Dissertation Research: The Effects of Water Scarcity on Reciprocity and Sociability in Bolivia

有关淡水储备状况的报告警告说，当地严重的淡水短缺迫在眉睫，并预测世界各地缺水地区将出现暴力冲突。水资源短缺已被证明会导致国内冲突，特别是在人口密度高、贫困和收入不平等的情况下。在城市移民社区，种族、宗教和阶级差异会加剧紧张局势，而且社区范围内适应环境短缺的模式尚未形成，因此可能特别容易受到水冲突的影响。为了更好地了解缺水地区的冲突是如何发展的，一名文化人类学博士生将对玻利维亚科科班巴的维拉以色列区（Villa Israel）的60个家庭进行抽样调查，在那里，围绕水资源的冲突是生活的一部分。每年冬天，季节性的水资源短缺都威胁着Villa Israel居民的生活，迫使他们在如何利用经济和社会资源方面做出选择。通过结合正式和非正式访谈、参与性观察和档案研究，学生将确定合作经济和社会关系是否以及如何在旱季破裂，从而促进冲突的出现。更广泛的影响：除了对博士生和玻利维亚本科生的教育有贡献外，这项研究对那些寻求预测和管理即将到来的淡水短缺冲突的人有实际的应用。通过确定在严重缺水时期社会关系何时以及如何变得脆弱，该研究将为政策制定者和发展规划者指出在边缘城市社区预防冲突的可能途径。

Reports on the state of freshwater reserves warn that severe local shortagesare imminent, and predict that violent conflicts will emerge in water-scarceregions around the world. Water scarcity has been shown to cause civilconflict, particularly when accompanied by high population density, poverty,and income inequality. Urban migrant communities, where ethnic, religious,and class differences can exacerbate tensions, and community-wide patternsof adaptation to environmental scarcities are not well-formed, may beparticularly vulnerable to water conflicts. To better understand howconflicts develop in water-scarce regions, a PhD student of culturalanthropology will sample 60 households in Villa Israel, a barrio ofCochabamba, Bolivia, where conflict over water is an established part oflife. Every winter, seasonal water shortages threaten the lives of thepeople of Villa Israel, forcing them to make choices in how they use theireconomic and social resources. Using a combination of formal and informalinterviews, participant observation, and archival research, the student willdetermine if and how cooperative economic and social ties break down duringthe dry season, facilitating the emergence of conflicts. Broader implications: In addition to contributing to the education of adoctoral student and a Bolivian undergraduate, the study has practicalapplications for those seeking to anticipate and manage coming conflictsover scarce freshwater. By determining when and how social ties becomevulnerable during periods of severe water scarcity, the research will pointpolicymakers and development planners to possible avenues for conflictprevention in marginal urban communities.