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The Infinity of Water: Climate Change Adaptation in the Arabian Peninsula

The Infinity of Water: Climate Change Adaptation in the Arabian Peninsula This article examines the discourses and practices of climate change adaptation in the Arabian Peninsula. It suggests that climate change adaptation projects in the region are often attempts at reframing water-related challenges that are already present, regardless of the effects of climate change. For instance, the groundwater sources in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be destroyed not necessarily due to the predicted impacts of climate change but because they will soon be completely consumed. In response, the governments in the Arabian Peninsula, especially the UAE, advance a view that I call the “infinity of water,” by relying on technological solutions, particularly desalination. The nonconventional synthetic quality of water, where more can be generated through desalination whenever necessary, allows the actors in the area to envision and embrace its infinity, regardless of existing and impending water scarcity. This article shows how water ceases to be a “natural” entity, but rather emerges as an assemblage of complex technical procedures, social relations, and historical trajectories. Arabian Peninsula climate change infinity United Arab Emirates water http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Public Culture Duke University Press

The Infinity of Water: Climate Change Adaptation in the Arabian Peninsula

Public Culture , Volume 28 (2 79) – May 1, 2016

The Infinity of Water: Climate Change Adaptation in the Arabian Peninsula


I am indebted to Eric Klinenberg for his engagement with various versions of this piece and to Stephen Twilley and Tim Neff for their editorial assistance. Sarah El-Kazaz, Bridget Guarasci, and Sophia Stamatopoulou-Robbins read an earlier draft and made helpful comments. Wenner Gren Foundation, Cornell University, Rice University, and the ACLS Foundation provided funding for research. Finally, I thank my interlocutors in Abu Dhabi and elsewhere for taking the time to share their perspectives on climate change. 28:2 doi 10.1215/08992363-3427463 Copyright 2016 by Duke University Press Published by Duke University Press oil-rich nations articulate and act upon environmental problems.1 I argue that climate change adaptation projects in the Arabian Peninsula are often attempts at reframing water-related challenges that are already present, regardless of the effects of climate change; for instance, the groundwater sources in the UAE will be destroyed not necessarily due to the predicted impacts of climate change but because they will soon be sucked dry. These challenges are born of not just environmental but also social, political, and economic conditions, such as high levels of per capita water consumption or increasing population, which receive less attention from policy makers. In other words, in the Arabian Peninsula climate change adaptation is about water, while water is not necessarily about climate change adaptation. In this article, I show how the UAE government advances a view that I call the "infinity of water," by relying on technological solutions, particularly desalination, the process of removing salt and other minerals from seawater. The UAE (along with Kuwait, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Singapore) suffers from absolute water scarcity, which means that it has an annual renewable water capacity of less than five hundred cubic meters per capita, a rate that worsens every year due to increasing population levels (Baba et al. 2011: 39).2...
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References (46)

Publisher
Duke University Press
Copyright
Copyright © Duke Univ Press
ISSN
0899-2363
eISSN
1527-8018
DOI
10.1215/08992363-3427463
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This article examines the discourses and practices of climate change adaptation in the Arabian Peninsula. It suggests that climate change adaptation projects in the region are often attempts at reframing water-related challenges that are already present, regardless of the effects of climate change. For instance, the groundwater sources in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be destroyed not necessarily due to the predicted impacts of climate change but because they will soon be completely consumed. In response, the governments in the Arabian Peninsula, especially the UAE, advance a view that I call the “infinity of water,” by relying on technological solutions, particularly desalination. The nonconventional synthetic quality of water, where more can be generated through desalination whenever necessary, allows the actors in the area to envision and embrace its infinity, regardless of existing and impending water scarcity. This article shows how water ceases to be a “natural” entity, but rather emerges as an assemblage of complex technical procedures, social relations, and historical trajectories. Arabian Peninsula climate change infinity United Arab Emirates water

Journal

Public CultureDuke University Press

Published: May 1, 2016

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