New research on 'flows' from a socio-ecological perspective
My name is Nathanael (Nat) Bergbusch, and I am a PhD candidate in the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability at the University of Waterloo. I am currently 27 and grew up in the Canadian prairies, where I completed my master’s degree in freshwater science at the University of Regina. I hope to be a natural scientist who actively works towards reconciliation, water justice, and conservation. I have volunteered with Amnesty International for ten years and in that time have become passionate about human and environmental rights advocacy. My PhD research is a combination of my backgrounds and interests.
My PhD research is about how to consider communities and ecosystems more meaningfully in environmental impact assessments (EIA) conducted in Canadian watersheds to strive towards sustainability. I believe that a way to achieve this is by bringing environmental flows (eflows) concepts into EIA. Eflows refers to the quality and availability of freshwater to sustain waterbodies which support human livelihoods and well-being. This includes cultural considerations (cultural flows) like values and preferences of various downstream groups, which, in the case of Indigenous nations, includes their longstanding, intergenerational relationships with flowing water. To my knowledge, these eflows concepts have never been embraced in EIA beyond minimum flow requirements. To address this need, my thesis brings together perspectives and data from the literature, practitioners, researchers, and communities involved in EIA and eflows research. I am conducting a case study of a $4 billion proposed irrigation project in Saskatchewan. This includes co-creating social-ecological-hydrological information with the Land and Resources Department of a Tribal Council for a regional assessment and supportive monitoring program. The culmination of these theoretical and practical investigations will result in the recommendation of a co-created approach to eflows in EIA that will more completely meet the needs of communities and ecosystems.
To inform my work in Saskatchewan, I am seeking research participants to interview remotely for a study with the working title “Integrating Environmental and Cultural Flows within Impact Assessment for Sustainable Decision-Making through Dialogue with Experts and Practitioners in Canada.” This study will investigate 1) how environmental and cultural flows concepts and approaches are currently incorporated within impact assessment in Canada, 2) what environmental and cultural flows concepts and approaches would be an asset to impact assessments conducted in watersheds in Canada, and 3) how these approaches might be integrated within assessment processes in Canada to enable sustainable watershed decision-making. This research will provide an opportunity to synthesize knowledge and opinions from eflows and impact assessment experts and practitioners, as well as watershed, land, and resource managers, and contribute to broader conversations about the inclusivity of downstream or regional communities and ecosystems in impact assessment in Canada. I am conducting interviews until the end of October 2022. Please contact me at ntbergbu@uwaterloo.ca if you are interested.
