It was standing room only, as presenters from India, Bangladesh, Colombia, and the U.S. (me) discussed different approaches to rights to clean water and problems such rights might solve, in a panel at the Waterkeeper Alliance Global Conference 2022, Saturday, June 11, 2022, in Washington, DC.

Update 2022-06-16: Fixed typo (Colombia, not Ecuador).

Presenters and Questions

Many thanks to Rodrigo de la O, Maule Itata Coastkeeper, Chile, for using my phone to video the session.

And congratulations, Rodrigo, on winning the Terry Backer award!

Below are the videos of each presenter and some questions. First a video playlist, then individual videos with a few more pictures.

Here’s a WWALS video playlist:

Videos: Right to Clean Water, Waterkeeper Alliance Conference 2022-06-11
Videos by Rodrigo de la O, Maule Itata Coastkeeper, Chile.

• Intro –Ranjan K. Panda, Mahanadi Waterkeeper, India

  Video.

  Ranjan K. Panda, Mahanadi Waterkeeper, India, whose idea this panel was, introduced the subject, which was billed as “Right to Water / Rights of Nature”.

  
  Movie: Intro –Ranjan K. Panda, Mahanadi Waterkeeper, India

• Protecting Rights of Rivers and People in BD –Sharif Jamil, WK Bangladesh

  Video.

  Sharif Jamil, Waterkeepers Bangladesh, drew several questions.

  
  Movie: Protecting Rights of Rivers and People in Bangladesh –Sharif Jamil, Waterkeepers Bangladesh

  
  No power plants near world heritage sites; Kissimmee Waterkeeper John Capece looks on.

  Dr. Capece is a pillar of Waterkeepers Florida, and a proponent of Rights of Clean Water in Florida since the movement started there several years ago.

  
  Proposed coal plants in Bangladesh

  
  What is a river?

  
  Rivers in Bangladesh

• Right to Water, of Nature –Liliana Guerrero R, Bocas de Ceniza WK, Colombia

  Video.

  Liliana Guerrero R, Bocas de Ceniza Waterkeeper, Colombia, explained the elaborate legal structure around water in that country.

  
  Bio-Cultural Rights in Colombia

• Right to Clean Water, GA \u0026 FL USA –John S. Quarterman, Suwannee Riverkeeper

  Video.

  John S. Quarterman, Suwannee Riverkeeper, explained how human rights is the approach of every U.S. state that has a constitutional amendment on this subject, and every state that is trying to get one, focussing especially on Georgia and Florida. For more see https://wwals.net/issues/rtcw.

  
  Movie: Constitutional Right to Clean Water for Georgia and Florida USA –John S. Quarterman, Suwannee Riverkeeper

  Here I’m pointing to springs in the Suwannee River Basin.

  
  Floridan Aquifer

  Damon Mullis, Ogeechee Riverkeeper (pictured at right) is one of four Georgia Riverkeepers on the Georgia RTCW panel. The other two, Flint Riverkeeper Gordon Rogers and Satilla Riverkeeper Chris Bertrand, were not at the conference.

  
  Ogeechee Riverkeeper

• How did you come up with Mother Earth has rights? –Joseph Darville, Waterkeepers Bahamas

  Video.

  In the general question and answer period, one value of such a presentation became clear: despite a global movement going on for more than a decade, many people had not yet heard of it.

• Constitutional Rights beginning, not end –Patricio Chambers Mejía, Ecuador

  Video.

  The last question was actually the perfect wrapup. Constitutional Rights is not the end, but the beginning, said Patricio Chambers Mejía, Guayllabamba Waterkeeper, Ecuador.

• Continued webinars –Ranjan K. Panda, Mahanadi Waterkeeper, India

  Video.

  Stay tuned for continued webinars.

  
  Movie: Continued webinars –Ranjan K. Panda, Mahanadi Waterkeeper, India

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

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