Work package 2: Historical perspectives on travels of Western delta technosciences (led by NL)
WP2 aims to map and analyse the histories and political economy of the travels of Western technosciences to developing-country deltas. These histories will explore the idea that ‘the global’ is ‘local’ ? i.e. specific to money streams, disciplinary networks, experts (heroes), etc. Through professional life histories, archival research, key informants interviews, we will look at how, since colonial times, knowledges have travelled through engineers and experts, but also through the models, technologies and infrastructures that they promote and in which knowledges are inscribed. This WP will yield valuable information regarding knowledge path dependencies, the actors through which knowledge travels (notably in-country water and environmental engineers, development agency staff), and the knowledge artefacts promoted by Western technosciences, which will inform the participatory modelling and the different building blocks of the role playing game developed in WP3.
2.1 Lives of senior engineers (NL)
By observing and interviewing experienced (in some cases retired) senior engineers and delta- governance ‘gurus’, the travels and travails of travelling ‘heroes’ will be documented and reflected on, also together with these ‘heroes’. This will generate insights and reflections upon changing ideas, roles and requirements of experts, expertise and related knowledge production processes.
2.2 (Post)colonial travels (NL/Japan/France)
A comparative analysis of the past water-based nation building activities in delta regions will be done by looking at the travels of knowledges embodied in famous (post-)colonial water heroes (such as David Lilienthal, Arthur Cotton, William Willcocks, Homan van der Heide) and contrasted with knowledge embedded in delta-management plans and the role they have in fuelling the international development community.
2.3 Delta technologies and infrastructural design (Japan/NL/UK)
A comparative analysis of delta water-management technologies, including the travel of key infrastructural design and agronomic knowledges between deltas will be done. Possible cases include the re-invention of floating rice as a climate change adaption measure or of mangroves as storm surge barriers and the dams and irrigation infrastructures controlling deltas’ water.
2.4 Virtual deltas (UK)
A literature study on the global histories of hydrological and climate modelling from the perspective of their application in the case study deltas will be performed.