What we govern and what governs us

The ensuing discussion situates the need for water governance reform in the context of the broader initiative known as ecological governance – a regime that seeks to embed the concept of ecological sustainability into social institutions and decision-making processes (Brandes, Ferguson, M'Gonigle, & Sandborn, 2005). [...] Despite these generally defined and accepted roles for existing institutions of government, Canadians are currently witnessing a period of fundamental change in the dynamics of water governance – both in the form and scale of planning and management, and in the role of stakeholders. [...] Three particular shortcomings of current allocation systems stand out: unclear priorities in allocation and use; limited promotion of water conservation and efficiency; and rigidity in the face of uncertainty and change. [...] This fee arrangement may in fact create a perverse subsidy that leads to over-consumption; as Renzetti & Dupont (2002: 495) suggest, “the inefficient price of the resource becomes embedded in the stock of industrial capital and in the design of municipal water utility systems.” Recommendations for attaching volume-based levies to water permits and licenses are increasingly common within the Canadi [...] In response, policy makers and water users in regions such as the Okanagan Basin and southern portions of the Prairies are responding to the shortcomings of the prior allocation system by limiting further extractions and applying water use restrictions to some sources.