The Delta is Dead: Moral Ecologies of Infrastructure in Turkey

Abstract


 In a Turkish delta, fishers, scientists, and residents articulate contrasting moral ecologies of infrastructure. Contesting the infrastructural remaking of delta environments, fishermen connect ecological change to the concerns of working-class livelihoods; scientists assert a unique moral authority to create new habitats for selected species; and activists couch claims of ecological justice within existing legal spaces, all against the backdrop of increasing authoritarianism and economic crisis. This article extends insights from anthropological discussions of moral economy into political ecology to advance a new theoretical understanding of environmental infrastructure. I offer the notion of a moral ecology of infrastructure, theorizing infrastructure and ecology as inseparable, rather than set in opposition. In my use of the term, moral ecologies are assessments of justice and motivations for action that concern relations between humans and nonhumans. These assessments are not necessarily couched as resistance, but also encompass hegemonic and capitalist projects. This analytic proves helpful for understanding how, and why, people confront and respond to environmental transformations in an infrastructural world. At stake in these claims are moral notions of human and nonhuman livelihoods, notions that include those of water flows, birds, fish, sandbars, trees, and others.
 
 Özet
 
 Bir Türkiye deltasında balıkçılar, bilim insanları ve deltanın sakinleri, altyapının birbirine zıt ahlaki ekolojilerini ifade ederler. Her bir grubun delta ortamlarının yeniden altyapılandırılmasına karşı çıkış nedeni farklıdır: balıkçılar ekolojik değişimi işçi sınıfının geçim kaygılarıyla ilişkilendirir; bilim insanları seçili ender türlere yeni habitatlar oluşturmak için kendilerine özgü ahlaki bir otorite ortaya koyarlar; ve çevreciler artan otoriter rejim ve ekonomik krizler kıskacında, mevcut yasal alanlarda ekolojik adalet iddialarını dile getirirler. Bu makale, çevre altyapısına dair teorik yeni bir anlayış geliştirmek için ahlaki ekonomi ile ilgili antropolojik tartışmaları politik ekolojiyle ilişkilendirmektedir. Ahlaki altyapı ekolojisi kavramını önererek, altyapıyı ve ekolojiyi birbirine zıt olmaktan ziyade birbirinden ayrılmaz kavramlar olarak görüyorum. Ahlaki ekolojilerden kastım, insanlar ve insan olmayanlar arasındaki ilişkilere dair gelişen adalet anlayışı ve eylem motivasyonlarıdır. Ahlaki ekoloji mutlaka direnç demek değildir; aynı zamanda hegemonik ve kapitalist projeleri de kapsamaktadır. Bu yaklaşımla, insanların altyapı dünyasındaki çevresel dönüşümlerle nasıl ve niçin karşı karşıya kaldıklarını ve bu dönüşümlere nasıl tepki verdiklerini anlayacağımızı iddia ediyorum. Bu iddialarda dile gelen, insani ve insan dışı geçim kaynaklarına dair olan ahlak kavramlarıdır; suların akışını, kuşları, balıkları, kıyı kordonlarını, ağaçları ve diğerlerini içeren kavramlar.

The MOSE Machine: An anthropological approach to the building of a flood safeguard project in the Venetian Lagoon

“…Consequently, we should not be surprised if we find widespread rejection and distrust for the new infrastructures among fishers. Such a reaction was also observed by Scaramelli (2019) in his research on two coastal areas in Turkey, where fishers and their families are struggling to maintain their livelihoods in transition because of recent ecological changes due to the creation of protected areas. In his case study, fishers, scientists and residents expressed contrasting moral perspectives on ecologies relating to infrastructures.…”

“…This is a concept known to most of the fishers, especially the older ones, but is neglected by technical knowledge. To get out of this impasse, Scaramelli (2019) offers the notion of a moral ecology of infrastructure, theorising infrastructure and ecology as inseparable, rather than opposed. In his use of the term, moral ecologies are evaluations of justice and motivations for action that affect the relationships between humans and non-humans.…”

‘What is infrastructure? What does it do?’: anthropological perspectives on the workings of infrastructure(s)

“…Infrastructures, we have argued, are more than just technical matters. They are equally social and political in their conceptions and workings; and they are implicated in the dynamics of moral ecologies (Scaramelli 2019). Lauren Baker et al (2017:47) propose that moral ecologies are premised upon 'the necessity of reciprocity in relations between society and environment, which underpins the mutually constitutive nature of people and places, the importance of ecosystems for livelihoods and culture, and the rights of landscapes and non-human species to survive and thrive in the future.'…”

Worlding planetary mine: A viewpoint from Ennore

“…However, if we are to paraphrase Scaramelli (2019), places such as Ennore articulate a moral stance on the estuarine worlds of infrastructures and ecologies, both entangled and inseparable, 3 Ennore or Enūr literally means my place. 4 See https://storyofennore.wordpress.com/ which is a website/blog reclaiming rights, livelihoods and ecosystems around the Ennore Creek.…”