Irrigation in the Khorezm oasis, past and present: a political ecology perspective

Abstract

The Khorezm oasis sits at the epicenter of an environmental disaster. Since the late 19 th century, the continual expansion of irrigation in this region has altered the natural hydrology of the Amu Darya delta, leading to widespread desertification and the near total disappearance of the world's fourth largest lake, the Aral Sea. The situation is widely acknowledged as an environmental catastrophe of unprecedented scale, and yet it is not the first irrigation crisis in Khorezmian history. Numerous events of irrigation collapse are recorded in the archaeological record of this oasis, with many in the scientific community now very interested in this past record for its potential to inform on the modern crisis. Unfortunately, there has also been a tendency to overlook the different historical conditions that led to irrigation in this oasis over the last three millennia. In this article, I take an alternative approach that draws on political ecology's insights about the cultural embeddedness of environmental behavior. I compare two periods of irrigation in Khorezm, one ancient and the other modern, to show how the particular social contexts of each period shaped irrigation schemes in different ways. Significantly different design and implementation features are apparent in the ancient versus modern systems, with vastly different implications for environmental sustainability and human well-being. Keywords: water, irrigation, Aral Sea, archaeology, collapse, Soviet Union, nomadic pastoralism Résumé L'oasis de Khorezm se trouve à l'épicentre d'une catastrophe écologique. Depuis la fin du 19e siècle, l'expansion continue de l'irrigation dans cette région a modifié l'hydrologie naturelle du delta Amou-Daria. Cela a conduit à la désertification généralisée, et la disparition quasi totale de quatrième plus grand lac du monde, la mer d'Aral. La situation est largement reconnu comme une catastrophe environnementale à une échelle sans précédent, et pourtant il est pas la première crise de l'irrigation dans l'histoire du Khorezm. L'effondrement de l'irrigation a été enregistrée plusieurs fois dans le dans le dossier archéologique. Certains scientifiques pensent que le passé peut aider à comprendre la crise actuelle. Malheureusement, il ya également eu une tendance à négliger les différentes conditions historiques qui ont conduit à l'irrigation dans cette oasis, ce qui rend les comparaisons difficiles. Dans cet article, je prends une approche alternative qui attire sur les idées de l'écologie politique sur l'implantation culturelle du comportement environnemental. Je compare deux périodes de l'irrigation dans Khorezm, un ancien et l'autre moderne, pour montrer comment les contextes sociaux particuliers à chaque période ont contribué à créer les différents systèmes d'irrigation. Conception et réalisation étaient très différents, conduisant à des résultats différents pour la durabilité environnementale et le bien-être humain. Mots clés: l'eau, l'irrigation, la mer d'Aral, l'archéologie, l'effondrement, l'Union soviétique,...

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