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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Environmental Policy and Governance
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2024.1502191
This article is part of the Research Topic Sociohydrology in Drylands View all 7 articles

Unveiling Hydrosocial Dynamics: Discourse and Power in Peña Blanca

Provisionally accepted
Viola Di Tullio Viola Di Tullio *Lorenzo Zannini Lorenzo Zannini
  • University Institute of Higher Studies in Pavia, Pavia, Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Water is not just a material element but a socio-natural object of knowledge whose conceptualisation, policing and management carry symbolic and material implications (Boelens et al., 2023; Linton & Budds, 2016). This issue becomes especially evident in territories where water scarcity and drought pose heightened social and environmental challenges, not least in the face of climate change.Against this background, our research looks at the long history of water privatisation in Chile and at how it has profoundly impacted water scarcity issues (Budds, 2013), exacerbated desertification, and led to water conflicts (Blanco et al., 2023). In particular, in Peña Blanca, an agricultural community in northern Chile, these dimensions intertwine and shed light on the territory's hydrosocial components (Di Tullio, 2023). Water and fog tell histories of social dynamics, conflicts, cooperation, and climate change. Taking a discoursive approach to ethnographic fieldwork (Krzyżanowski, 2017), the paper will analyse interviews carried out with local actors against the background of on-site observation to explore the discursive construction of water and its sociopolitical consequences in Peña Blanca. The paper aims to provide an original perspective on the symbolic and material implications of hydrosocial identities in climate-exposed communities struggling for autonomy, agency, and self-determination.

    Keywords: Water, Hydrosocial cycle, Peña Blanca, drought, framing

    Received: 27 Sep 2024; Accepted: 30 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Di Tullio and Zannini. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Viola Di Tullio, University Institute of Higher Studies in Pavia, Pavia, Italy

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