Abstract:
Water is a central element of social and material life, and the institutions created around water embody societal values. While mainstream interpretations focus on the quantity and quality of water, we argue that a greater risk to the health of waterways is the philosophical disconnection between people and water, expressed through institutions and technologies of alienation. A structural response based on cultural transformation is needed, cultivating diverse institutions of care that enable communities to reconnect with their waterways based on more-than-economic relations. Te Awaroa seeks to transform long-term relationships between people and water to ensure that waterways and their communities alike are in a state of ora (health, well-being and prosperity).
