“The work that I’m doing is really focused on Indigenous water rights, self-determination, and sovereignty. The inherent water rights — we say inherent because they’ve always existed since time immemorial — but they’ve been marginalized and repressed by Colonial structures. I work on that from the angle of water, but in particular, the idea of collaborative governance and co-governance, to acknowledge Indigenous inheritance rights, Indigenous authorities, and Indigenous participation in making decisions about their own water.”
In this latest episode of Distilled, host Will Sarni, CEO of Water Foundry, listens to a new guest’s take on their experience at World Water Week in Stockholm, collaborating with indigenous communities in Canada, and their thoughts on catalytic communities — as well as exploring their journey throughout the water industry.
Richard Farthing-Nichol, Project Manager at the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources, joined Will to talk through his background. Kicking off the discussion, Will began by asking Richard about his water origin story.
Watch the full video episode below or keep reading for the write-up.
Richard on how he got hooked on water
Born and raised in Winnipeg, Canada, near the boreal forest, Richard has always been close to thousands of lakes and rivers, and exploring the backcountry lakes and rivers in a canoe has forever been his favorite activity.
Although he didn’t plan on a career in water, with a background in political science, he became passionate about Indigenous politics, governance, and self-determination. This interest stemmed from both academic curiosity and a moral imperative, as a non-Indigenous Canadian, to reconcile with their colonial past. Over time, he realized the critical role of land and water in Indigenous self-determination and governance, which drew him further into the issues surrounding water.
Richard has focused on watershed co-governance and water-related decision-making, especially regarding Indigenous rights. This work led him into the water sector, where he discovered the many different angles and complexities shaping the sector, as well as the wonderful people and innovative ideas in the space. As a policy-focused person, Richard has enjoyed expanding his knowledge and working with engineers, entrepreneurs, and others outside of his particular niche.
Richard on World Water Week
Will then went on to ask Richard about his experience as a young professional amongst the diverse group of stakeholders at World Water Week in Stockholm.
Richard called it a special event, highlighting that many people, himself included, sometimes wonder about what the outcome of such a huge gathering, with so many perspectives and aspects of the sector represented, should be.
For him, the main value of the event was in being together, learning from each other, and recognizing that everyone takes something different away. He found it very useful for expanding his knowledge of the water sector through interactions with different groups, including governments, corporations, entrepreneurs, and utilities. Despite their different backgrounds, everyone could connect and contribute.
“So, rather than focusing on the big, tangible outcome of this gathering, there are countless tangible and intangible outcomes for every person who’s part of it, and for me, it was really expanding the horizons of the water sector.”
Richard mentioned how water serves as a gateway to many nexus issues in his work on collaborative governance and enables broader discussions beyond water. With water at the core, World Water Week similarly covers a wide range of interconnected topics. He enjoyed their collaborative work, pushing boundaries in sessions, and bringing together diverse people.
Richard on collaborating with indigenous communities in Canada
Will then went on to ask Richard to elaborate on his work in Canada and how it might compare with tribal water rights and access in the American West.
Richard explained that his work in Canada is focused mainly on water governance, specifically on Indigenous water rights, self-determination, and sovereignty. He emphasized the inherent water rights of Indigenous communities, which have always existed but have been marginalized by colonial structures. In Canada, the current focus is on reconciliation — acknowledging the colonial past and figuring out how to move forward with respect to Indigenous rights, particularly concerning water.
“In Canada, we’re at a point of reconciliation (reconciling with our colonial past) and really figuring out what that looks like moving forward in terms of indigenous water rights and indigenous rights more generally. We’re at a pivotal point but it’s not going to be a quick process. It’s a multi-generational process.”
Richard’s work involves collaborative governance or co-governance. This means rethinking and changing the existing institutions, processes, policies, and laws to recognize Indigenous rights, how to include Indigenous participation in water decision-making, and make meaningful changes. This approach varies across jurisdictions in Canada due to different local contexts, such as the existence or absence of treaties, some of which date back to the 19th century.
He explained that while it’s important to draw lessons from various places, including the US, each situation is highly contextual based on the particular geography.
He said that in some ways, tribal sovereignty over lands might be more advanced in Canada, but both countries have pockets of significant progress. He cited examples from Canada where Indigenous and municipal governments have worked together on watershed management and a case from Albuquerque, New Mexico, where the city has been very proactive in recognizing tribal sovereignty.
Referencing his role at the Center for Indigenous Environmental Resources, Richard touched on the Collaborative Leadership Initiative project which brings together elected leaders from Indigenous and municipal governments to collaborate on shared water challenges. The project drew inspiration from South Africa’s post-apartheid, transformational scenario planning. This approach helps envision the future collectively and creates a safe space for dealing with trauma and shaping future governance.
Richard on catalytic communities
Will then asked Richard for his take on catalytic communities and whether this approach might apply to the work that he’s focused on.
Richard said that he’s very excited about the idea of catalytic communities and catalytic collaboration. He also said that more work needs to be done to identify the truly novel aspects of catalytic communities and to engineer a framework to structure them to ensure they’re not just an “old thing with a new name”.
Finally, Will asked Richard for some deeper insights into catalytic communities and the reconciliation process with Indigenous communities across Canada.
Richard mentioned how the public sector is often quite slow and risk-averse when it comes to innovation, but that its role in the conversation around catalytic communities is very important given its level of resources and control over policy levers and regulations. He also recognized that there are a lot of processes that the government shouldn’t be doing with regard to innovation in the water sector.
He said that in Canada, the climate water crises are taxing governments beyond their capacity and that there’s not enough time to respond and recover from one crisis before the next occurs. He also mentioned how these events have spurred more novel public sector thinking, and that the Center is working directly with elected leaders, Chiefs, mayors, and provincial ministers to break the status quo and tackle these issues more effectively through collaborative and innovative approaches.
Richard on the future of creating a better world
Rounding out the discussion, Will asked Richard where he sees himself going now that he’s hooked on the water sector.
Richard said that he’s sure he’ll keep working in this area, driven by his sense of duty as a non-Indigenous Canadian to help address policy and legal challenges. He said he wants to be part of the force that breaks open the centralized power within existing states and institutions. Finally, he said that he thinks water is on the agenda in a way that it was not in the past, not just as it relates to climate issues, but also as a foundation of economic security.
Interested in more Distilled content?
Hosted by Water Foundry CEO Will Sarni, Distilled is a video podcast series that features water leaders from around the world. Each one-on-one conversation explores the guest’s unique career path, discusses the challenges and opportunities facing the water industry, and considers what’s next for water.
You’ll find more episodes here.
