Speaking with the River: Embodied Encounters and Local Values of the Ro Peas Blancas in Response to Potential Hydroelectric Development in South-Pacific Costa Rica

dc.contributor.advisorMontoya, Felipe (Phillip) J.
dc.contributor.authorUmana-Kinitzki, Carmen Alejandraen_US
dc.date.accessioned2018-03-01T14:07:16Z
dc.date.available2018-03-01T14:07:16Z
dc.date.copyright2017-08-10
dc.date.issued2018-03-01
dc.date.updated2018-03-01T14:07:16Z
dc.degree.disciplineEnvironmental Studies
dc.degree.levelMaster's
dc.degree.nameMES - Master in Environmental Studies
dc.description.abstractIn Costa Rica, the states decision to approve the construction of two private hydropower dams along the Peas Blancas River is being called into question by local residents and non-governmental agencies who caution against the environmental, socio-cultural, and economic implications of constructing multiple dams along a potable and highly biodiverse river system. To explore these various concerns, I conducted research with 36 primary participants (including residents, peasants, conservationists and student youth) within the Alexander Skutch Biological Corridor (ASBC) in the south-Pacific region of Costa Rica. The primary objective of this research was to understand how local knowledges can inform state policyparticularly with regard to how environmental impact studies are conducted and written. In addition, by considering how the river itself is assembled from organic, geophysical, material, social, discursive, and technological components, this thesis offers alternative ways of envisioning freshwater that do not adhere to the dominant representations found within current policy. The study finds that the river is indistinguishable from the components that generate its quantity and quality, indicating that the effective conservation of the rivers water is integrally tied to and dependent on the protection of the conditions and elements that generate its flow.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10315/34374
dc.language.isoen
dc.rightsAuthor owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.
dc.subjectGeography
dc.subject.keywordsWater
dc.subject.keywordsRivers
dc.subject.keywordsConnectivity
dc.subject.keywordsNonhumans
dc.subject.keywordsMore-than-human sociality
dc.subject.keywordsEnvironmental anthropology
dc.subject.keywordsNature and culture
dc.subject.keywordsCo-production
dc.subject.keywordsVital materialism
dc.subject.keywordsElectricity
dc.subject.keywordsEnergy
dc.subject.keywordsHydropower
dc.subject.keywordsDams
dc.subject.keywordsEmbodied experiences
dc.subject.keywordsAffects
dc.subject.keywordsKnowledge
dc.subject.keywordsClimate change
dc.subject.keywordsConservation
dc.subject.keywordsPolitical ecology
dc.subject.keywordsSocial movements
dc.subject.keywordsSolidarity
dc.subject.keywordsCommunity engagement
dc.subject.keywordsEnvironmental policy
dc.subject.keywordsEnvironmental impact studies
dc.subject.keywordsLaws
dc.subject.keywordsWater politics
dc.subject.keywordsNeoliberalism
dc.subject.keywordsPrivatization
dc.subject.keywordsEnclosure of the commons
dc.subject.keywordsWater grabbing
dc.subject.keywordsBiopower
dc.subject.keywordsThe Neotropics
dc.subject.keywordsResource management
dc.subject.keywordsSustainable development
dc.subject.keywordsCarbon neutrality
dc.subject.keywordsCosta Rica
dc.titleSpeaking with the River: Embodied Encounters and Local Values of the Ro Peas Blancas in Response to Potential Hydroelectric Development in South-Pacific Costa Rica
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Umana-Kinitzki_Carmen_A_2017_Masters.pdf
Size:
4.22 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.83 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
YorkU_ETDlicense.txt
Size:
3.38 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description: