Neocolonial Hydrology: How “Authentic” Are Today’s Human–Water Interactions?

“Authenticity” is a concept that ignites powerful debate in our contemporary epoch, often serving as a benchmark for critique. Despite its significance, we have yet to ponder it in this book: Is there an “authentic hydrology,” and what might that be? Even comprehensive hydrology textbooks offer no conclusive description. Some may argue that the authors of this book lack “authenticity”—one is a hydrologist-turned-pseudo-philosopher and the other is not a hydrologist at all—illustrating the importance of authenticity. Authenticity forms the bedrock of credibility, influencing governments and individuals to listen and act. Hence, we believe that the intersection of modern hydrology, authenticity, and human–water interactions is worth contemplating. Specifically, we aim to examine how the relentless pursuit of a scientific consensus understanding of hydrology has influenced the authenticity of varying cultural interactions with water. Here, we introduce the concept of “neocolonial hydrology,” a term we use to describe the standardized water knowledge propagated by an international scientific community in collaboration with governments and corporations. This often manifests as norms imposed on local communities, potentially disrupting and marginalizing their unique, authentic interactions with water and water-related resources.