Freshwater Politics in Canada
© 2014
Freshwater is in great supply across much of Canada. However, competing and changing demands on its use are leading to ever more complex political arrangements. This volume offers an integrated survey of that complexity, combining historical and contemporary cases in a conceptually-informed exploration of water politics. It offers a set of tools, frameworks, and applications that enable readers to recognize and explore the political dimensions of freshwater.
The opening chapters introduce core concepts such as power, organized interests, knowledge systems, and the state. They are followed by chapters discussing freshwater subsectors including fisheries, irrigation, flood control, hydropower, and groundwater. A series of topical themes is addressed, including salmon conservation, Aboriginal water interests, hydraulic fracturing, regulatory revisions, and interjurisdictional management. A final section explores emerging trends in freshwater governance.
While river catchments are not always the principal denominator in discussions of water politics, they do provide a primary frame of reference for this book. A watershed case study accompanies each chapter. This watershed grounding is intended to encourage readers to turn their attention to local and regional conditions.
Product Details
- World Rights
- Page Count: 256 pages
- Dimensions: 6.1in x 0.7in x 9.0in
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Reviews
Unlike a substantial portion of the water politics/governance literature, Freshwater Politics in Canada puts to good use contributions from the discipline of history. Indeed, one of Clancy's central findings is that the power structures shaping modern water politics were forged in the past, and an understanding of how these structures and politics have changed over time is vital if one hopes to comprehend contemporary policy.
Environmental History
Clancy's work explores how examining water politics at the local/regional level is critical to ground the approaches to the nuance of place, but it also shows how global politics and trends cannot be ignored. Valuable for students, scholars, and general readers interested in water governance and policy.
CHOICE
This book provides an interesting approach to documenting the complexity of political issues in governing water and how decisions are made in managing water in Canada. It is a valiant effort to cover a very wide range of water issues with some historical background and illustrative examples in 10 case studies.
Canadian Water Resources Journal
Freshwater Politics in Canada is a welcome addition to the literature on water politics in Canada. Readers from a wide range of backgrounds will appreciate the focus on freshwater issues in concrete settings and how water politics plays out in a number of key policy subsectors and watersheds across the country. The case studies in this book illustrate how the interplay of biophysical features, socioeconomic conditions, and power relations at the local and regional scales are critical for understanding water politics in Canada.
Carolyn Johns, Ryerson University -
Author Information
Peter Clancy is Professor of Political Science and an associate with Interdisciplinary Studies in Aquatic Resources (ISAR) at St. Francis Xavier University. He is the author of Offshore Petroleum Politics: Regulation and Risk in the Scotian Basin (2011) as well as Micropolitics and Canadian Business: Paper, Steel, and the Airlines (2004), and, with Anders Sandberg, Against the Grain: Foresters and Politics in Nova Scotia (2000). -
Table of contents
List of Illustrations
Introduction
Part One: Freshwater Politics
1 Water Politics as Diversity
Case Study: James-West River Watershed
2 Power and Freshwater
Case Study: Boat Harbour Watershed
3 Group Politics and Water
Case Study: Athabasca River Watershed
4 The Freshwater State
Case Study: Souris River Watershed
Part Two: Fields of Engagement
5 Fisheries and Pollution
Case Study: Miramichi River Watershed
6 Irrigation Politics
Case Study: Oldman River Watershed
7 Flooding and Flood Control
Case Study: Red River Watershed
8 Hydro-power
Case Study: La Grande River Watershed
9 Groundwater Politics
Case Study: PEI Groundwatersheds
10 Emerging Trends in Canadian Freshwater Politics
Case Study: Mackenzie Basin Watershed
Conclusion
References
Index
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Subjects and Courses
