The unequal vulnerability of Kurdish and Azeri minorities in the case of the degradation of Lake Urmia, Iran
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 – and willingness to participate in – governmental and non-governmental projects to mitigate the effects of the environmental disaster.
Key words: vulnerability, ethnicity, Iran, political power, minorities, environmental degradation, Lake Urmia
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Abbaspour, M. and A. Nazaridoust. 2007. Determination of environmental water requirements of lake Urmia, Iran: an ecological approach. International Journal of Environmental Studies 64(2): 161-169.
Adger, W.N. 2006. Vulnerability. Global Environmental Change 16: 268-281.
Adger, W.N., N.W. Arnell and E.L. Tompkins. 2005. Successful adaptation to climate change across scales. Global Environmental Change 15: 77–86.
Aghajanian, A. 1983. Ethnic inequality in Iran: an overview. International Journal of Middle East Studies 15(2): 211-224.
AghaKouchak, A., H. Norouzi, K. Madani, A. Mirchi, M. Azarderakhsh, A. Nazemi, N. Nasrollahi, A. Farahmand, A. Mehran and E. Hasanzadeh. 2015. Aral Sea syndrome desiccates lake Urmia: call for action. Journal of Great Lakes Research 41: 307-311.
Agrawal, A. 2008. The role of local institutions in adaptation to climate change. Washington, DC: World Bank.
Alamdari, K. 2005. The power structure of the Islamic Republic of Iran: transition from populism to clientelism, and militarization of the government. Third World Quarterly 26(8): 1285-1301.
Alipour, S. 2006. Hydrogeochemistry of seasonal variation of Urmia Salt Lake, Iran. Saline Systems 2: 9.
Atabaki, T. 2005. Ethnic diversity and territorial integrity of Iran: domestic harmony and regional challenges. Iranian Studies 38(1): 23-44.
Beteille, A. 1999. Empowerment. Economic and Political Weekly 34(10/11): 589-597.
Bill, J. 1973. The plasticity of informal politics: the case of Iran. Middle East Journal 27(2): 131-151.
Bill, J. 1982. Power and religion in contemporary Iran. Middle East Journal 36(1): 22-47.
Birkmann, J. (ed.). 2006. Measuring vulnerability to natural hazards: towards disaster resilient society. Tokyo: United Nations University Press.
Birkmann, J. and B. Wisner. 2006. Measuring the un-measurable: the challenge of vulnerability. Bonn, Switzerland: UNU-EHS.
Blaikie, P.M., T. Cannon, I. Davis and B. Wisner. 1994. At risk: natural hazards, people's vulnerability, and disasters. London: Routledge.
Bolin, B. and L.C. Kurtz. 2018. Race, class, ethnicity, and disaster vulnerability. In RodrÃguez, H., W. Donner and J.E. Trainor (eds.) Handbook of disaster research. New York: Springer. Pp. 181-203.
Bolin, R.C. and P.A. Bolton. 1986. Race, religion, and ethnicity in disaster recovery. Program on Environment and Behavior Monograph #42. Boulder, CO: University of Colorado.
Braun, B. and T. Aβheuer. 2011. Floods in megacity environments: vulnerability and coping strategies of slum dwellers in Dhaka/Bangladesh. Natural Hazards 58: 771-787.
Cardona, O.D. 2003. The need for rethinking the concepts of vulnerability and risk from a holistic perspective: a necessary review and criticism for effective risk management. In Bankoff, G., G. Frerks and D. Hilhost (eds.) Mapping vulnerability: disasters, development and people. London: Earthscan. Pp. 37-51.
Cavanagh, C.J. 2018. Political ecologies of biopower: diversity, debates, and new frontiers of inquiry. Journal of Political Ecology 25: 403-425.
Clark, G.E., S.C. Moser, S.J. Ratick, K. Dow, W.B. Meyer, S. Emani, W. Jin, J.X. Kasperson, R.E. Kasperson and H.E. Schwarz. 2005. Assessing the vulnerability of coastal communities to extreme storms: the case of Revere, Massachusetts, US. In Kasperson, J.X. and R.E. Kasperson (eds.). The social contours of risk: volume II: risk analysis, corporations and the globaization of risk. London: Earthscan.
Collins, T.W. 2008. The political ecology of hazard vulnerability: marginalization, facilitation and the production of differential risk to urban wildfires in Arizona's White Mountains. Journal of Political Ecology 15: 21-43.
