A spiritual orientation to water, whether as a substance (water itself) or as a water body (a river, lake, spring, ocean) often conflicts with dominant materialist assumptions of water and how it should be managed. Such conflicts can be most starkly seen in disputes between traditional indigenous communities and proponents of economic development projects (UNESCO 2006; Johnston 1994). When water is considered a commodity to be managed for economically productive purposes, the proponents of a water development project may see themselves as advocates of the larger public interest, while indigenous leaders opposed to the project consider protection of the waters to be their sacred obligation to Mother Earth.

Environmentalism, which focuses on long-term ecosystem health, can serve as a mediating force between the seemingly opposite orientations of the proponents of modern economic development and traditional indigenous leaders. Both camps, the materialist developers and the spiritual indigenists, can agree, at least in theory, on the desirability of long-term environmental health and sustainable use of scarce resources. An environmental perspective can help reveal common ground between seemingly opposed positions, and set the stage for constructive mediation. This is one message of this chapter: environmentalism can lead to common understandings about water, and to agreements about how water should and should not be used.