Authors
Who is the first Author listed in Ribbons of Life: The Importance of Free-Flowing Rivers to Wildlife Conservation in the Southwest U.S. White Paper for American Rivers?
Dr. Perry
How are instream flows rights considered a tool for protecting rivers?
By implementing flow rights into the water management, instream flows creates room for policy legislators to balance habitat protection with human consumption/use, protecting rivers from over-extraction.
What type of water policies are cited in the articles to implement secure instream flow? (basic answers)
Instream flow rights that legally enforce water for rivers (Perry 2023)
Water allocation laws used to combine ecological needs with water management plans (Hydrological sciences Journal)
Land rights which recognize Indigenous culture and ownership in water allocation (Jackson 2014)
Give five key words that the authors use that correspond to the main point of these four articles
Clue 1: Water used to maintain ecological processes of a river(s)
Clue 2: Integrated with scientific knowledge to create better understanding and joined interpretations
Clue 3: Aquatic species whose survival deeply depends on habitat connectivity
Clue 4: Balance of Water Management (human vs habitat)
Clue 5: Intervention aimed at re-establishing regular ecological function
1. Instream/Environmental Flow
2. Cultural/Indigenous Knowledge
3. Freshwater Biodiversity
4. Instream Water Policy
5. Habitat Restoration
According to Overton (2014), what are the main challenges in implementing instream flows and how does this affect management strategies?
Technical challenges: limited hydrological and ecological data as well as ecosystem response to flow change create modeling
Economic challenges: large drop in investments to hydrological monitoring from the 1990’s to the 2000’s which has contributed to lack of understanding of climate change impacts
Social-governance: difficult to balance instream flows with agricultural, industrial, and other human uses
Policy: Gaps in institutional mandates as well as enforcement
How does Ribbons of Life describe the role of government in the protection of rivers?
The article frames the government as a steward and protector of freshwater ecosystems which uses instream flow as a policy tool to emphasize public trust responsibility where governments are properly managed for current and future generations.
“Evoking the public trust responsibility of the government to protect riverine resources for current and future generations may serve to develop, apply, and/or expand instream flow policies for future allocations while reconsidering past allocations to achieve biodiversity conservation goals.”-Perry (2023)
In what ways do the authors of Ribbons of Life characterize biodiversity within river systems? Who are their target audiences and why?
The authors characterize biodiversity as valuing every living species and recognizing the degradation seen in their habitats. From this understanding of habitat degradation the authors explore policy changes to include biodiversity management while simultaneously promoting connected river systems.
The target audience of this article are federal government-personnel, non-governmental organizations, and native nations with sovereign lands. The authors write specifically to these people because federal personnel have the means to create and enforce law, policies etc. therefore they can advocate for the protection of instream flows. NGOs are in the epicenter of conservation and advocacy and can provide community engagement which would strengthen protection campaigns. Native Nations have legal rights to water and can incorporate social-ecological responsibility.
In what ways are the relationships between instream flows and humans discussed throughout the articles?
Jackson (2014)- Indigenous communities participate in research and informed decision making which would link flow to cultural and livelihood relationships
“A research partnership could provide opportunities such as field-sampling activities to build the capacity of landowning groups to make well-informed decisions about water use and wider catchment management practices.”-Jackson (2014)
Perry (2023)- This article points to instream flow being seen as not just a tool that effects ecological well-being but humans as well
“Instream flows, when placed as foci for ecosystem security and water policy, can have significant social, environmental, and economic outcomes.”
“…instream flows can protect natural capital, ecosystem service provision, and lead to water security at the basin scale”
This phrasing suggests that instream flows will protect and maintain water security for agriculture, communities, and cultural values tied to rivers
In Piczak et. al (2023), what obstacles are listed in implementing freshwater habitat protection? What implications do these obstacles have on governance while trying to achieve this goal?
Inaccessible data and uncertainties in ecological knowledge. Because they do not have this data/evidence, it makes it difficult for water policy legislators to make decisions based on solid evidence which slows action in governance (the first steps of which is noted to be creating a minimum level of protection and then prioritizing different habitats instead of dealing with the outcomes of habitat degradation as they come up)
Differing priorities- many organizations among the federal government have different priorities which can lead to fractured governance and inconsistency in the upholding of policy. Through this, there will be a reduction of coordinated protective efforts
In what ways does Jackson (2014) integrate Indigenous ecological knowledge into the article’s methods and how does that affect their assessment of environmental flow?
They use one-on-one culturally informed Indigenous observations to assess the health of the river (specifically in regards to freshwater fish ecology, distribution, habitat, etc.). However, they do not just take personal accounts as evidence, instead they integrate the IEK with scientific knowledge. This produces collaborative research that combines scientific data with IEK which can lead to more ecologically informed decision making or recommendations regarding the needs of species and Indigenous land management.
In what way does the definition of "instream flow" change when viewed through the eyes of a water policy legislator, ecologist, and Indigenous community?
Policy legislator- A necessary allocation of water committed to rivers. Policy makers may often see instream flow as just another statutory right embedded within water laws. In short, this view is focused on the balance of water use between human and natural resources.
“Securing a quantity of water for instream flows acts as a type of water right for the river”- Perry
Ecologist- The amount and quality of water necessary in sustaining healthy freshwater ecosystems including habitat structure and the overall longevity of the ecosystem. This is a more of an outcome based view, placing the effects of collecting water from any naturally flowing stream at the forefront of concerns rather than water allocation.
Perry frames environmental flow through ecosystem-oriented language like connectivity, climate resilience, and biodiversity protection. This in turn connects the ecologists and the Indigenous view, with the Indigenous communities viewing environmental flow more relationally.
Indigenous Community- their view of instream flow would tie deeply into their cultural values, including their spiritual relationships with rivers as well as viewing water as part of a living landscape (instead of a quantitative resource)
Jackson et. al states this very clearly that Indigenous governance could aid in the shift from traditional water resources management to genuinely thinking about human relationships with rivers
How do these articles suggest compiling SK, IEK, and policy within instream flow governance; i.e. what processes are recommended to achieve this?
Establish co-management and collaborative efforts with Indigenous communities via ecological knowledge and scientific data which leads to joined interpretations
Multi-level governance in which all parties (local, national, NGO’s, Indigenous, etc.) coordinate to implement instream flow policies
Adaptive management strategies must be implemented to provide flexibility provided that the habitat conditions may change in the future