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Water as a Cultural ConstructWater, Culture, &Power: Local Struggles in a Global Context by John M. Donahue; Barbara RoseJohnstonReview by: Patricia M. DoorisBioScience, Vol. 49, No. 3 (March 1999), pp. 240-241Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the American Institute of Biological SciencesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/bisi.1999.49.3.240 .

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demicmammalspecies,forexample,varies from 24% on Luzon to 80%on Negros. Less than 4 % of the origi-nal rain forest remains on Negros.In addition to causing the extirpa-tion of endemic species, the razing ofthe rain forest has effects that moredirectly affect the people of theseislands. The incidence of flooding,siltation, and drought have increaseddramatically as forested catchmentshave been devastated. In 1968, 812square kilometers were listed asdrought affected; this area rose to14,000 square kilometers in 1987and has continued to grow. Disas-trous flooding has become a part ofthe annual cycle of natural eventsthroughout the Philippines, especiallyin catchments that have been clearedof forest. The authors quote a localgovernment official who, speaking 1year after the floods in Leyte in 1991,which killed over 7000 people, saidthat "we are still waiting for a planfor reforestation that will not dis-rupt the economy." In this case, the"economy" means the cultivation ofthat environmentally devastating buthighly profitable plant, sugar cane.The list of disasters goes on: reduc-tion in expected life of water im-poundments, choking of coral reefs,reduction in fisheries and ecotouristicresources, and so forth.So is there light at the end of thetunnel? The book's final chapter at-tempts an upbeat tone, pointing tonewly established national parks, in-creased scientific interest and com-munity involvement in the rain for-ests, the establishment of successfulex situ colonies of some vertebrates,and an increase in overseas "eco-tourists." Amid these indisputablesigns of progress, however, Heaneyand Regalado correctly point outthat only major social and economicreform will lead to sustainable de-velopment and consequent environ-mental protection within the Philip-pines. There are currently few signsof this sort of reform, and the de-struction of the little rain forest thatremains continues. In his forewordto this book, Angel A. Alcala, Chairof the Philippines Commission onHigher Education, states that "pres-ervation of the primary rain forestis...a high priority for the Filipino

demicmammalspecies,forexample,varies from 24% on Luzon to 80%on Negros. Less than 4 % of the origi-nal rain forest remains on Negros.In addition to causing the extirpa-tion of endemic species, the razing ofthe rain forest has effects that moredirectly affect the people of theseislands. The incidence of flooding,siltation, and drought have increaseddramatically as forested catchmentshave been devastated. In 1968, 812square kilometers were listed asdrought affected; this area rose to14,000 square kilometers in 1987and has continued to grow. Disas-trous flooding has become a part ofthe annual cycle of natural eventsthroughout the Philippines, especiallyin catchments that have been clearedof forest. The authors quote a localgovernment official who, speaking 1year after the floods in Leyte in 1991,which killed over 7000 people, saidthat "we are still waiting for a planfor reforestation that will not dis-rupt the economy." In this case, the"economy" means the cultivation ofthat environmentally devastating buthighly profitable plant, sugar cane.The list of disasters goes on: reduc-tion in expected life of water im-poundments, choking of coral reefs,reduction in fisheries and ecotouristicresources, and so forth.So is there light at the end of thetunnel? The book's final chapter at-tempts an upbeat tone, pointing tonewly established national parks, in-creased scientific interest and com-munity involvement in the rain for-ests, the establishment of successfulex situ colonies of some vertebrates,and an increase in overseas "eco-tourists." Amid these indisputablesigns of progress, however, Heaneyand Regalado correctly point outthat only major social and economicreform will lead to sustainable de-velopment and consequent environ-mental protection within the Philip-pines. There are currently few signsof this sort of reform, and the de-struction of the little rain forest thatremains continues. In his forewordto this book, Angel A. Alcala, Chairof the Philippines Commission onHigher Education, states that "pres-ervation of the primary rain forestis...a high priority for the Filipinopeople." Certainly Alcala is correctin the abstract sense that the qualitypeople." Certainly Alcala is correctin the abstract sense that the quality

of life for the people is diminished asthe forest is reduced, but there islittle evidence that forest preserva-tion is in fact a current high priorityfor Philippine decision-makers. Thewide dissemination and attentionthat this book should receive mayhelp to reverse this trend, but as theauthors say, "there is not much time,and it is slipping away."ROGERKITCHINGSchoolof Environmental tudiesGriffithUniversityBrisbane,Queensland4111Australia

