Urban Mountain Waterscapes in Leh, Indian Trans-Himalaya: The Transformation of Hydro-Social Relations

Description

The city of Leh is located in the high mountain desert of Ladakh in the Indian Himalayas and access to water has always been limited there. In recent years, the town has experienced high rates of urbanisation on the one hand, and tourist numbers have increased exponentially on the other, which has implications for the water supply of the people living there. Through several years of on-site research, challenges on various levels were documented and current governance approaches were analysed. This research forms the basis for future approaches to sustainable development. Preface Contents Abbreviations Summary Kurzzusammenfassung Résumé Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Human-Water Relations in Urbanising High Mountain Towns 1.2 Objectives and Research Questions 1.3 Structure of the Book References Chapter 2: Perspectives on Hydro-Social Relations in Urban Mountain Contexts 2.1 Integrative Approaches for Understanding Human-Environment Relations 2.1.1 Theoretical Foundations for Disrupting Dichotomies 2.1.2 Urban Political Ecology 2.2 Waterscapes 2.3 Hydromentalities 2.4 Water Citizenships 2.5 Urban Mountain Waterscapes: An Integrative Analytical Framework References Chapter 3: Research Design 3.1 Methodological Triangulation 3.2 Standardised Household Survey 3.3 Qualitative Interviews 3.4 Ethnographic Methods 3.5 Participatory Photography 3.6 Additional Data 3.6.1 Document Collection 3.6.2 Water Testing 3.6.3 Mapping 3.6.4 Statistical Data 3.6.5 Town Hall Meeting 3.7 Data Analysis 3.7.1 Household Survey 3.7.2 Qualitative Methods 3.8 Reflexivity of the Research Process References Chapter 4: Socio-Environmental Context of Urban Waterscapes in Leh 4.1 Environmental and Hydrological Setting 4.1.1 Geomorphology 4.1.2 Climate 4.1.3 Hydrology 4.1.4 Natural Hazards 4.2 Social Environments in Ladakh 4.2.1 Ladakhi Society Religion Social Stratification and Organisation 4.2.2 Agricultural Livelihoods and Water Use 4.2.3 Urban Development in Ladakh: A Historical Perspective The Kingdom of Ladakh British Colonialism and Indian Independence 4.2.4 Post-Colonial Development and Contemporary Ladakh Geopolitical Relevance Administration and Politics Economy References Chapter 5: Urbanisation and the Impact on Water Use in Leh 5.1 Urbanisation Characteristics in Ladakh 5.1.1 Urbanisation Dynamics Urban Population Growth Rural-Urban Migration Spatio-Temporal Urbanisation Patterns 5.1.2 Drivers of Rural-Urban Migration Family Reasons Employment Education Urban Socio-cultural Lifestyles 5.2 The Spatiality of Hydro-Social Relations 5.2.1 Hydrogeological and Historical Disparities of Water Access 5.2.2 Employed Infrastructures 5.2.3 Water Use Patterns and Access from a Socio-spatial Perspective Agricultural Irrigation Domestic Water Use Commercial Water Use 5.2.4 Impacts of Urbanisation and Economic Development on Water Use Changes in Water Availability Impacts on Water Quality 5.3 Water Governance: Negotiations Between Different Actors 5.3.1 The Arena of Actors in the Urban Mountain Waterscape 5.3.2 Local Population: Changing Livelihoods and Concerns About the Future 5.3.3 Governmental Institutions: Development Strategies Water Governance on a Regional Scale: LAHDC Water Governance on a Supra-regional Scale: UIDSSMT 5.3.4 Tourism Sector: Profit and Adaptation 5.3.5 Civil Society: Counter Discourses Alternative Development Paths Cooperation Between the LAHDC and the Civil Society 5.3.6 Criticism of Urban Water Governance Shortcomings of Governmental Water Management Deficiencies of the UIDSSMT Scheme 5.3.7 Amplifying Socio-spatial Inequalities Through Current Water Governance? References Chapter 6: The Uneven Waterscape of Leh 6.1 Discussion 6.1.1 Urbanisation and Water in Leh: Characterising the Urban Mountain Waterscape 6.1.2 Governing the Waterscape: The Confluence of the Different Actors’ Hydromentalities 6.1.3 The Creation of Uneven Water Citizenships 6.1.4 The Case of Leh as an Example for Urbanisation Impacting Water Use in High Mountains of South Asia 6.1.5 Reflection of the Applied Approach to Studying Hydro-Social Relations in High Mountain Regions 6.2 Conclusion 6.2.1 Synthesis of Results 6.2.2 Limitations of the Study and Future Directions of Research References Glossary Index