Cooke, H. 2002. Empowerment. In Blakeley, G. and V. Bryson (eds.) Contemporary political concepts: a critical introduction. London: Pluto Press. Pp. 162-178.
Cutter, S.L., B.J. Boruff and W.L. Shirley. 2003. Social vulnerability to environmental hazards. Social Science Quarterly 84(2): 242-261.
Cutter, S.L., C.T. Emrich, J.J. Webb and D. Morath. 2009. Social vulnerability to climate variability hazards: a review of the literature. Final Report to Oxfam America.
Cutter, S.L., L. Barnes, M. Berry, C. Burton, E. Evans, E. Tate and J. Webb. 2008. A place-based model for understanding community resilience to natural disasters. Global Environmental Change 18(4): 598-606.
Dash, N. 2013. Race and ethnicity. In Thomas, D.S.K., B.D. Phillips, W.E. Lovekamp and A. Fothergill (eds.) Social vulnerability to disasters. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. Pp. 113-138.
Delju, A.H., A. Ceylan, E. Piguet and M. Revetez. 2013. Observed climate variability and change in Urmia lake basin, Iran. Theoretical and Applied Climatology 111: 285-296.
Derman, B. and A. Ferguson. 2003. Value of water: political ecology and water reform in Southern Africa. Human Organization 62(3): 277-288.
Eamen, L. and A.B. Dariane. 2013. Estimating agricultural water consumption impacts on water level fluctuations of lake Urmia, Iran. Paper presented at the International Conference on Civil Engineering Architecture and Urban Sustainable Development 27-28 November 2013, Tabriz, Iran.
Eimanifar, A. and F. Mohebbi. 2007. Urmia Lake (Northwest Iran): a brief review. Saline Systems 3: 5.
Elling, R.C. 2013. Minorities in Iran: nationalism and ethnicity after Khomeini. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Elliott, J.R. and J. Pais. 2006. Race, class, and Hurricane Katrina: social differences in human responses to disaster. Social Science Research 35: 295-321.
Fordham, M., W.E. Lovekamp, D.S.K. Thomas and B.D. Phillips. 2013. Understanding social vulnerability. In Thomas, D.S.K., B.D. Phillips, W.E. Lovekamp and A. Fothergill (eds.) Social vulnerability to disasters. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Fothergill, A. and L.A. Peek. 2004. Poverty and disaster in the United States: a review of recent sociological findings. Natural Hazards 32(1): 89-110.
Fothergill, A., E. Maestras and J. Darlington. 1999. Race, ethnicity, and disasters in the United States: a review of the literature. Disasters 23(2): 156-173.
Fuchs, S., C. Kuhlicke and V. Meyer. 2011. Editorial for the special issue: vulnerability to natural hazards – the challenge of integration. Natural Hazards 58: 609-619.
Gaillard, J.C. 2010. Vulnerability, capacity and resilience: perspectives for climate and development policy. Journal of International Development 22: 218-232.
Ghaheri, M., M.H. Baghal-Vayjooee and J. Naziri. 1999. Lake Urmia, Iran: a summary review. International Journal of Salt Lake Research 8(1): 19-22.
Ghalibaf, M.B. and Z. Moussavi. 2014. Development and environment in Urmia lake of Iran. European Journal of Sustainable Development 3(3): 219–226.
Grebenikov, M. 2013. The puzzle of a loyal minority: why do Azeris support the Iranian state? The Middle East Journal 67(1): 64-76.
Green, C. 2004. The evaluation of vulnerability to flooding. Disaster Prevention and Management 13(4): 323–329.
Hashemi, M. 2012. A socio-technical assessment framework for Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in Lake Urmia Basin, Iran. Ph.D. dissertation. Newcastle, U.K.: Newcastle University.
Hassanzadeh, E., M. Zarghami and Y. Hassanzadeh. 2012. Determining the main factors in declining the Urmia lake level by using system dynamics modeling. Water Resource Management 26: 129-145.
Hesami, A. and A. Amini. 2016. Changes in irrigated land and agricultural water use in the Lake Urmia basin. Lake Reservoir Management 32: 288–296.
Hewitt, K. (ed.). 1983. Interpretations of calamity from the viewpoint of human ecology. Boston, MA: Allen and Unwin.
