Event Ecology, Causal Historical Analysis, and Human–Environment Research

Walters, Bradley B.; Vayda, Andrew P.

doi:10.1080/00045600902931827

“…The data was used to construct a causal chain backward in time (Walters and Vayda 2009), so from the dispute to the mackerel shift. The description of the historical development was then analyzed to identify causal mechanisms that could explain why and how environmental change can lead to conflict.…”

Section: Methodology: Process Tracingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental change and social conflict: the northeast Atlantic mackerel dispute

Spijkers

¹

,

Boonstra

²

2017

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A recurrent critique of the proposition of a causal relation between environmental change and social conflict is that it fails to account for the complexities and dynamics of processes of social-ecological change. In this article, we open the black box of contextual factors that influence the causal pathway from environmental change to social conflict. Firstly, we argue for the consideration of three social factors that influence that pathway: (a) institutions, (b) power, and (c) knowledge. Taking a deductive approach, we ascertain their causal importance in the case of the "mackerel dispute," an interstate conflict that unfolded after the abrupt and rapid change in distribution of the northeast Atlantic mackerel stock after 2007. We analyze the historical development of the mackerel dispute through process tracing and demonstrate the importance and causal role of the three factors. Secondly, based on our assessment, we argue to increase the diversity of the scope conditions relevant for the environmental changesocial conflict nexus. We propose to consider a wider variety of conflicts as outcome of environmental change, highincome regions as an arena for those conflicts, and a wider variety of environmental change, such as alterations in abundance in the context of climate change. Lastly, we discuss how future research on this topic can handle the wider scope conditions and greater case variability.

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“…The large-scale patterns of change that ecologists observe such as regional deforestation, Vayda argued, emerged because people shared similar experiences and came to similar conclusions about how to act in the environments in which they live. His work has inspired a whole body of studies in human ecology focused on revealing the social factors that motivate human environmental behavior, in order to understand global scale change (Vayda 1983(Vayda , 1990(Vayda , 1994McCay 1975, 1977;Vayda and Walters 1999;Walters et al 2008;Walters and Vayda 2009). …”

Section: The Importance Of Social Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Specifically, I explore how irrigation may be better understood as a practice embedded within a broader cultural system (Greenberg and Park 1994). I utilize political ecologists' concept of contextualization to illustrate how irrigation practices are influenced by a wide array of social interactions, which shape environmental conditions and affect human perceptions of the environment, and responses to it (Penna-Firme 2013;Vayda 1983;Vayda and Walters 1999;Walters and Vayda 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Irrigation in the Khorezm oasis, past and present: a political ecology perspective

Brite

¹

2016

JPE

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The Khorezm oasis sits at the epicenter of an environmental disaster. Since the late 19 th century, the continual expansion of irrigation in this region has altered the natural hydrology of the Amu Darya delta, leading to widespread desertification and the near total disappearance of the world's fourth largest lake, the Aral Sea. The situation is widely acknowledged as an environmental catastrophe of unprecedented scale, and yet it is not the first irrigation crisis in Khorezmian history. Numerous events of irrigation collapse are recorded in the archaeological record of this oasis, with many in the scientific community now very interested in this past record for its potential to inform on the modern crisis. Unfortunately, there has also been a tendency to overlook the different historical conditions that led to irrigation in this oasis over the last three millennia. In this article, I take an alternative approach that draws on political ecology's insights about the cultural embeddedness of environmental behavior. I compare two periods of irrigation in Khorezm, one ancient and the other modern, to show how the particular social contexts of each period shaped irrigation schemes in different ways. Significantly different design and implementation features are apparent in the ancient versus modern systems, with vastly different implications for environmental sustainability and human well-being. Keywords: water, irrigation, Aral Sea, archaeology, collapse, Soviet Union, nomadic pastoralism Résumé L'oasis de Khorezm se trouve à l'épicentre d'une catastrophe écologique. Depuis la fin du 19e siècle, l'expansion continue de l'irrigation dans cette région a modifié l'hydrologie naturelle du delta Amou-Daria. Cela a conduit à la désertification généralisée, et la disparition quasi totale de quatrième plus grand lac du monde, la mer d'Aral. La situation est largement reconnu comme une catastrophe environnementale à une échelle sans précédent, et pourtant il est pas la première crise de l'irrigation dans l'histoire du Khorezm. L'effondrement de l'irrigation a été enregistrée plusieurs fois dans le dans le dossier archéologique. Certains scientifiques pensent que le passé peut aider à comprendre la crise actuelle. Malheureusement, il ya également eu une tendance à négliger les différentes conditions historiques qui ont conduit à l'irrigation dans cette oasis, ce qui rend les comparaisons difficiles. Dans cet article, je prends une approche alternative qui attire sur les idées de l'écologie politique sur l'implantation culturelle du comportement environnemental. Je compare deux périodes de l'irrigation dans Khorezm, un ancien et l'autre moderne, pour montrer comment les contextes sociaux particuliers à chaque période ont contribué à créer les différents systèmes d'irrigation. Conception et réalisation étaient très différents, conduisant à des résultats différents pour la durabilité environnementale et le bien-être humain. Mots clés: l'eau, l'irrigation, la mer d'Aral, l'archéologie, l'effondrement, l'Union soviétique,...