References citedAnonymous.1910-1911. Philippine slands.Pages 392-400 in Encyclopxdia Brit-tanica.11th ed. Vol. 21. Cambridge UK):CambridgeUniversityPress.van Oosterzee P. 1997. Where Worlds Col-lide:TheWallaceLine. thaca NY):Cornell

UniversityPress.Wildlife ConservationSociety of the Philip-pines. 1997. PhilippineRed Data Book.MakatiCity(ThePhilippines):Bookmark.

of life for the people is diminished asthe forest is reduced, but there islittle evidence that forest preserva-tion is in fact a current high priorityfor Philippine decision-makers. Thewide dissemination and attentionthat this book should receive mayhelp to reverse this trend, but as theauthors say, "there is not much time,and it is slipping away."ROGERKITCHINGSchoolof Environmental tudiesGriffithUniversityBrisbane,Queensland4111Australia

References citedAnonymous.1910-1911. Philippine slands.Pages 392-400 in Encyclopxdia Brit-tanica.11th ed. Vol. 21. Cambridge UK):CambridgeUniversityPress.van Oosterzee P. 1997. Where Worlds Col-lide:TheWallaceLine. thaca NY):Cornell

UniversityPress.Wildlife ConservationSociety of the Philip-pines. 1997. PhilippineRed Data Book.MakatiCity(ThePhilippines):Bookmark.

WATER AS ACULTURAL CONSTRUCTWater, Culture, & Power: LocalStruggles in a Global Context. JohnM. Donahue and Barbara RoseJohnston, eds. Island Press, Wash-ington, DC, 1998. 396 pp., illus.$30.00 (ISBN 1-55963-521-3 paper).Water, Culture, & Power is a cata-logue, with comment, of 14 specificexperiences involving the develop-ment and management of water re-sources. The experiences occurred inBangladesh, Honduras, Japan,Mexico, St. Thomas (in the US Vir-gin Islands), the Middle East, theUnited States, and Zimbabwe. Ac-cording to the editors, these accounts,although they describe situations indiverse areas of the earth, are tiedtogether by four thematic strands.However, I believe that the fourstrands can be consolidated intothree: first, the huge increase inworldwide water demand, resulting

WATER AS ACULTURAL CONSTRUCTWater, Culture, & Power: LocalStruggles in a Global Context. JohnM. Donahue and Barbara RoseJohnston, eds. Island Press, Wash-ington, DC, 1998. 396 pp., illus.$30.00 (ISBN 1-55963-521-3 paper).Water, Culture, & Power is a cata-logue, with comment, of 14 specificexperiences involving the develop-ment and management of water re-sources. The experiences occurred inBangladesh, Honduras, Japan,Mexico, St. Thomas (in the US Vir-gin Islands), the Middle East, theUnited States, and Zimbabwe. Ac-cording to the editors, these accounts,although they describe situations indiverse areas of the earth, are tiedtogether by four thematic strands.However, I believe that the fourstrands can be consolidated intothree: first, the huge increase inworldwide water demand, resulting