Hoogland, E. 2009. Thirty years of Islamic revolution in rural Iran. Middle East Report 30: 34-49.
Hoseinpour, M., A. Fakheri Fard and R. Naghili. 2010. Death of Urmia Lake, a silent disaster investigating of causes, results and solutions of Urmia Lake drying. The 1st International Applied Geological Congress, Department of Geology, Islamic Azad University – Mashad Branch, Iran, 26-28 April 2010.
IEWW (Iran Environment and Wildlife Watch). 2017. "Taraz-e sat-he âb, vosat, va hajm-e âb-e mojood" dar daryache-ye Orumieh kahesh yafte ast. [Water surface level, surface area, and volume in lake Urmia has decreased]. [In Farsi]. [accessed April 4 2018].
IFRC (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies). 2006. What is VCA? An introduction to vulnerability and capacity assessment. Geneva: IFRC. [accessed February 27 2018].
IPCC 2012. Managing the risks of extreme events and disasters to advance climate change adaptation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
ITRTDW (International Technical Round Table on Drying Wetlands). 2014. Towards a solution for Iran's drying wetlands. Tehran: Department of Environment Islamic Republic of Iran and United Nations Development Programme, 16-18 March 2014.
Jalili, S., S.A. Hamidi, S. Morid and R.N. Ghanbari. 2016. Comparative analysis of lake Urmia and lake Van water level time series. Arabian Journal of Geosciences 9: 644.
Johnson, B.R. 2003. The political ecology of water: an introduction. Capitalism Nature Socialism 14(3): 73-90.
Karni, E. and D. Schmeidler. 1986. Self-preservation as a foundation of rational behavior under risk. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 7: 71-81.
Kasperson, J.X. and R.E. Kasperson (eds.). 2005. The social contours of risk: volume II: risk analysis, corporations and the globalization of risk. London: Earthscan.
Koohi-Kamali, F. 2003. The political development of the Kurds in Iran. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Kurzman, C. 1996. Structural opportunity and perceived opportunity in social-movement theory: the Iranian revolution of 1979. American Sociological Review 61(1): 153-170.
Lewis, J. 1999. Development in disaster-prone places: studies of vulnerability. London: Intermediate Technology Publications.
Madani, K. 2014. Water management in Iran: what is causing the looming crisis? Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences 4: 315-328.
Malm, A. and S. Esmailian. 2007. Iran on the brink: rising workers and threats of war. London: Pluto Press.
Margles Weis, S.W., V.N. Agostini, L.M. Roth, B. Gilmer, S.R. Schill, J. English Knowles and R. Blyther. 2016. Assessing vulnerability: an integrates approach for mapping adaptive capacity, sensitivity, and exposure. Climatic Change 136: 615-629.
Marshall, N.A., P.A. Marshall, J. Tamelander, D. Obura, D. Malleret-King and J.E. Cinner. 2010. A framework for social adaptation to climate change: sustaining tropical coastal communities and industries. Gland: IUCN.
Masozera, M., M. Bailey and C. Kerchner. 2007. Distribution of natural disasters across income groups: a case study of New Orleans. Ecological Economics 63: 299-306.
Massmann, F. and R. Wehrhahn. 2014. Qualitative social vulnerability assessment to natural hazards: examples from coastal Thailand. Revista de Gestao Costeira Intergada 14(1): 3-13.
Mirchi, A., K. Madani and A. AghaKouchak. 2015. Lake Urmia: how Iran's most famous lake is disappearing. The Guardian. Jan. 23rd.
Oliver-Smith, A. and S. Hoffman (eds.). 1999. The angry Earth: disaster in anthropological perspective. London: Routledge.
O'Riordan, T. and P. Timmerman. 2001. Risk and imagining alternative futures. In Kasperson, J.X. and R.E. Kasperson (eds.) Global environmental risk. Tokyo: United Nations University Press.
Peacock, W.G., B.H. Morrow and H. Gladwin. 1997. Hurricane Andrew: ethnicity, gender and the sociology of disasters. London: Routledge.
Phillips, B.D. and M. Fordham. 2010. Introduction. In Phillips, B.D., D.S.K. Thomas, A. Fothergill and L. Blinnâ€Pike (eds.) Social vulnerability to disasters. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Raleigh, C. 2010. Political marginalization, climate change, and conflict in African Sahel states. International Studies Review 12: 69-86.
