Publications
Linking Water Scarcity to Mental Health: Hydro–Social Interruptions in the Lake Urmia Basin, Iran Journal Article
Ženko, Maja; Menga, Filippo
In: Water, 11 (5), pp. 1092, 2019, ISSN: 2073-4441.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: hydro, Iran, Lake Urmia, manufactured water scarcity, mental health, social territories
@article{Zenko2019a,
title = {Linking Water Scarcity to Mental Health: Hydro\textendashSocial Interruptions in the Lake Urmia Basin, Iran},
author = {Maja \v{Z}enko and Filippo Menga},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/11/5/1092/htm https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/11/5/1092},
doi = {10.3390/w11051092},
issn = {2073-4441},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-05-01},
journal = {Water},
volume = {11},
number = {5},
pages = {1092},
publisher = {Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute},
abstract = {Alterations of water flows resulting from the manifestation of powerful hydro\textendashsocial imaginaries often produce an uneven distribution of burdens and benefits for different social groups or regions, reflecting their social and political power. Marginalized regions can suffer manufactured territorialized water scarcity, which disturbs the natural, economic and socio-political order of water users, and as this article shows, inevitably affects their psychological wellbeing. Set in the context of the surroundings of Lake Urmia in Iran, once one of the largest hypersaline lakes in the world and now a severely degraded ecosystem mainly as a result of water overuse in its watershed, this article explores how and through which pathways this manufactured water scarcity impacted the mental health of the water users in the region. The research findings reveal that alterations in this local hydro\textendashsocial territory and the resulting biophysical, financial and social changes, as well as impacts on physical health of water users, relate to chronic psychological stress, social isolation, intra-community conflicts, despair, hopelessness, depression and anxiety.},
keywords = {hydro, Iran, Lake Urmia, manufactured water scarcity, mental health, social territories},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Alterations of water flows resulting from the manifestation of powerful hydro–social imaginaries often produce an uneven distribution of burdens and benefits for different social groups or regions, reflecting their social and political power. Marginalized regions can suffer manufactured territorialized water scarcity, which disturbs the natural, economic and socio-political order of water users, and as this article shows, inevitably affects their psychological wellbeing. Set in the context of the surroundings of Lake Urmia in Iran, once one of the largest hypersaline lakes in the world and now a severely degraded ecosystem mainly as a result of water overuse in its watershed, this article explores how and through which pathways this manufactured water scarcity impacted the mental health of the water users in the region. The research findings reveal that alterations in this local hydro–social territory and the resulting biophysical, financial and social changes, as well as impacts on physical health of water users, relate to chronic psychological stress, social isolation, intra-community conflicts, despair, hopelessness, depression and anxiety.
The unequal vulnerability of Kurdish and Azeri minorities in the case of the degradation of Lake Urmia, Iran Journal Article
Zenko, Maja; Uležić, Sanjin
In: Journal of Political Ecology, 26 (1), pp. 167–183, 2019, ISSN: 1073-0451.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: environmental degradation, ethnicity, Iran, Lake Urmia, minorities, political power, vulnerability
@article{Zenko2019,
title = {The unequal vulnerability of Kurdish and Azeri minorities in the case of the degradation of Lake Urmia, Iran},
author = {Maja Zenko and Sanjin Ule\v{z}i\'{c}},
url = {https://journals.librarypublishing.arizona.edu/jpe/article/id/2098/ http://journals.librarypublishing.arizona.edu/jpe/article/id/2098/},
doi = {10.2458/v26i1.22729},
issn = {1073-0451},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-01-01},
journal = {Journal of Political Ecology},
volume = {26},
number = {1},
pages = {167--183},
publisher = {University of Arizona Libraries},
abstract = {This article explores the differences between the vulnerability of two ethnic minorities faced with the same environmental disaster, along with the causes of those disparities. Set in the context of the degradation of Lake Urmia in north-western Iran, the study problematizes the unequal access to political power of the Kurdish and Azeri minorities and the historical dynamics of marginalization and empowerment. It links those dynamics with the current differential vulnerability of the members of the two minorities living in proximity of the lake, who have traditionally been dependent on agriculture as a means of subsistence. The degradation of the lake has severely affected the agricultural production in the region through the salinization of irrigation water and the degradation of arable land. The study focuses on households in the proximity of the lake with the goal of exploring to what extent their ethnicity determines their vulnerability and adaptive capacity in the face of the disaster. We find that ethnic politics plays a role in the access to irrigation water and the potential for income diversification, as well as being a component of the coping capacity embedded in social networks. Additionally, we find that ethnicity is a determinant of the availability of economic resources, and strongly influences the knowledge of \textendash and willingness to participate in \textendash governmental and non-governmental projects to mitigate the effects of the environmental disaster.},
keywords = {environmental degradation, ethnicity, Iran, Lake Urmia, minorities, political power, vulnerability},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This article explores the differences between the vulnerability of two ethnic minorities faced with the same environmental disaster, along with the causes of those disparities. Set in the context of the degradation of Lake Urmia in north-western Iran, the study problematizes the unequal access to political power of the Kurdish and Azeri minorities and the historical dynamics of marginalization and empowerment. It links those dynamics with the current differential vulnerability of the members of the two minorities living in proximity of the lake, who have traditionally been dependent on agriculture as a means of subsistence. The degradation of the lake has severely affected the agricultural production in the region through the salinization of irrigation water and the degradation of arable land. The study focuses on households in the proximity of the lake with the goal of exploring to what extent their ethnicity determines their vulnerability and adaptive capacity in the face of the disaster. We find that ethnic politics plays a role in the access to irrigation water and the potential for income diversification, as well as being a component of the coping capacity embedded in social networks. Additionally, we find that ethnicity is a determinant of the availability of economic resources, and strongly influences the knowledge of – and willingness to participate in – governmental and non-governmental projects to mitigate the effects of the environmental disaster.
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