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“…Specifically, I explore how irrigation may be better understood as a practice embedded within a broader cultural system (Greenberg and Park 1994). I utilize political ecologists' concept of contextualization to illustrate how irrigation practices are influenced by a wide array of social interactions, which shape environmental conditions and affect human perceptions of the environment, and responses to it (Penna-Firme 2013;Vayda 1983;Vayda and Walters 1999;Walters and Vayda 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Irrigation in the Khorezm oasis, past and present: a political ecology perspective

Brite

¹

2016

Journal of Political Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Khorezm oasis sits at the epicenter of an environmental disaster. Since the late 19 th century, the continual expansion of irrigation in this region has altered the natural hydrology of the Amu Darya delta, leading to widespread desertification and the near total disappearance of the world's fourth largest lake, the Aral Sea. The situation is widely acknowledged as an environmental catastrophe of unprecedented scale, and yet it is not the first irrigation crisis in Khorezmian history. Numerous events of irrigation collapse are recorded in the archaeological record of this oasis, with many in the scientific community now very interested in this past record for its potential to inform on the modern crisis. Unfortunately, there has also been a tendency to overlook the different historical conditions that led to irrigation in this oasis over the last three millennia. In this article, I take an alternative approach that draws on political ecology's insights about the cultural embeddedness of environmental behavior. I compare two periods of irrigation in Khorezm, one ancient and the other modern, to show how the particular social contexts of each period shaped irrigation schemes in different ways. Significantly different design and implementation features are apparent in the ancient versus modern systems, with vastly different implications for environmental sustainability and human well-being. Keywords: water, irrigation, Aral Sea, archaeology, collapse, Soviet Union, nomadic pastoralism Résumé L'oasis de Khorezm se trouve à l'épicentre d'une catastrophe écologique. Depuis la fin du 19e siècle, l'expansion continue de l'irrigation dans cette région a modifié l'hydrologie naturelle du delta Amou-Daria. Cela a conduit à la désertification généralisée, et la disparition quasi totale de quatrième plus grand lac du monde, la mer d'Aral. La situation est largement reconnu comme une catastrophe environnementale à une échelle sans précédent, et pourtant il est pas la première crise de l'irrigation dans l'histoire du Khorezm. L'effondrement de l'irrigation a été enregistrée plusieurs fois dans le dans le dossier archéologique. Certains scientifiques pensent que le passé peut aider à comprendre la crise actuelle. Malheureusement, il ya également eu une tendance à négliger les différentes conditions historiques qui ont conduit à l'irrigation dans cette oasis, ce qui rend les comparaisons difficiles. Dans cet article, je prends une approche alternative qui attire sur les idées de l'écologie politique sur l'implantation culturelle du comportement environnemental. Je compare deux périodes de l'irrigation dans Khorezm, un ancien et l'autre moderne, pour montrer comment les contextes sociaux particuliers à chaque période ont contribué à créer les différents systèmes d'irrigation. Conception et réalisation étaient très différents, conduisant à des résultats différents pour la durabilité environnementale et le bien-être humain. Mots clés: l'eau, l'irrigation, la mer d'Aral, l'archéologie, l'effondrement, l'Union soviétique,...

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Event Ecology, Causal Historical Analysis, and Human–Environment Research

Cited by 83 publications

References 130 publications

Environmental change and social conflict: the northeast Atlantic mackerel dispute

Environmental change and social conflict: the northeast Atlantic mackerel dispute

Irrigation in the Khorezm oasis, past and present: a political ecology perspective

Irrigation in the Khorezm oasis, past and present: a political ecology perspective

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