Hydraulic Bureaucracies and the Hydraulic Mission: Flows of Water, Flows of Power

Anchored in 19th century scientism and an ideology of the domination of nature, inspired by colonial hydraulic feats, and fuelled by technological improvements in high dam constructions and power generation and transmission, large-scale water resources development has been a defining feature of the 20th century. Whether out of a need to increase food production, raise rural incomes, or strengthen state building and the legitimacy of the state, governments – North and South, East and West – embraced the 'hydraulic mission' and entrusted it to powerful state water bureaucracies (hydrocracies). Engaged in the pursuit of iconic and symbolic projects, the massive damming of river systems, and the expansion of large-scale public irrigation these hydrocracies have long remained out of reach. While they have enormously contributed to actual welfare, including energy and food generation, flood protection and water supply to urban areas, infrastructural development has often become an end in itself, rather than a means to an end, fuelling rent-seeking and symbolising state power. In many places projects have been challenged on the basis of their economic, social or environmental impacts. Water bureaucracies have been challenged internally (within the state bureaucracies or through political changes) and externally (by critiques from civil society and academia, or by reduced funding). They have endeavoured to respond to these challenges by reinventing themselves or deflecting reforms. This paper analyses these transformations, from the emergence of the hydraulic mission and associated water bureaucracies to their adjustment and responses to changing conditions

Cultural Political Economy and Critical Water Studies: An Introduction to the Special Themed Section

The attraction of taking a Cultural Political Economy (CPE) perspective in the analysis of questions related to water use, management and governance is threefold: (i) CPE is an effort to capture the multidimensionality of social dynamics by emphasising the cultural dimension of political economy and then investigating the internal relations of these different dimensions; (ii) CPE addresses both the structure and agency dimensions of social reproduction and transformation; it proposes a particular (strategic-relational) way of studying the two in an interlinked manner; (iii) the object of (most) CPE analysis – the state – is highly relevant to water studies, as the state is a, if not the, central actor in water governance, with state action as regards water resources increasingly set in the context of globalisation and neoliberalisation

'Follow the innovation' - a joint experimentation and learning approach to transdisciplinary innovation research

The ZEF-UNESCO project on Sustainable Management of Land and Water Resources in Uzbekistan addresses the environmental, social and economic problems in the Khorezm province, located within the so-called Aral Sea Zone in Uzbekistan. Currently in its seventh year (third phase), the project aims “to provide sustainable solutions to the Aral Sea region through a holistic approach, combining technology, policy and institutional options developed in cooperation with local and international stakeholders” as stated on the project website. Consequently, the mutually enriching interplay of multiple disciplines is a precondition for a successful project. Inter- and eventually transdisciplinary research, rather than the mere co-existence of different disciplines captured under the notion of ‘multidisciplinarity’ is the chosen and actively facilitated approach. A work package is specifically designed to foster the creation of inter- and transdisciplinary research teams around innovation packages developed by the project and identified as possessing ‘plausible promises’ to take hold in the Khorezm agricultural system. To trigger and sustain this process, a stepwise approach is taken. In a workshop series, four ‘Follow the Innovation (FTI)’ teams of scientists surrounding innovations were formed, roadmaps prepared and a set of tools and skills for stakeholder interaction taught. A participatory joint experimentation and learning approach was chosen to validate innovations in the farmer’s setting. Between the workshops, all four FTI teams are supported and accompanied by a full-time FTI facilitator in their stakeholder outreach and designing and implementing processes of joint experimentation and learning with stakeholders. After the first steps of stakeholder involvement are made and contacts well established, the stakeholders, as partners take part in all following training workshops. Here the further processes of testing, experimenting and jointly adapting the developed innovation packages to match the local needs as well as bio-physical and socio-economic environments are jointly designed with the partners. Additionally this process is continuously monitored, documented, critically discussed and adjusted accordingly by all partners. This paper seeks to illustrate and discuss the experiences collected so far in nurturing a transdisciplinary process of joint experimentation and learning between researchers and local stakeholders, each in their behaviours, attitudes and actions shaped by the context and culture of their places of origin. These include amongst others the academic disciplines of the researchers, the research project, the local Uzbek setting, shaped by strong hierarchical structures and a post-soviet system of knowledge governance. Thus, diverse forms and contents of knowledge, carried by uniquely socialised actors, shall be mutually exchanged and lead to the joint development of new knowledge, to innovations that ‘make sense’ in the rural setting of Khorezm/Uzbekistan. The process design, its strengths and weaknesses are outlined and recommendations for improvement discussed

Correlations, Causes and the Logic of Obscuration: Donor Shaping of Dominant Narratives in Indonesia's Irrigation Development

This article analyses policy trends in Indonesian irrigation, particularly during the last five decades, from the perspective of dominant narratives, as authored, suggested and pushed by international donors. It argues that international donors' adherence to ‘deferred maintenance’ as the core element of irrigation policy problem framing does not match with farmers' and the irrigation agency staff perceptions and practices. The logic of obscuration and the discursive manoeuvers that maintain it are analysed. The article concludes that there is space for more profound conceptual contestation and for alternative actions pathways even within the ‘dominant paradigm’ to address management problems more effectively

An assessment of intermediary roles in payments for ecosystem services schemes in the context of catchment management: An example from South West England

Payments for Ecosystems Services (PES) schemes are an underdeveloped component of the policy mix for catchment management in many countries. The importance of intermediaries to such schemes is acknowledged in the literature but few studies go beyond theory to evaluate practice. This paper analyses generic intermediary functions for PES. It then evaluates an innovative example from southwest England that provides illustrations, and some lessons regarding necessary capabilities and characteristics for intermediaries, and understanding of their form, functions and modalities. The ‘UpStream Thinking’ project was co-developed by a private water company and an environmental charity. The former translated effective demand from shareholders and water customers for improved raw water quality into finance, whilst the latter had capabilities for catchment-scale on-farm delivery and trusted acceptance as an intermediary. While any sector can potentially provide a PES intermediary, the value driven, not-for-profit and politically neutral voluntary sector proves to be a good fit. Such ‘boundary organisations’ are also well placed for horizontal coordination of catchment management authorities and actions

Between a rock and a hard place: early experience of migration challenges under the Covid-19 pandemic

This working paper was produced under the European Union Horizon 2020 funded AGRUMIG project and traces the impact of Covid-19 on migration trends in seven project countries – China, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal and Thailand. The context of global migration has changed dramatically due to the coronavirus pandemic. Both within and between countries there has been a substantial curtailment of movement. As a result of multiple lockdowns, economic activity has severely declined and labor markets have ground to a halt, with mass unemployment in industrialized economies looming on the horizon. For both migrant hosting and origin countries – some are substantially both – this poses a set of complex development challenges. Partners of the AGRUMIG project undertook a rapid review of impacts across project countries, exploring the impacts on rural households but also identifying the persistent desire to migrate in spite of restrictions