Chapter 11 Transformation through Translation?
Sustainable Energy Democracy, Indigenous Values and the Challenge of Transforming the Energy Sector
In: Sustainable Energy Democracy and the LawSearch for other papers by Jennifer Campion in
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Abstract
Increasing concern over the energy sector’s impact on natural systems and on social inequalities has galvanised energy democracy activities. Energy democracy is focused on collective participation in, and control of, energy resources. This community focus aligns with the worldviews and values of many Indigenous peoples. Indeed, it is suggested that Indigenous approaches to energy resource management and development would better support the sectoral transformation towards a more collective approach that energy democracy is seeking.
It is proposed that a legal objective of sustainable energy democracy may be supported by the legal principle of sustainable development. Sustainable development aligns with the worldviews of many Indigenous peoples. This may therefore be a pathway to including Indigenous approaches in energy sector decision-making. However, giving legal effect to Indigenous concepts in Western legal systems poses challenges. The concept is transplanted rather than translated; it is appropriated and redefined to make it fit within a legal system that is underpinned by different philosophies and worldviews. This is far from satisfactory to many Indigenous peoples, and is more likely to reinforce sectoral structures than to transform them.
In New Zealand, the Māori concept kaitiakitanga has been legally recognized and underpins resource management legislation. Kaitiakitanga is a way of conceiving human/environmental relations, based on the Māori worldview. It is aligned with sustainable development, although the concept is wider than this. The New Zealand experience offers learnings around the way an Indigenous concept aligned with sustainability has been legally recognized in a Western legal system and how this may support energy democracy.