The EDGES Research Collaborative is pleased to announce its part in a new research initiative: the Riverhood and River Commons research projects. EDGES member Prof. Leila Harris has joined the scientific advisory board for the River Commons project.

Riverhood and River Commons are both five-year research projects that focus on enlivening rivers, river co-governance initiatives, and new water justice movements. While each of the projects has its specific objectives, activities, regions, and partners, there is immense potential for synergies and cross-pollination. Riverhood and River Commons will therefore be integrated in multiple ways, to together build a diverse and wide network of river scholars, activists, and institutions that commonly aim to understand and strengthen river co-governance around the world.

Both projects are united by a common framework that illuminates the different facets and complexities of river systems. The framework encompasses four dimensions: River-as-Ecosociety, River-as-Territory, River-as-Subject, and River-as-Movement. Riverhood and River Commons bring together a research team (research scientists, postdoctoral fellows, PhD and Master’s students) across a wide range of disciplines in collaboration with social movements, activists, NGOs, world-class research institutes, national and international policy-making institutes, and broad dissemination networks.