Romano, D. 2006. The Kurdish nationalist movement: opportunity, mobilization and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Rosino, M.L. 2016. Boundaries and barriers: racialized dynamics of political power. Sociology Compass 10: 939-951.
Saleh, A. 2013. Ethnic identity and the state in Iran. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Samii, W.A. 2006. The Iranian nuclear issue and informal networks. Naval War College Review 59(1): 11-19.
Schneiderbauer, S. and D. Ehrlich. 2006. Social levels and hazard (in) dependence in determining vulnerability. in J. Birkmann (ed.) Measuring vulnerability to natural hazards: towards disaster resilient societies. Tokyo: United Nations University Press. Pp. 78–103.
Shadkam, S., F. Ludwig, P. van Oel, C. Kirmit and P. Kabat. 2016. Impacts of climate change and water resources development on the declining inflow into Iran's Urmia lake. Journal of Great Lakes Research 42(5): 942–952.
Shaffer, B. 2000. The formation of Azerbaijani collective identity in Iran. Nationalities Papers 28(3): 449-477.
Shokoohi, A. and R. Morovati. 2015. Basinwide comparison of RDI and SPI within an IWRM framework. Water Resources Management 29(6): 2011-2026.
Thomas, D.S.K., I. Hyde and M.A. Meyer. 2013. Measuring and conveying social vulnerability. In Thomas, D.S.K., B.D. Phillips, W.E. Lovekamp and A. Fothergill (eds.) Social vulnerability to disasters. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Tisseuil, C., G.R. Roshan, T. Nasrabadi and G. Asadpour. 2013. Statistical modeling of future lake level under climatic conditions, case study of Urmia lake (Iran). International Journal of Environmental Research 7(1): 69–80.
Tohidi, N. 2009. Ethnicity and religious minority politics in Iran. In Gheissari, A. (ed.). Contemporary Iran: economy, society, politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
ULRP 2015. Urmia Lake Restoration Program: brief report and project outline. Tehran: Urmia Lake Restoration Program and Sharif University of Technology.
UNDP 2017. United Nations Development Programme Iran. [accessed February 27 2018]. http://www.ir.undp.org/content/iran/en/home/presscenter/articles/2015/02/10/press-release-government-of-japan-renews-commitment-to-restoring-lake-urmia.html.
Van Dijk, T. 1996. Discourse, power and access. In Coulthard, M. and C.R. Caldas-Coulthard (eds.). Texts and practices: readings in critical discourse analysis. London: Routledge. Pp. 84-106.
Wellman, R. 2017. Sacralizing kinship, naturalizing the nation: blood and food in postrevolutionary Iran. American Ethnologist 44(3): 503-515.
Willroth, P., F. Massmann, R. Wehrhahn and J. Revilla Diez. 2012. Socio-economic vulnerability of coastal communities in southern Thailand: the development of adaptation strategies. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 12: 2647-2658.
Wisner, B. 2006. Self-assessment of coping capacity: participatory, proactive and qualitative engagement of communities in their own risk management. In Birkmann, J. (ed.). Measuring vulnerability to natural hazards: towards disaster resilient societies. Tokyo: United Nations University Press. Pp. 440-454.
Wisner, B., P.M. Blaikie, T. Cannon and I. Davis. 2004. At risk: natural hazards, people's vulnerability and disasters. New York: Routledge.
Yazdandoost, F. and S. Moradian. 2016. A resilient approach to integrated water resources management in water scarce basins. Journal of Fundamental and Applied Sciences 8(3S): 137-151.
Yeh, E.T., Y. Nyima, K.A. Hopping and J.A. Klein. 2014. Tibetan pastoralists' vulnerability to climate change: a political ecology analysis of snowstorm coping capacity. Human Ecology 42: 61-74.
Yildiz, K. and T.B. Taysi. 2007. The Kurds in Iran: the past, present and future. London: Pluto Press.
Zarghami, M. 2011. Effective watershed management; case study of Urmia lake, Iran. Lake and Reservoir Management 27(1): 87–94.
Zarrineh, N. and M. Azari. 2014. Integrated water resources management in Iran: environmental, socio-economic and political review of drought in Lake Urmia. International Journal of Water Resource and Environmental Engineering 6(1): 40-48.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2458/v26i1.22729
Copyright (c) 2019 Maja Ženko, Sanjin Uležić
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.