Wessels, J.I.

English

International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion online publications

UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (https://dare.uva.nl)UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository)To cooperate or not to cooperate...? : collective action for rehabilitation oftraditional water tunnel systems (qanats) in SyriaWessels, J.I.Publication date2008Link to publicationCitation for published version (APA):Wessels, J. I. (2008). To cooperate or not to cooperate...? : collective action for rehabilitationof traditional water tunnel systems (qanats) in Syria. [Thesis, fully internal, Universiteit vanAmsterdam]. Vossiuspers.General rightsIt is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s)and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an opencontent license (like Creative Commons).Disclaimer/Complaints regulationsIf you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, pleaselet the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the materialinaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letterto: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Youwill be contacted as soon as possible.Download date:05 Jan 20261Table of ContentsGLOSSARY OF LOCAL TERMS 9ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 12CHAPTER 1      INTRODUCTION 17Introduction 171.1 Short introduction to Syria 181.2 What are qanats ? 191.3 Research on qanats since mid 20th century 221.4 From science to practical application 241.5 Placing qanats in a development context 27Organization of this book 30CHAPTER 2  COLLECTIVE ACTION FOR COMMUNITYWATER MANAGEMENT, A HUMAN ECOSYSTEM APPROACH 31Introduction 312.1 Qanats as a complex human ecosystem 342.1.1  Including humans into ecosystems 362.1.2 Why a human ecosystem approach for qanats ? 392.1.3 Conceptualising the complexity of qanats as human ecosystems 422.1.4 Multiple environments and a scaled hierarchy of systems 442.1.5 Potential shortcomings of the “new” human ecosystems approach 472.2 Studying collective action, a forest of theoretical debates 502.2.1 Limitations of New Institutionalism 522.2.2 The role of power in every day water politics 532.2.3 Leadership and governance for community-based natural resourcemanagement 552.2.4 The relationship between collective action and water scarcity 572.2.5 Analysing the orientation-to-action of individual actors 602.3     The importance of information flows in human ecosystems andcollective action 6322.3.1 Communication and the cultural dimension 632.3.2 The role of communication in participation 652.3.3 Community-feedback and reflection of observation; usingParticipatory Video (PV) 672.3.4 Important lessons from visual anthropology for the application ofvideo 70CHAPTER 3    RESEARCH FRAMEWORK 74Introduction 743.1 Problem analysis 743.2 Research questions & objectives 763.3 Field methodology and approach 773.4 Cases of Collective Action; qanat renovations 783.4.1 Pilot renovation: dynamics at micro-level in Shallalah Saghirah 793.4.2 Qarah renovation: a case of unintended effect 823.5 Participatory video (PV) and community feedback 86CHAPTER 4   GROUNDWATER AND QANATS IN SYRIA 88Introduction 884.1 Status of flowing Qanats in Syria 884.1.1 Distribution of flowing qanats throughout Syria 894.1.2 Short historical background of Syrian Qanats 904.1.3 Ecology, characteristics and different types of qanats 924.1.4 Ownership, leadership and abandonment of qanats; state and fate 944.1.5 Laws, rights and regulations for qanat use 994.2 Groundwater resources, policy and institutional reform in Syria 1014.2.1 Challenges per groundwater sector 1024.2.2 Institutional reform and Syrian water legislation 1034.2.3 Qanats versus pumps, competing for the aquifer 1054.3 Conclusions 106CHAPTER 5     SHALLALAH SAGHIRAH 109Introduction 10935.1 Background of the site and its qanat 1105.1.1 Shallalah Saghirah, small village on the fringe of the Syrian steppe1105.1.2 Historical background and development of qanats around the pilotsite 1125.1.3 Physical characteristics and hydrogeology of the qanat in ShallalahSaghirah 1165.1.4 Early modern use of the qanat 1235.1.5 Present groundwater use near the qanat 1235.2 The users community of Shallalah