Human ecosystems and the local level

Dr. Joshka Wessels

Political Ecology and Water

Groups A and B

A: Emil Dickson, Jurate Miliute-Plepiene, Lina Herbertsson, William Davis, Lovisa Nilsson

B: Emma Li Johansson, Hanna Alfredsson, Karmen Sumic Lina Eklund, Natalya Yakusheva, Nina Weitz

Group Exercise Scales in Environmental Governance (Module 1)

• Write as many environmental spaces and places you can think of, each on a separate post-it note (10 mins).

• Write as many levels and scales you can think of (local, regional, national etc.) (10 mins)

• Group the environmental spaces according to best levels of governance, if there are interlinkages include those too.

(15 mins)

• Prepare and present results to the other group and discuss (20 mins)

Complex systems

Amaral & Ottino (2004) attempt to give a definition; a complex system is a system with a large number of elements, building blocks or agents, capable of interacting with each other and with their environment. “New ecology” proposes theory and methods to address the dynamics of ecosystems as complex systems (Able & Stepp, 2003).

The Human Ecosystem

Human Ecosystems and the Local Level

Human ecosystems as “human-dominated ecosystems in which the human species is the central agent”

Vitousek and Mooney (1997)

Jordan River Basin

Main Challenges in the JRB• Global climatic changes

• Regional depletion of groundwater

• No permanent agreements btwn riparians

• Contradicting agreements

• Dysfunctional water committees

• No relevance of the UNSC resolutions

• Negative impacts on watersheds, ecosystems and individual livelihoods

Hydro Hegemony

Hydro-hegemony is hegemony at the river basin level, achieved through water resource control strategies such as resource capture, integration and containment – Zeitoun & Warner

Hegemon

•Riparian position

•Military or economic power

•Exploitation potential infrastructure & technology

Occupied Golan Heights

Hydropolitics at local level

Perpetuation of Conflict

• Competition for resources (selfishness)

• Status quo perpetuated through competition to maintain a hydro-hegemonic position

• Liberal peace building takes the politics out of water, into the technocratic domain

• No chance for reconciliation or processing of past traumas before restoring trust

• Consisting negative mental pictures and mistrust