2022 LTER All Scientists' Meeting

The Seventh Generation Principle is based on the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) philosophy that decisions we make today should result in a sustainable world seven human generations into the future. This philosophy has two elements. First, it is rooted in Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), defined as knowledge and practices passed from generation to generation informed by strong cultural practices that include sensitivity to change and reciprocity. Second, it is based on values that transcend humankind. The US White House has prioritized Tribal co-management of public lands that incorporates TEK and partnerships with Tribal Nations in restoring public lands. This has created a tendency to “integrate” TEK into Western ecological thinking in a manner that can be construed as appropriation. Dr. Eisenberg will discuss how the Seventh Generation Principle can be applied to build effective and respectful allyships and partnerships between scientists within the LTER network and Tribal Nations in a manner that avoids appropriation or adulteration of local and cultural knowledge. She will demonstrate why partnerships that braid together best Western science and TEK are essential for humanity to find the solutions that will help create more resilient and sustainable ecosystems globally. She will also describe the important moral elements necessary for such partnerships to succeed and provide examples of effective allyship across cultures.

Dr. Nandita Basu

Dr. Nandita Basu is a Professor of Global Water Sustainability and Ecohydrology, jointly appointed between the Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Waterloo. She is an Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Hydrology, Director of the Collaborative Water Program at the University of Waterloo, elected Member of the Royal Society College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists, and an Earth Leadership Fellow.

Nandita Basu is internationally renowned in the fields of water sustainability and ecohydrology, where her team has laid critical groundwork to address both fundamental science and applied management questions on nutrient pollution in anthropogenic landscapes. She is an environmental engineer, who uses data science, process modeling and remote sensing to explore how climate, land use, and management impacts surface and groundwater quality across agricultural, urban and forested landscapes, and from watershed to the regional and global scales. Her research leverages these insights to develop watershed management strategies that maximizes environmental benefits without significant economic costs.

National and international collaboration has extended the reach and impact of Dr. Basu’s work. She leads a $2.4M Tri-agency project that connects hydrologists, biogeochemists, ecologists and economists with stakeholders across Canada to develop approaches for managing the water quality of lake basins. She co-leads a $1.7M EU Joint Programming Initiative project to expand this work globally, connecting Waterloo with academic experts from Sweden, Denmark and Portugal. Dr. Basu has served on many advisory and technical committees, including the International Joint Commissions’ Science Advisory Board – Science Priority Committee, established under the Canada-USA Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.