Project properties
Title Disputed hydrosocial territories and flooding hazards in Guatemala: largescale mining, indigenous communities and citizen alliances
Group Water Resources Management group
Project type thesis
Credits 36
Supervisor(s) Prof. Rutgerd Boelens & Dr. Jeroen Vos
Examiner(s)
Contact info rutgerd.boelens@wur.nl
Begin date 2020/01/01
End date 2022/01/01
Description Host institute(s): Municipality of Quetzaltenango
Country: Guatemala
Period: open
Project type: Master thesis for 1 or 2 students

Problem context
In the Palajunoj valley near Quetzaltenango city, Guatemala, three large gravel mines cause major socio-environmental problems, such as deforestation and soil erosion, which generates large flooding hazards for the indigenous communities and urban neighbourhoods. Mines and official development reports deny the problem and blame “nature” and “climate”. Municipality officers and indigenous communities however point at the extractive industry. Rural protest has broadened into a rural-urban territorial alliance: rural mayors, NGOs, urban neighbourhoods. They ask for socio-environmental research to complement their technical findings.

Research Objective/Question
Investigate through academic and action-research:
* the socio-environmental problems and hydro-political relationships that trigger the mining-based floodings;
* the divergent discourses and ways in which the flooding hazards are framed by different actors;
* the consequences for rural communities and urban neighborhoods ;
* the multi-scalar strategies, organizations and responses that families (can) deploy to cope with floods.

What is expected from the student: Research with a grounded Political Ecology focus (preparation: course Political Ecology of Water / similar courses). Conceptual themes: extractivism, hydrosocial territories, power, politics, discourse analysis, governmentality, conflict analysis, identity politics; social mobilization
Used skills
Requirements course Political Ecology of Water / similar courses