Governing Transboundary Waters

"The strength of this book is Norman’s ability to draw on a number of viewpoints, many of which are ignored by traditional texts on the topic. Particularly, transboundary waters books lurch toward a legal view." –AAG Review of Books, Scott O. McKenzie, University of British Columbia, Canada

"On several occasions, Dr Norman suggests that the "underlying question" for this book is "What makes a good upstream neighbor?" (p. 7, and elsewhere). Her book takes a good step towards answering that question, and, more importantly, for supporting the process towards answering it, in Canada and the United States. As she states at the close of the book (p. 185), "literally and metaphorically" we are "all upstream to someone." – Water International, David B. Brooks, IWRA member

"Norman provides a much-needed re-framing of transboundary governance from Indigenous peoples’ perspectives and celebrates the achievements made by First Nations and Tribes to date in successfully re-uniting communities across state borders and rescaling transboundary watersheds. A compelling read and one that should be required reading for anyone working in watershed governance at the border." –Jennifer L. Archer, Rivers without Borders, Vancouver, Canada.

"Bringing together politics of coloniality and indigenous struggles for territorial, cultural and resource rights with water politics at the US-Canada border, this work makes significant conceptual and policy relevant contributions. Skillfully weaving diverse narratives, experiences, and moments of relevance for Indigenous communities on both sides of the border, the book makes for an inspiring read that explores key debates for contemporary water governance." – Karen Bakker and Leila Harris, Co-Directors, Program on Water Governance, University of British Columbia, Canada.

"For anyone interested in the future of our waters and how we can truly care for them, Emma Norman's book is vitally important. It illuminates in fresh ways the challenges of 'transborder' water governance, and in particular the function of borders themselves to distort how we understand, treat and value water – as divisible, bounded, owned – and to reiterate power relationships of exclusion and alienation from our water "neighbors". In accessible and hopeful case studies, Norman shows how indigenous communities and their allies are re-asserting the meaning of ecological boundaries, reweaving communities around them and creating leadership structures capable of sharing and protecting water." –Alexa Bradley, Co-Director, Great Lakes Commons, www.greatlakescommons.org.

"Governing Transboundary Waters marks an important contribution to scholarship on water governance, transboundary resource management, and border studies. Whereas most studies of transboundary water management focus on state interaction, Norman brings the study down to earth, engaging with the communities involved in resource management around the international border itself. As such, she reminds us that the international border is a colonial relic that continues divide traditionally connected Indigenous Communities. Rejecting the international border as the essential arbiter of resource management is a first step in moving towards environmental justice in transboundary resource management." – Kathryn Furlong, Assistant Professor in Geography at the Université de Montréal, Canada Research Chair in Urban, Water and Utility Governance, and Co-director of the Ethics and Environment axis of the Centre de recherche en éthique (CRÉ).

"Water territorialities may be the next frontier to roam in order to progress in our understanding of socio-spatial relations, and this book indeed shows that labile environments reveal a lot about multi-tier decision making. Through a very convincing demonstration based on extensive field knowledge, E. Norman presents the disruptions in territorial hierarchies which are at stake when maritime management overlaps both international limits and sets of autochthonous rights. Her thorough analysis of the now-called 'Salish sea', over the US/Canada border, escapes easy conclusions and interestingly recalls to us that the semantic transfer from government to governance does not mean that the state has been kicked out of politics!" – Anne-Laure Amilhat Szary, Professor, Université Grenoble-Alpes, France.

"E. Norman’s Governing Transboundary Waters captures genuine progress in restoring boundary environments. Her eloquently written book analyzes how through patient, determined indigenous led efforts, legal rights to access culturally relevant food are being secured. This book is a timely guide for critically needed environmental action." – Melvin J. Visser, author of Cold, Clear, and Deadly: Unravelling a Toxic Legacy.