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Water Rich, Resource Poor : Intersections of Gender, Poverty, and Vulnerability in Newly Irrigated Areas of Southeastern Turkey Harris, Leila

Abstract

The provision of water for drinking and irrigation is often assumed to alleviate poverty, though results are likely to be mixed for different individuals. This paper examines the intersections of gender poverty, livelihoods, landlessness, and related considerations in the context of large-scale water development in Turkey’s Southeastern Anatolia region, particularly exploring what such an analysis allows for an understanding of variable and differentiated effects of ongoing changes. Findings suggest that certain populations experience enhanced vulnerabilities, and considerable losses, in addition to any gains and benefits of ongoing changes (particularly landless, poor, some women, and those who previously engaged in animal husbandry). This discussion enriches a growing gender and water literature, arguing for an intersectional analysis that understands gender as necessarily conditioned by poverty, livelihoods, and other factors. Further, I argue for the need to further enrich analyses of differentiated benefits and vulnerabilities of water-related changes through consideration of geographic, spatial, and place-specific dimensions.

Item Metadata

Title
Water Rich, Resource Poor : Intersections of Gender, Poverty, and Vulnerability in Newly Irrigated Areas of Southeastern Turkey
Creator
Harris, Leila
Date Issued
2008-12
Description
The provision of water for drinking and irrigation is often assumed to alleviate poverty, though results are likely to be mixed for different individuals. This paper examines the intersections of gender poverty, livelihoods, landlessness, and related considerations in the context of large-scale water development in Turkey’s Southeastern Anatolia region, particularly exploring what such an analysis allows for an understanding of variable and differentiated effects of ongoing changes. Findings suggest that certain populations experience enhanced vulnerabilities, and considerable losses, in addition to any gains and benefits of ongoing changes (particularly landless, poor, some women, and those who previously engaged in animal husbandry). This discussion enriches a growing gender and water literature, arguing for an intersectional analysis that understands gender as necessarily conditioned by poverty, livelihoods, and other factors. Further, I argue for the need to further enrich analyses of differentiated benefits and vulnerabilities of water-related changes through consideration of geographic, spatial, and place-specific dimensions.
Subject
Gender; Water; Irrigation; Poverty; Development; Middle East; Turkey
Geographic Location
Middle East; Turkey
Genre
Article; Preprint
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2017-11-16
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0357976
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/63621
Affiliation
Science, Faculty of; Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), Institute for
Citation
Harris. L. (2008). Water Rich, Resource Poor: Intersections of Gender, Poverty, and Vulnerability in Newly Irrigated Areas of Southeastern Turkey. World Development 36 (12): 2643- 2662.
Publisher DOI
10.1016/j.worlddev.2008.03.004
Peer Review Status
Unreviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Aggregated Source Repository
DSpace

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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International