Saghirah 1255.2.1 Household characteristics 1255.2.2 History of settlement in the village 1335.2.3 Water rights and landownership in the irrigated garden 1365.2.4 A conflict between households 1445.2.5 Sociopolitical history of family ties between households 1445.2.6 The importance of identity and marriage links as sources of powerand mediation 1495.2.7 Transformations in society 1535.3 Conclusions 155CHAPTER 6      SHALLALAH SAGHIRAH RENOVATION 157Introduction 1576.1 The pilot renovation of summer 2000 1596.1.1 The Khanasser Valley Integrated Research Site (KVIRS) 1596.1.2 Main actors of the renovation 1626.1.3 The challenge of renovation 1646.1.4 Preparations for collective action 1706.1.5 Orientation-to-action; multiplicity of actors 1766.1.6 The first few weeks, villagers claiming their right to work 1796.1.7 Supervision during the work and conflicts of interest 1816.1.8 Shifting  responsibilities 1846.1.9 Migration workers returning from Lebanon, tensions and conflict 1876.1.10 Workers group dispersed and resolution process of the “case of thethorn” 1886.1.11 The last weeks, finishing the task 1916.2 Endogenous factors of collective action at community level 1936.2.1 Public scrutiny, mistrust and conflicting loyalties 1946.2.2 Communication between the actors 1976.2.3 Power, equity, water rights and legal pluralism 2006.2.4 Empowering and participation in the rural Middle East; a criticalview 2076.2.5 Hydrogeological impact of the renovation 21046.2.6 Cost-benefit analysis of the pilot renovation 2146.3 Conclusions 217CHAPTER 7       QARAH 219Introduction 2197.1 Background of the site of Qarah and its qanats. 2197.1.1 Qarah, an old settlement near the Lebanese mountains 2207.1.2 Hydrogeology of Qarah 2227.1.3 General characteristics and development of qanats in Qarah 2257.1.4 Discharge of the qanats 2267.1.5 Groundwater use around the qanats 2327.1.6 Irrigated Areas of the Qanats based on Landsat TM image 2367.1.7 ‘Ayn al Taybeh, the Qanat of Dayr Mar Yaqub 2387.1.8 The maintenance status of qanat ‘Ayn al Taybeh in 2002 2467.2 The user community of Qarah 2487.2.1 Socio-economic characteristics 2497.2.2 User rights, irrigation management and organisation 2507.2.3 Investment attitudes and orientation to collective action 2547.2.4 Community suggestions for improvement 2577.3 Conclusions 258CHAPTER 8     QARAH RENOVATION 260Introduction 2608.1 The renovation in Qarah from September 2003-April 2004 2608.1.1 Previous qanat renovations in the Qalamun basin 2638.1.2 Main actors of the renovation 2658.1.3 The power of video feedback 2698.1.4 Preparations of collective action 2728.1.5 Execution of the renovation 2768.2 Endogenous and exogenous factors of collective action 2808.2.1 Leadership and power 2808.2.2 Social relations at user community level 2838.2.3 The role of third parties and funding agencies 2858.2.5 Hydrogeological impact of the renovation 2878.2.6 Cost-benefit analysis of the Qarah renovation 2888.3 Conclusions 2935CHAPTER 9   COMPARISON AND CONCLUSION 295Introduction 2959.1 Analysing qanats as human ecosystems 2969.1.1 Elements of the qanat as human ecosystem at community level 2979.1.2 The human ecosystem at regional level; are pumps and qanatscompatible? 3049.2 Comparison of socio-cultural and biophysical elements at each casestudy site 3069.2.1 Bio-physical elements 3099.2.2 Socio-cultural elements 3129.3 Energy input into the human ecosystem – collective action, mediatorroles and external agency 3189.3.1 Cleaning a qanat; hierarchy, heterogeneity and benefits 3209.3.2 Initiators, leaders and mediation 3249.3.3 Exit-options 3269.3.4 Communication, perception and the use of video in participatorydevelopment 3269.3.5 Collective action in a Middle Eastern context: shirkeh dirkeh andsharaf 3279.3.6 Final thoughts and reflections on further research 3299.4 Conclusion 330APPENDIX 1 MAPS 336APPENDIX 2 MARRIAGE ALLIANCES SHALLALAH SAGHIRAH342APPENDIX 3 GENERAL SITE  INFORMATION OF SYRIANQANATS 344REFERENCES 348SUMMARY 373SAMENVATTING 3776List of figuresFigure 1 - Schematic picture of a qanat system (adapted from Lightfoot, 1996) 20Figure 2 - Partial representation of a qanat as human-ecosystem 43Figure 3 - Qanats as human ecosystems in a scaled hierarchy 46Figure 4 -  