Water tensions and social transformations on customary lands

Abstract

In New Caledonia, in the Kanak communities, “water is the link”, the link between Heaven and Earth, between the Mountain and the Sea, but also between men and between clans. This article aims to show how the evolution of water networks management, from the “traditional” irrigation canals to the drinking water supply network, has transformed and still transforms uses of water in tribes and how these changes modify the links between men and tribe social organization. In the specific context of New Caledonian negotiated decolonization, focusing on techniques and technical changes around access and uses of the water show the impact of colonization and mining development on the management of the resource and on customary rules