Social-Ecological Resilience in the Columbia River Basin: The Role of Law and Governance

Abstract

The Columbia River is a complex water basin shared by 2 countries, 15 Native American Tribes, 15 First Nations, 7 US states, and 1 Canadian province. Dam construction during the twentieth century has engendered a basin economy that is dependent on low-cost electricity and irrigated agriculture. Yet, these dams are a major factor in the decline of populations of salmon and steelhead species that are critical to the culture of Indigenous peoples. Climate change scenarios predict a transformation from snow- to rain-dominated precipitation in the basin’s lower latitudes, greater extremes in flood and drought, and an increasing water deficit as a result of higher rates of evapotranspiration with increasing temperature. Reduced late summer flow may pose challenges for the sustainability of irrigation and fish. The basin provides a unique laboratory to explore resilience of a highly developed social-ecological system to changing climate and rising empowerment of Indigenous peoples. Review of the Columbia River Treaty between the United States and Canada that governs much of the operation of the river presents a window of opportunity for change. This window provides a moment in time to rethink environmental governance and to consider an approach which reflects neither top-down nor bottom-up control of resources but a third path in which each level of government plays a supporting role to a regional vision of the basin’s future governance.