"Vulnerability, Social Power and Conflicts under Water Scarcity Scenarios in Andean Drylands: Mendoza, Argentina"

MONTAÑA, ELMA

Bonn

Congreso; 2009 IHDP Open Meeting; 2009

International Human Dimension Programme / United Nations University

Water scarcity aggravation is one of the most expected undesirable effects of global environmental change in Mendoza and other drylands of the South American Arid Diagonal. In this work, Mendoza stands for a modern hydraulic society in which the social tissue is strongly associated with a comprehensive and intensive water resource manipulation within an order imposed for controlling a hostile environment. As power distributions are associated to water management, water would have the capacity to express -and also model- hegemonic and subordinate social relations in a hierarchical system. The purpose of the work is to analyze vulnerabilities under water scarcity deepening scenarios, considering not only the ?official? conflicts and their future projections but also introducing symbolic dimensions not duly recognized. To that end, nature-society relationships and specially water conflicts are reviewed for understanding the vulnerabilities around four significant production processes. For every case, the analysis of different stakeholders proves the existence of contrastive situations characterized by deepening inequities. The results have shown not only how dependent dryland societies are on water resources, but -most significantly- the importance that the ways of controlling and manipulating water have in shaping it social tissue and in consolidating their powers. Beyond that, the findings throw light on the adaptation challenges to be faced. The key issues seem to be not only a growing population on reduced water resources or technical matters of water management, but especially the possibilities of operating on the ways in which the hydraulic societies are structured and ruled.