Hidrososyal Döngü: Su Yönetiminde Sosyo-Politik ve Çevresel Dinamikler

Abstract

Bu makale, suyun yalnızca fiziksel bir döngü değil; toplumsal ilişkiler, politik yapılar ve çevresel dönüşümlerle iç içe geçmiş bir süreç olduğunu savunan hidrososyal döngü kavramı çerçevesinde su yönetimini eleştirel biçimde analiz etmektedir. Marx, Wittfogel ve Worster gibi klasik düşünürlerin tarihsel yaklaşımlarından yola çıkan çalışma, çağdaş politik ekoloji literatüründe Swyngedouw, Bakker, Sultana ve Loftus’un katkılarıyla gelişen çok katmanlı teorik bir yapı kurmaktadır. Bu kuramsal çerçeve, Bolivya’daki Cochabamba Su Savaşları, Hindistan’daki Narmada Vadisi baraj projeleri ve ABD’deki Kaliforniya su yönetimi örnekleri üzerinden yürütülen karşılaştırmalı içerik analiziyle empirik olarak sınanmıştır. Her bir vaka çalışması, suyun metalaşması, toplumsal eşitsizlik, yerinden edilme, çevresel bozulma ve yerel bilgi sistemlerinin dışlanması gibi dinamikleri görünür kılmakta; hidrososyal döngünün adalet, sürdürülebilirlik ve yönetişim ilkeleriyle ilişkisini ortaya koymaktadır. Çalışma, aynı zamanda Türkiye’deki su yönetimi deneyimlerinin de bu çerçeveyle yeniden değerlendirilmesi gerektiğini savunarak, teorik bir zemin ve karşılaştırmalı bir perspektif sunmaktadır.

Keywords

• su yönetimi
• toplumsal adalet
• çevresel sürdürülebilirlik
• politik ekoloji
• neoliberalizm

Hydrosocial Cycle: Socio-Political and Environmental Dynamics in Water Management

Abstract

This article offers a critical analysis of water governance through the lens of the hydrosocial cycle, a concept that conceives water not merely as a physical flow but as a process deeply entangled with social relations, political structures, and environmental transformations. Drawing on the historical approaches of classical theorists such as Marx, Wittfogel, and Worster, and extending them through the contemporary political ecology literature—particularly the works of Swyngedouw, Bakker, Sultana, and Loftus—the study constructs a multi-layered theoretical framework. This framework is empirically grounded in a comparative content analysis of three case studies: the Cochabamba Water War in Bolivia, the Narmada Valley dam projects in India, and water governance in California, USA. Each case reveals how water becomes a site of commodification, social inequality, displacement, ecological degradation, and the marginalization of local knowledge systems, thus demonstrating the hydrosocial cycle's relevance to issues of justice, sustainability, and governance. The article also argues that water governance experiences in Turkey should be revisited through this lens, offering both a theoretical foundation and a comparative perspective for future research.

Keywords

• water management
• social justice
• environmental sustainability
• political ecology
• neoliberalism

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