The sustainable hydropower development program, launched by the Turkish state in early 2000s, has not only privatized rivers, by transferring the use rights of the stream flow to private companies, but also the hydropower sector by transferring the functions of state institutions to the private sector, including planning, designing, constructing and operating hydroelectric plants. This overwhelming program has faced strong opposition and local people have opened court cases to cancel emerging private hydropower projects in their areas. This legal struggle has transformed juridical knowledge-making into a process that produces environmental knowledge, and legitimizes it as official knowledge. By tracing the trajectory of the court case over the Cevizlik hydroelectricity plant and analyzing the scientific expert reports and court verdicts, this article discusses juridical knowledge-making under the uncertainty of natural conditions while demonstrating its strengths and limitations. I argue that the plurality of the knowledge produced through juridical knowledge-making practice reveals its political character. I conclude that the debates over juridical knowledge-making practices from the political ecology perspective can contribute to improving them, and help understand the future of rivers in Turkey under the pressure of hydropower development. Key words: Political ecology, knowledge-making, juridical knowledge-making, uncertainty of knowledge, hydropower development, the İkizdere River, Turkey. RésuméLe programme de développement durable de l'hydroélectricité, lancé par l'Etat turc au début des années 2000, a non seulement privatisé les rivières en transférant les droits d'usage des flux aux entreprises privées, mais aussi le secteur hydroélectrique en transférant les fonctions des institutions publiques au secteur privé. Cela comprend la planification, la conception, la construction et l'exploitation des centrales hydroélectriques. Ce programme écrasant a fait face à une forte opposition, et les populations locales ont ouvert des procédures judiciaires pour annuler les projets hydroélectriques privés émergents dans leurs régions. Cette lutte juridique a transformé la connaissance juridique en un processus qui produit des connaissances environnementales et la légitime comme connaissance officielle. En traçant la trajectoire de l'affaire devant l'usine hydroélectrique de Cevizlik et en analysant les rapports d'experts scientifiques et les verdicts judiciaires, cet article aborde la connaissance juridique sous l'incertitude des conditions naturelles tout en démontrant ses forces et ses limites. Je soutiens que la pluralité des connaissances produites par la pratique de la connaissance juridique révèle son caractère politique. Je conclus que les débats sur les pratiques juridiques de connaissance du point de vue de l'écologie politique peuvent contribuer à leur amélioration et aider à comprendre l'avenir des fleuves en Turquie sous la pression du développement hydroélectrique. Mots clés: Écologie politique, ...
In this article, we ask how considerations about moral (and immoral) ecologies have motivated and shaped ecological resistance movements. The concept of 'moral ecologies' involves expectations of reciprocal, just, and sustainable relations between society and environment, which we consider a central concern of environmental movements. We analyze the cultural, material, and political importance of moral ecologies as a form of resistance by examining social movements in Alaska and Turkey, as well as ideas about sumak kawsay ('good living') in Ecuador and historical precursors in the form of the 'righteous ruler' in early medieval Ireland. Our analysis demonstrates that a focus on moral ecologies has often resonated widely, facilitated new and cross-cutting coalitions, and in some cases garnered elite support and signi cantly in uenced national politics and landscapes.
Peak oil and climate change are two of greatest challenges facing humanity at the beginning of 21st century. They are urging humanity to re-think and consider changing on many personal, social, ecological, and economic fronts. Transition and resilience are key concepts initiating this change to prepare communities to forthcoming challenging times. Transition Movement and the claimed model behind it, Transition Model, have been established to overcome these challenges by transforming communities and settlements. Transition Movement is a community-driven initiative aiming to build ecology friendly resilient community and settlements. Its fast spread has sparked the attention of policy makers, academicians, and practitioners. Relatively little research has been done, however, to understand the dynamics of Transition Movement. Here, I focus on transition and resilience concepts in relation to socio-ecological and socio-technical systems, investigate Transition Movement and Transition Model, and analyze their characteristics and fundamental processes. I classify Transition Movement both as a socio-ecological and a socio-technical system. I claim that Transition Model is not a model but rather a methodology. I question its validity and sufficiency as a methodology and point the improvement areas from systems point of view. I introduce two, non-existent but necessary systems to adapt: a feedback mechanism, and an improvement cycle based on projects and resilient indicators. Finally, I comment on the future of Transition Model and suggest areas for further research. The chapter is concluded with the question how Transition Model can be adapted by the cities, transforming them into resilient communities, ready for the ecological and economical challenges.
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