How Central Water Management Impacts Local Livelihoods: An Ethnographic Case Study of Mining Water Extraction in Tarapacá, Chile
Chile’s neoliberal central water management gives shape to a series of conflicts arising from diverse understandings and ways of life linked to water. This article addresses the question of who is responsible for the ecological costs regarding water use of mining activity in the north of Chile. From...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Water |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/24/3542 |
| _version_ | 1797499822471643136 |
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| author | Sascha M. Cornejo P. Jörg Niewöhner |
| author_facet | Sascha M. Cornejo P. Jörg Niewöhner |
| author_sort | Sascha M. Cornejo P. |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Chile’s neoliberal central water management gives shape to a series of conflicts arising from diverse understandings and ways of life linked to water. This article addresses the question of who is responsible for the ecological costs regarding water use of mining activity in the north of Chile. From the perspective of hydro-social territories, we analyze how the local population in Tarapacá is acting on unequal footing regarding environmental information and knowledge. Local and practical experiences are devalued against technical and scientific modeling, supported by legal and political definitions of “the environment” and “water”. Focusing on diverse local narratives, we show how the local population feels threatened by the environmental impacts of mining activity but struggles to find legitimate ways of articulating those anxieties to gain a sense of agency. We conclude that the local ecological consequences of extractivism in this region can only be understood in the context of the wider legal and economic framework regulating the appropriation of water as a resource and that long-term efforts in more participatory sociohydrological modeling might help to broaden the knowledge base for contested decision-making. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:52:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2cfeed9b7d15445a94435002e0a55fa3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:52:57Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-2cfeed9b7d15445a94435002e0a55fa32023-11-23T11:00:46ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412021-12-011324354210.3390/w13243542How Central Water Management Impacts Local Livelihoods: An Ethnographic Case Study of Mining Water Extraction in Tarapacá, ChileSascha M. Cornejo P.0Jörg Niewöhner1IRI THESys, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10117 Berlin, GermanyIRI THESys, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10117 Berlin, GermanyChile’s neoliberal central water management gives shape to a series of conflicts arising from diverse understandings and ways of life linked to water. This article addresses the question of who is responsible for the ecological costs regarding water use of mining activity in the north of Chile. From the perspective of hydro-social territories, we analyze how the local population in Tarapacá is acting on unequal footing regarding environmental information and knowledge. Local and practical experiences are devalued against technical and scientific modeling, supported by legal and political definitions of “the environment” and “water”. Focusing on diverse local narratives, we show how the local population feels threatened by the environmental impacts of mining activity but struggles to find legitimate ways of articulating those anxieties to gain a sense of agency. We conclude that the local ecological consequences of extractivism in this region can only be understood in the context of the wider legal and economic framework regulating the appropriation of water as a resource and that long-term efforts in more participatory sociohydrological modeling might help to broaden the knowledge base for contested decision-making.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/24/3542environmental conflictslocal knowledgehydro-social territoriesneoliberalismhydrological modelingChilean water code |
| spellingShingle | Sascha M. Cornejo P. Jörg Niewöhner How Central Water Management Impacts Local Livelihoods: An Ethnographic Case Study of Mining Water Extraction in Tarapacá, Chile Water environmental conflicts local knowledge hydro-social territories neoliberalism hydrological modeling Chilean water code |
| title | How Central Water Management Impacts Local Livelihoods: An Ethnographic Case Study of Mining Water Extraction in Tarapacá, Chile |
| title_full | How Central Water Management Impacts Local Livelihoods: An Ethnographic Case Study of Mining Water Extraction in Tarapacá, Chile |
| title_fullStr | How Central Water Management Impacts Local Livelihoods: An Ethnographic Case Study of Mining Water Extraction in Tarapacá, Chile |
| title_full_unstemmed | How Central Water Management Impacts Local Livelihoods: An Ethnographic Case Study of Mining Water Extraction in Tarapacá, Chile |
| title_short | How Central Water Management Impacts Local Livelihoods: An Ethnographic Case Study of Mining Water Extraction in Tarapacá, Chile |
| title_sort | how central water management impacts local livelihoods an ethnographic case study of mining water extraction in tarapaca chile |
| topic | environmental conflicts local knowledge hydro-social territories neoliberalism hydrological modeling Chilean water code |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/24/3542 |
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