Power and relations in a development process 54Figure 5 - Alternative value orientation (adapted from Uphoff, 1996) 62Figure 6 - Problem analysis of Qanat abandonment in Syria 75Figure 7 - Relation status quo and last year of cleaning 94Figure 8 - The village of Shallalah Saghirah 109Figure 9 - Entrance to Shallalah Saghirah 110Figure 10 - Typical lay-out of a dwelling in Shallalah Saghirah 111Figure 11 - Rainfall Shallalah Saghirah in the year 2000 111Figure 12 - Oillamp found in qanat Shallalah Saghirah 114Figure 13 - Cross-section Qanat Shallalah Saghirah 118Figure 14 - Groundwater levels of tube wells 124Figure 15 - Sheepshearing is one of the main income sources 132Figure 16 - Irrigation schedule individually kept by a member of the haquun 138Figure 17 - "Illegal" irrigation of a homegarden plot 142Figure 18 - Social talk at the outlet 142Figure 19 - Aerial picture of HH5, the dwelling owned by HH23 143Figure 20 - Filling up a qaduz near the birkeh 143Figure 21 - Irrigating the bustan at sunset 143Figure 22 - Uphoff’s Orientation-to-Action Grid (Uphoff, 1996) 157Figure 23 - Main actors of the renovation of Shallalah Saghirah 163Figure 24  - Focus groupmeeting with the Haquun on 1st December 1999 166Figure 25 - Cleaning of the birkeh, spring 2000 172Figure 26 - Orientation to Action during renovation (May/June 2000) 178Figure 27 - Shifts in orientation to action (June 2000) 180Figure 28 - Shifts in orientation to action (July 2000) 181Figure 29 - Shifts in orientation to action (August 2000) 185Figure 30 - Shifts in orientation-to-action (September 2000) 190Figure 31 - Final airshaft renovated after the last day of the renovation 192Figure 32 - Member of a donor delegation prepares to descent 192Figure 33 - Discharge of the qanat in Shallalah Saghirah after rainshowers 211Figure 34 - Annual discharge of the qanat in Shallalah Saghirah 211Figure 35 - Birkeh filled completely, December 2000 212Figure 36 - The renovated Monastery of Mar Yaqub, Qarah 220Figure 37 - Typical masonry Qarah qanats 225Figure 38 - Discharge ‘Ayn al Qraizah (1992-2001) 227Figure 39 - Discharge of ‘Ayn al Baydah (1992-2001) 228Figure 40 - Discharge of ‘Ayn al Taybeh  (1992-2001) 229Figure 41 - Irrigation reservoir ‘Ayn al Taybeh January 2001 (mid-day) 230Figure 42 - Irrigation reservoir ‘Ayn al Taybeh November 2002 (mid-day) 231Figure 43 - Sources section Taybeh 3 238Figure 44 - Collapsed motherwell of Taybeh 3 filled with debris 239Figure 45 - Entrance shaft Taybeh 3, moisture and debris visible in canal 240Figure 46 - Typical eroded Airshaft in ‘Ayn Al Taybeh 2427Figure 47 - Cross-section Taybeh 1 and 2 244Figure 48 - Cross-section Taybeh 3 245Figure 49 - Income sources users community Qarah 249Figure 50 - Investment attitudes Qarah users community 255Figure 51 - Suggestions for improvements from Qarah community 257Figure 52 - Main actors Qarah renovation 266Figure 53 - Supervisor from Maaloula checks collapsed 278Figure 54 - Qanat experts at work in Taybeh renovation 279Figure 55 - Nun from monastry inspecting the work 281Figure 56 - Representation of qanat community as a consumer unit 298Figure 57 - Symbols used in representation of human ecosystem 298Figure 58 - Partial representation of a qanat as human ecosystem 299Figure 59 - Qanat users 304Figure 60 - Borehole users 304Figure 61 - Partial representation of a qanat human ecosystem 305Figure 62 - Marriage alliance between Bayt Hatim and the Hariri clan 342Figure 63 - Marriage alliance between Bayt Hamzah and Bayt Amir 342Figure 64 - Badileh marriage between Hatim and Amir lineages 343List of tablesTable 1 - Models of communication adapted from Feek & Morris (2003) 65Table 2 - Types of ownership and leadership related to status quo 97Table 3 - Willingness to invest and status quo 98Table 4 - Total water withdrawal in Syria per sector 101Table 5 - Main water policy measures 105Table 6 - Chemical analysis of the water in the qanat of Shallalah Saghirah 121Table 7 - Biological analysis of the water in the qanat of Shallalah Saghirah 122Table 8 - Household characteristics Shallalah Saghirah d.d. 2000 127Table 9 - Migration destination according to age group 131Table 10 - Allocation of water rights in Shallalah Saghirah d.d. 2000 137Table 11 - Ownership of irrigated garden d.d. 2000 138Table 12 - Types of water use according to location and means of retrieval 140Table 13 - Comparison of water use between hh16 and hh23 141Table 14 - Events in social history and the relation to social cohesion 146Table 15 - Cost benefit analysis renovation Shallalah Saghirah 216Table 16 -  Microbiological analysis of water in Qarah qanats. 