].

Yet, since 2014 the Piatúa has been threatened by a project from Ecuadorian energy company GENEFRAN S.A. (now called Elit Energy) to build a hydroelectric dam in the river. This project, which was originally approved by the Ministry of the Environment, Water and Ecological Transition of Ecuador, was quickly opposed by members of the Kichwa communities of Santa Clara (who have intimate cultural, historical, and spiritual relationships with the river); activists and environmental organizations; and other river lovers (such as practitioners of water sports like kayaking and rafting). Members of the communities denounced the project as having been pushed forward without their free, prior, and informed consent[4]; and complaints were raised against the environmental impact assessment conducted by the company, which was found to be very inaccurate by different scientific experts[5] and – according to local activists – actually based on data from a different river altogether[6]. The hydro dam would have significant impacts on the river, leading to the loss of an estimated 90% of its water volume and creating flood risks in adjacent rivers; seriously threatening its precious biodiversity; and putting at risk the livelihoods of the local Kichwa communities, as well as their spiritual and cultural ties with the Piatúa[7]. Furthermore, although the project is apparently part of Ecuador’s “green transition” plans, local activists claim that it is actually linked to existing plans to build a new oil extraction zone in the region (Block 28) and a new mining site in a nearby community, thereby constituting a source of financing for these extractive activities[8].

In response to the threat to the Piatúa, an activist group called Piatúa Resiste was formed in 2018, mobilized by young activists from Santa Clara and composed of Indigenous and non-Indigenous allies. Operations for the dam construction began in 2018, but they were instantly faced with peaceful resistance by the activists and members of the communities, and the case was taken to the courts. Making use of Ecuador’s constitutional chapter on Rights of Nature, the lawyers in support of the communities and of the river argued that both the rights of the Kichwa people and of the Piatúa itself were being violated.

The court case was permeated by political tensions and struggle, including the arrest of the judge originally responsible for denying an action of protection in favour of the communities and of the river, who was found to have taken bribes in order to push the hydro dam project forward. In connection to this event, the Provincial Court of Pastaza temporarily suspended the project, instructing the energy company to redo its environmental impact assessment and to obtain the free, prior, and informed consent of the Kichwa communities of Santa Clara. Nevertheless, political elections in early 2023 saw the mayor of the municipality who originally paved the way for the hydro dam re-elected, causing renewed concern among the activists and opposers of the dam that the project might still be pushed forward.

Their latest strategy, in a combined effort between Piatúa Resiste and PONAKICSC (the official organization of the Pueblo Originario de la Nacionalidad Kichwa del Cantón de Santa Clara) has been to organize a campaign to self-declare the Piatúa as Cultural Heritage of Ecuador. The river defenders are now preparing a camp that will take place along the banks of the Piatúa, involving several of the local communities, from October to December 2023. Riverhood Project’s PhD researcher Carlota Houart, who is studying the topic of multispecies justice in the Piatúa (and in the river Maas, in the Netherlands) will be joining the camp as part of her fieldwork.

The self-declaration by PONAKICSC of the Piatúa as Cultural Heritage of Ecuador is seen as one of the strongest possible strategies to ensure protection of the river and effectively halt the hydro dam project.

For more information on the Piatúa river case, you are invited to watch the short documentary “Piatúa Resiste”, by Indigenous Amazonian filmmaking group TAWNA: https://tawna.org/peliculas/piatua-resiste/.

[1] https://time.com/6224546/fight-to-save-ecuador-piatua-river/

[2] https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/bravery-young-people-who-stood-26921535

[3] https://www.earthadvocacy-youth.org/_files/ugd/61bf08_86c87fde2e754fdc933e5ff7c5e2036e.pdf

[4] https://time.com/6224546/fight-to-save-ecuador-piatua-river/

[5] https://es.mongabay.com/2019/07/hidroelectrica-rio-piatua-amazonia-ecuador-kichwa/

[6] https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/bravery-young-people-who-stood-26921535

[7] https://time.com/6224546/fight-to-save-ecuador-piatua-river/

[8] https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/bravery-young-people-who-stood-26921535

Finally, the researchers of the Riverhood and River Commons projects and the Travelling Rivers initiative participated in the Twelfth National Water Forum, co-organized with Ecuadorian partner CAMAREN. More than 1000 policy-makers, grassroots leaders and researchers met, to discuss current challenges and possible alternatives for water governance, law and management in Ecuador. During the Forum and through a creative and surprising ‘flashmob’, another massive river counter-map was created: 50 meter long, representing individual but also shared rivers, river perspectives, threats and struggles, alternative river futures, counter-hegemonic visions.

