Surrounded by water, but none to drink: water crisis in San Andres, a Colombian Caribbean island
| Author(s) | Velásquez Calderón, Carolina Sofia | |
| Date Accessioned | 2021-03-30T12:14:57Z | |
| Date Available | 2021-03-30T12:14:57Z | |
| Publication Date | 2020 | |
| SWORD Update | 2021-02-08T17:04:13Z | |
| Abstract | The world is living through a simultaneous water crisis that is far from being solved. Crises are worsening. San Andrés, a Colombian Caribbean island, experienced water problems resulting in a State of Public Calamity in 2016. The water crisis affected more than 14,000 people. This research addresses how different stakeholders perceive and talk about nature and causes, the response, the desalinization technology as the leading solution proposed, and water injustices involved. This study began in 2016, and, subsequently, in 2018, fieldwork was again carried out. The research adopts a social constructionist approach, drawing on 79 semi-structured interviews with a variety of stakeholders. Findings show that the crisis produced uneven impacts due to pre-existing social inequities in water quantity and distribution. ☐ Findings point to a discrepancy between the crisis's public official framing as a solely natural event and residents appealing to the unjust social processes as the crisis's roots. Residents, mainly Raizales, the ethnic minority group, claim water injustices in the water supply system that have been perpetuated, intensified, and legitimated through the water operation agreement signed with the private water company, Veolia. Their view is that the prioritization of tourism has resulted in water distribution preferences for urban over rural areas. During the crisis, residents relied on their social capital by sharing and requesting water resources. Officials framed the crisis as a water supply problem caused by the reduction of precipitation due to the Niño phenomenon and a drought. The crisis was portrayed as a water supply-side crisis; thus, reinforcing the technocratic paradigm and the use of a conservative management strategy. Participants widely believed that desalination is a risk-free solution that will reduce vulnerabilities to water-related hazards. It was found that San Andrés is moving toward a technological water dependence, disconnected from traditional local forms of collecting water, and desalination is becoming a maladaptive strategy. The results suggest that the crisis response did not lead to a reform or a significant improvement in residents' water access. The crisis in San Andrés became a new normal. Findings point to the crisis as an opportunity for profitmaking by Veolia, who officially expanded its water infrastructure management and, in consequence, its corporate control over more water resources. San Andrés’ water crisis is of global and regional significance, indicating critical overlap and convergence among scarcity, technology, inequality, and climate change. Finally, this study argues that the water crisis was not marked by absolute scarcity, but rather specific forms of variable scarcity created through multiple forms of water injustices. This study suggests that to invoke transformation to avoid ongoing water crises, policy-makers should: 1) encorporate traditional Raizal knowledge; and 2) commit to more democratic crisis management in which socio-historical and diverse alternative strategies are integrated. Recommendations for future research and policy reform are included. | en_US |
| Advisor | Wachtendorf, Tricia | |
| Degree | Ph.D. | |
| Program | University of Delaware, Disaster Science and Management Program | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.58088/4vfn-w370 | |
| Unique Identifier | 1243889616 | |
| URL | https://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/28866 | |
| Language | en | |
| Publisher | University of Delaware | en_US |
| URI | https://login.udel.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/surrounded-water-none-drink-crisis-san-andrés/docview/2489323431/se-2?accountid=10457 | |
| Keywords | Disaster studies | en_US |
| Keywords | San Andres island | en_US |
| Keywords | Water crisis | en_US |
| Keywords | Water justice | en_US |
| Title | Surrounded by water, but none to drink: water crisis in San Andres, a Colombian Caribbean island | en_US |
| Type | Thesis | en_US |