╨╧рб▒с>■  -/■   ,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                ье┴Й@ Ё┐'jbjbqФqФ &ЎЎ'      l0000000ttttt Аt.аааааааа<>>>>>>,н ═ @j0аааааj,00ааа,,,а:0а0а<,D\0000а<,,<00<Ф N:Р╜tt┌R<<< , <,├хTara DePorte October 10, 2004 The Powers of Water For over a century, materialist social theory has proclaimed a link between the management of hydraulic irrigation and the centralization of power (Lansing, 37). With increasing frequency, we are seeing power struggles throughout the world due to limited natural resources, water being the most prominent. Water flows and cleanses, absorbs and changes states with the local environment, and it can help to create or to destroy the communities dependent on her for life itself. All living beings have a Уhydrological dependencyФ as Lansing puts it, however, there are few systems in the world such as the Balinese water temple system that genuinely organize around and praise local hydrological systems. Water has been used for centuries as a cause for wars and a great source for political power. I would argue that the focus needs to shift to a greater respect for the power of water itself, as is seen in many traditional belief-systems, and an understanding of our total dependency on the continuation of clean, fresh water throughout our communities. Roy talks about connecting human rights to a Сtrue priceТ and, again, discussing the disaccord between the market system and the natural system. He not only examines this, but continues to point out the growing disjunction between political systems and the market systems they attempt to control. He argues that the transfer of power over water supplies from the governmental arena to the private sector in many ways takes the СhumanityТ out of decision making and further increases the rift between these СmanmadeТТ systems and the Сnatural systemsТ: Striking a balance between what the СmarketТ demands and what people can afford, is-or certainly ought to be-the primary, fundamental responsibility of any democratic government. Privatization seeks to disengage politics from the СmarketТ(Roy). Although Roy does make a good, heartfelt argument against privatization, his lack of proposal for alternative, comprehensive water management is telling. As he asks very important questions, such as : What happens when you СprivatizeТ something as essential to human survival as water? What happens when you commodify water and say that only those who can come u pwith the cash to pay the Сmarket priceТ can have it? However, Roy needs to push his argument one step further and ask the equally pungent questions of: What happens when water isnТt privatized? When consumption isnТt controlled? When natural water cycles are not integrated into policy and practice? Without methodology to control and allocate water resources in todayТs world, the same negative results of privatization and dam development that Roy so pointedly focuses on (such as habitat and ecosystem destruction, relocation of towns and villages, etc) will continue and worsen due to overuse and misuse of this fragile resource. The answers do not lie in total transfer of powers to corporations, governments, or even local communitiesЧthe answers lie in an integrated management approaches that are locally specific, created around, and subject to the powers of water resources themselves. It is a question of reshaping human systems to fit the mold of the natural systems we are so dependent on, not vice versa. LansingТs work in analyzing the complexities of rice paddy agriculture in Bali explores a human system that has developed around and because of water resource availability, cycles, and quality in communities: Hydrological interdependency is built into the very engineering structure of the irrigation systems, with long and fragile systems of weirs, tunnels, canals, and aqueducts threading their way down the mountainsides (Lansing, 52) The Balinese farmers are not only structuring their irrigation systems to water systems, but their cultural, social, and even temporal systems as well. These farmers are coming from an ancient tradition that not only places great СvalueТ on water, but has integrated their communities, livelihoods, worship and political structure around their dependency on the resource. As Roy argues: There is a difference between valuing water and putting a market value on water. This is exemplified in the Balinese system, where market values are not even remotely factored into hydrological management practices. However, this type of management system is not the Сend allТ answer. Balinese water temple systems serve as an example of communities working together to understand and integrate their local natural systems into many facets of their everyday lives. This type of integration can be done on many levels, and I would argue, if done properly, could be used to transform market systems just as effectively. For a given watershed community, it is important to focus on and highlight the existing systems that are in place there and how they relate to local water resources. This may include: Religious beliefs that worship or anthropomorphize water resources; market economies that are dependent on healthy, productive water resources; Political systems that oversee water allocation, treatment, and sanitation. Through the analysis and integration of these systems into the greater understanding and respect for water systems, the full power of these water systems has a chance to emerge, rise, and be protected. Stephen Lansing, 1991. Priests and Programmers: Technologies of power in the engineered landscape of Bali. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.аа(Selected chapters) Roy, Arundhati 2001. УThe Reincarnation of Rumpelstiltskin.Ф In Power Politics. Cambridge, South End Press. Pages: 35-87. 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