The Political Ecology of „illegal“ waste water - micro-politics and negotiation processes in a megacity. The case of Delhi / India.
In 2008, the global urban population exceeds for the first time 50% of the total population. Megacities in developing countries will continue to grow – the collection and treatment of waste water however figure already amongst the most challenging tasks for their sustainable development in the “global South“.
Delhi is no exception in this regard, with prognoses projecting a rise from today’s 15 million to 24 million inhabitants by 2030, and present quantities of an estimated 3 billion litres of untreated household waste water pouring into the river Yamuna every day. Meanwhile, household connection to the sewer network in Delhi has reached around 2/3 of the population. In informal colonies, however, such as un-authorised colonies and squatter settlements, waste water is disposed of through informal systems and arrangements leading to extremely unsatisfying situations – ecologically as well as socially.
Using the concept of a “politicised environment” developed in the Political Ecology literature (cf. among others BRYANT & BAILEY 1997), the thesis aims at exploring existing waste water practices in these colonies and investigating how they are politically and socially embedded. Central research questions thus are
- Which practices exist in relation to waste water and how do they interact with available technologies to produce certain waste water scapes?
- Which political processes exist around these waste water scapes and in which social relations are they embedded?
- Which processes can lead to improvements for the population of illegal colonies?
Research is taking place in four colonies of Delhi, two un-authorised and two squatter settlements, using predominantly participatory research methods. The thesis is funded by the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation.
