Impacts of dams to riverine societies
River is not just a stream of water flowing into the sea. As an important part of an ecosystem, it is a natural habitat for wildlife and a provider of food and other resources for humans. Furthermore, for communities living by the river, it plays dramatic role in constructing their culture and defines the social life of the community. Therefore, altering river`s natural flow and seasonal patterns can have a dramatic consequences for both the ecosystem as well as river-side communities. During the last hundred years, the world has witnessed catastrophic effects of such a manipulation caused by the construction of dams. From the beginning of the 20th century, dams have been mushrooming on the surface of the planet, turning rivers into lakes, blocking migration paths of the fish, displacing people from their homes and destroying communities. In this essay, I will discuss how a river can be constitutive of a creative movement of social life for riverine people and the effects damming have on their lives. Further, I will emphasize the developments in anti-damming movement that has been happening in recent years, specifically exemplifying the case of Elwha river restoration.
For lots of societies, river is something like blood vessels are for the body. Life flows through it and without it, everything else would stop. In such societies, life revolves around the river – it provides their livelihood and a core of their culture. One example of such a society is the Skokomish tribe. Skokomish is the name of one of the nine tribes and now the common denominator of the Twana, a Native American people living in western Washington State in the United States. Skokomish is also a name of the river which banks the tribe have traditionally inhabited. „Skokomish“ is derived from Twana Indian word sqoqc.`bes, literally meaning „People of the river“ (Lansing et al 1998: 2). This fact alone should give us great comprehension of the importance of the river to the community.
For
For lots of societies, river is something like blood vessels are for the body. Life flows through it and without it, everything else would stop. In such societies, life revolves around the river – it provides their livelihood and a core of their culture. One example of such a society is the Skokomish tribe. Skokomish is the name of one of the nine tribes and now the common denominator of the Twana, a Native American people living in western Washington State in the United States. Skokomish is also a name of the river which banks the tribe have traditionally inhabited. „Skokomish“ is derived from Twana Indian word sqoqc.`bes, literally meaning „People of the river“ (Lansing et al 1998: 2). This fact alone should give us great comprehension of the importance of the river to the community.
For
References: Bartolome, Leopoldo Jose, de Wet, Chris, Mander, Harsh, Nagraj, Vijay Kumar. 2000. Displacement, Resettlement, Rehabilitation, Reparation, and Development. Thematic Review. Social Issues I.3. World Commission on Dams: Cape Town. Dorman, Peter. 2010. Dam Removal on the Elwha River: Salmon Recovery, the Restoration of Klallam Livelihoods and the Role of Cost-Benefit Analysis. The Evergreen State Collage. Available at: http://nativecases.evergreen.edu/collection/cases/dam-removal-on-the-elwha-river.html (07.06.2013). Lansing, J. Stephen, Lansing, Philip S, Erazo, Juliet S. 1998. The Value of a River. Journal of Political Ecology, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 1-21. McCully, Patrick. 2001. Silenced Rivers: The Ecology and Politics of Large Dams, 2. edition. London: Zed.