From April to June this year, fisher and peasant communities, social movements and activists-artists María Benítez and Vanessa Roa, and researchers from the Riverhood and River Commons projects, engaged in local counter-mapping workshops in four rivers: the Magdalena (case study of PhD researcher Juliana Sandoval), La Miel (Ana Maria Arbelaez), Bogotá (Laura Giraldo), Sumapaz (Sebastían Reyes) and the Guargalla y Alao rivers (Masters researchers Sebastián Silva, Susana Zavala, Meike Klarenbeek). The aim of these collective counter geographies and the Travelling Rivers initiative (coord. Bibiana Duarte, Rutgerd Boelens) was to illustrate and mobilize the knowledges, imaginaries and conflicts around these rivers that are generally hidden, but that are perceived and experienced every day by the communities that inhabit and depend on the mentioned rivers. Through bringing the mapping workshops and the maps themselves from one context to the other, the different experiences and struggles were woven together; connecting stories, concerns, debates and movements. Making rivers travel and promoting transnational solidarity.

To watch the teaser of these actions, click here.

Hi, I am Meike! Normally, I am studying as a MSc student of Wageningen University in Wageningen, but currently, I live and work in Ecuador to execute fieldwork for my thesis investigation. A very special opportunity, as it provides me a chance to learn more about this beautiful country and her people, but also about its enormous injustices in terms of water distribution, and the way in which this affects nearly every aspect of people’s life. For this reason, I would like to take you along in one of the meetings I had with indigenous and rural communities from throughout the Nagsiche river basin (my study site). A meeting that, for me, served as an eye-opener in terms of understanding the everyday impacts of power imbalances in the Ecuadorian waterscape.

When we arrive to the meeting, in which we intend to discuss the change in rainfall patterns that community members believe to result from the use of chemicals sprayed out over the area by provincial airplanes, it immediately becomes clear that many people have gathered for this discussion. While normally, cars only pass through the river basin sporadically, currently, the street in front of the municipal building is packed with pick-up trucks that seem to have come from all directions. Around all these cars is a crowd that is filled with farmers, presidents of irrigation systems, and indigenous leaders. Once we moved inside, the people barely fit into the meeting room. Soon, all the chairs in the large room are filled, and when the benches on the side are occupied as well, still many people have not found a seat. As the meeting initiates a perfect 45 minutes late, first some other topics have to be discussed. However, when we reach the topic of the “bombarding of the clouds”, I can hear from the noise that comes from the crowd that this is what they have all gathered for. No surprise, if you perceive this from their belief that the agribusinesses in the area charter provincial airplanes to prevent the rain from falling in large parts of the river basin, while so many small farmers in the area suffer from severe water shortages and large inequities in their access to water.

To calm down the tensions surrounding this topic, the provincial government initiated an investigation into the matter, of which the results are presented today. These results leave little to discuss: no known technique exists to stop rain from falling, no materials are found that would suggest that the agribusinesses in the area do have access to such a technique, and no permits have been granted by the airport to execute flights with any other objective than training pilots. Directly after the technician from the provincial water authority reaches the last words of this summation, one thing becomes very clear to me: this meeting is not about bombarding the clouds. Nor is it about technical (im)possibilities. This meeting is about so much more. This meeting, at least for those present here today, is about injustice, about hunger, about poverty. This meeting is about pent-up frustrations of not being seen, heard or helped. And, as we also know in the Netherlands: there is no scientific proof that is strong enough to deny any of these feelings.

As such, three hours of emotional speeches by indigenous leaders, small-scale family farmers, community leaders, and irrigation presidents follow. “While the broccoli-producing companies continue to grow, we suffer evermore. There is no water to support or production. There is not even money to send our kids to school.” “Our small producers die from starvation, while the broccoli companies continue business as usual.” As there are over 300 small agricultural producers in the room, and only one representative of the agribusinesses, the sentiments quickly turn into feelings of anger and despair. Within seconds, the discussion suddenly seems to turn into a small revolution. “The authorities promised to be here today, but where are they now? We are left on our own once again!” “There remains only one option for us: vamos a tomar las brocoleras! Let’s take over the broccoli companies!”