Change in Water Technology in Anatolia: From Use to Energy, Conflicts to Climate Action

Abstract

UNESCO World Heritage properties in Anatolia show a great variety in their land use morphologies as a response to their environmental differences, developing different ways of managing water for daily use and agricultural irrigation. History testifies to the many conflicts and wars that occurred in defending and/or accessing these important water resources. The remnants of this infrastructure form part of invaluable cultural heritage and present opportunities for the embodied traditional knowledge to mitigate the impacts of climate change. However, ruthless water regimes (i.e. hydroelectric plants), which disregard the importance of water for communities, have prioritized water as a source of energy over its value for daily and agricultural use and have impacted the environment and climate, which directly affects both tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Dried creeks leave water-related infrastructure and equipment without a purpose and people deprived of water. In the age of Anthropocene, such an approach victimizes people through the idea of taking over nature while at the same time making people the victims of nature’s response. In return, new regional conflicts are instigated, and migration becomes inevitable, diminishing neighbourly peace and also aggravating climate change, causing negative impacts on cultural heritage and jeopardising many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.