224Table 17 - Chemical analysis of water in Qarah qanats 224Table 18 - Water balance Barada & Awaj Basin (Adapted from Elhadj, 2004) 235Table 19 - Type of damage to Taybeh qanat 246Table 20 - hydrological characteristics of 'Ayn al Taybeh 246Table 21 - Prognosis for Qarah qanats after 02/03 247Table 22 - Rotation days of qanats Qarah 250Table 23 - Discharges and irrigated land of Qanats Qarah 252Table 24 - Cost-benefit analysis renovation Qarah 290Table 25 - Comparison of elements of case-studies as a human ecosystem 3098List of mapsMap 1 - Detailed map of the qanat in Shallalah Saghirah 117Map 2 - Detailed map of the qanat 'Ayn al Taybeh 241Map 3 - Distribution of qanats in Syria 336Map 4 - The qanat site of Shallalah Saghirah 337Map 5 - Aerial Photo the Khanasser Valley, 1958 no: P327Sa 338Map 6 - Location Byzantine sites near Shallalah Saghirah 339Map 7 - The Qanat site of Qarah 340Map 8 - Groundwater levels around Qarah qanats 3419Glossary of Local Terms1‘Aaruf Bedouin judgeAbu Ka'ab Mumps (disease)Addan Length of rotation (in days) of specific turns inirrigation water rightAl ‘Atba The followers of a specific Bedouin tribe.Those who pay protection tax.Al Lafiif Similar to Al Atba, also translated as “theattached”. These people are in some wayattached to a particular Bedouin tribe and payprotection tax‘Ammaal Seasonal workers‘Ayn SourceBa'ath Revival (from Ba’ta: to send, evoke orawaken). The name of the main political partyin SyriaBadileh Exchange marriage, usually between parallelcousinsBayt House or lineage of a particular familyBi'a Mobile vendor in rural areasBiduun Fayedeh Without payment (working for free)Bint 'amm Female parallel cousinBirkeh Reservoir                                                           1 These are local terms as opposed to Arabic terms. Some of these termsare not literally Arabic but could be of Turkish or Persian origin. Allthese terms are used locally at the research sites.10Caliph Islamic leader, usually claimed to be asuccessor of Muhammad.Dunum Area measurement commonly used in theMiddle East. One dunum is 1000 m2Dor Rightful turn in irrigation rotationHakkih Fadih Empty talk (lit) "hot air"Haquun Owners of the irrigation rightsHarim A defined boundary around the qanat tunnel,source area or outlet in which it is forbidden todrill wells or dig another qanatHosh House or lineageIbrik Small plastic water bucketJiil Members of the same age groupJub (Water) Well or airshaftKhayr Good or The GoodKubbeh Name of a typical conical shaped dome roof ofa traditional mudbrick house in northern SyriaMadafa Guest room used as a meeting place to inviteimportant guests and for achieving greaterconsensus for political and social dominationMafraq Crossing between two transects, such astunnels, roads or linesMai WaterMukhtaar The chosen leader, usually referred to as thehead of the village communityMuwaddafiin Government employees11Natur Guard, someone who overseesNebe’ SourceOda Place for gathering and prestige, similar toMadafaQaduz Large metal bucket container usually carriedon the headQanat (Romani) Traditional water tunnels in SyriaRas HeadSaqiyeh Open channelSarab Course or flowSemna 'Arabi Sheep butter or fatSharaf HonourShaykh LeaderShowkah ThornShu bi'ulu an-nas What the people say (lit.)Sunduq Box or kittySunduqiye Boxed, type of tunnel construction used inqanat renovationTanour Bread ovenWadi ValleyWasta Mediator or mediationWasta Qawiyye Grand mediationZa'ater Thyme powder or paste, commonly used forbreakfast

To cooperate or not to cooperate...? : collective action for rehabilitation of traditional water tunnel systems (qanats) in Syria

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To cooperate or not to cooperate...? : collective action for rehabilitation of traditional water tunnel systems (qanats) in Syria

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