Negotiating co-governance of the Waikato River: political projects at work

Abstract

The question of how to govern water is challenging technically and politically. While answers must be context specific, the question itself is one of the great global challenges facing humankind. Facing rapid increases in water demand, environmental change, new sciences of water quality, and a raft of political contests authorities are seeking more flexible approaches to achieve equitable and productive use of water resources. In recent theories of environmental governance and after-neoliberal governmental practices, the idea of cogovernance has been widely advocated as a platform for managing natural resources. It has particular resonance as a strategy for realising the interests of indigenous groups. Discourses of co-governance point to institutions and practices of participation and collaboration as both principles and objectives of ‘good’ governance. This thesis investigates the democratisation of decision-making through co-governance and its efficacy in dealing with water management problems in the case of the Waikato River catchment in New Zealand. The study interprets co-governance as a particular governmental rationality that has emerged to ‘settle’ potentially conflicting political projects. Prominent among these are economic growth through dairying, environmental concerns with water quality, and claims from indigenous groups for resource sovereignty. The research confirms that combined with new practices of integrated management of land and water resources, commitments to co-governing and co-managing with iwi have reworked institutional arrangements away from the established hierarchical, command and control governance model towards new after-neoliberal and post-colonial state governmentalities. This thesis argues that to date, the co-governance provisions have allowed for these contests to be accommodated without generating damaging disputes. Rather than attempting to provide for lasting resolutions, co-governance has allowed different groups to exercise voice, take on responsibility and play an active role in water management. These measures have blunted the destructive edges of political contests, fostered a recognition of difference, and facilitated the cultivation of collective interests in both river rehabilitation and multiple uses of the river. The co-governance platform is still being shaped, but has encouraged practical ways to move forward and to make and negotiate political claims, rather than setting up a framework for contesting any form of final settlement. Key words: water governance; co-governance, co-management; decision-making; environmental management; indigenous sovereignty; political projects.