from the exploding human popula-tion in the nineteenth and twentiethcenturies; second, the virtually un-avoidable clash of stakeholders' in-terests, which arises in connectionwith water management projects andpolicies; and third, the increasinginfluence of sociopolitical forces ascompared with natural processes inthe emergence of crises relating towater issues.Most conflicts over water havetheir beginnings in the burgeoningdemand for water on the part of onesegment of the human population inan area. For example, the battlesbetween the states of Arizona andCalifornia over control of the Colo-rado River (described in chapter 9)are typical of those that result whenwater is appropriated from one loca-tion for use in another, distant loca-tion within another political bound-ary. The detailed explanation of thissituation objectively illuminates theproblems, stakeholders, and "solu-tion"-all of which continue to sim-mer in the cookpot of water wars inthe Southwest.The clash of urban and industrialinterests with cultures of human com-munities that are based on subsis-tence agriculture, particularly thoseof indigenous peoples, is one of themore absorbing topics covered in thebook. Several chapters (chapters 2-6) make it clear that native culturesregard water as more than a chemicalsubstance valued for drinking, recre-ation, fishing, irrigating crops, turn-ingturbines,andmanufacturinggoods.Water is integral to the traditionalways of life and thinking in suchcultures, and when water is lost dueto prior appropriation, or when itsquality is seriously degraded, the verybeing of some native populations isundermined.The book also tackles water con-flicts that are complicated not onlyby sociopolitical differences, but alsoby religious differences. In chapter15, the arid Middle East is the settingfor a discussion of the history ofwater's role in the Arab-Israeli con-flict. In this region, water is consid-ered by some observers to be theprimary cause of the ongoing territo-rial disputes, whereas others claimthat water is just one of the factorsinvolved in the problem. In any case,

from the exploding human popula-tion in the nineteenth and twentiethcenturies; second, the virtually un-avoidable clash of stakeholders' in-terests, which arises in connectionwith water management projects andpolicies; and third, the increasinginfluence of sociopolitical forces ascompared with natural processes inthe emergence of crises relating towater issues.Most conflicts over water havetheir beginnings in the burgeoningdemand for water on the part of onesegment of the human population inan area. For example, the battlesbetween the states of Arizona andCalifornia over control of the Colo-rado River (described in chapter 9)are typical of those that result whenwater is appropriated from one loca-tion for use in another, distant loca-tion within another political bound-ary. The detailed explanation of thissituation objectively illuminates theproblems, stakeholders, and "solu-tion"-all of which continue to sim-mer in the cookpot of water wars inthe Southwest.The clash of urban and industrialinterests with cultures of human com-munities that are based on subsis-tence agriculture, particularly thoseof indigenous peoples, is one of themore absorbing topics covered in thebook. Several chapters (chapters 2-6) make it clear that native culturesregard water as more than a chemicalsubstance valued for drinking, recre-ation, fishing, irrigating crops, turn-ingturbines,andmanufacturinggoods.Water is integral to the traditionalways of life and thinking in suchcultures, and when water is lost dueto prior appropriation, or when itsquality is seriously degraded, the verybeing of some native populations isundermined.The book also tackles water con-flicts that are complicated not onlyby sociopolitical differences, but alsoby religious differences. In chapter15, the arid Middle East is the settingfor a discussion of the history ofwater's role in the Arab-Israeli con-flict. In this region, water is consid-ered by some observers to be theprimary cause of the ongoing territo-rial disputes, whereas others claimthat water is just one of the factorsinvolved in the problem. In any case,the divergent religious and culturalhe divergent religious and cultural

BioScience Vol. 49 No. 3ioScience Vol. 49 No. 34040

University of California Press

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viewsconcerning henatureof waterand the rights to its use cannot beignored in this conflict, which is atthe same time bothpoliticaland mili-tary. Certainly, the solution to thewater problem besettingthe playersinthis drama s of utmostconcern tothe rest of the humanpopulationonEarth,particularlyhose who dependon another natural resource abun-dant in the Middle East-crude oil.This book should attracta broadaudience, ncludingacademics,work-ingenvironmental cientists, appliedanthropologists,waterresourcespro-fessionals,andpolicymakers.Teach-ers, in particular,will appreciate he"Food for Thought" sections foundinmostchapters-the extensivenotesandbibliographieswill be useful forcriticalthinkingexercisesandpaperassignments. Water resources pro-fessionals, including environmentalscientists, will benefit from the in-depth exploration of water develop-ment issues, manyof which aregen-erally ignored in project planningand mpactanalysis tudies.The bookwill hammerhomethe veryreal con-

viewsconcerning henatureof waterand the rights to its use cannot beignored in this conflict, which is atthe same time bothpoliticaland mili-tary. Certainly, the solution to thewater problem besettingthe playersinthis drama s of utmostconcern tothe rest of the humanpopulationonEarth,particularlyhose who dependon another natural resource abun-dant in the Middle East-crude oil.This book should attracta broadaudience, ncludingacademics,work-ingenvironmental cientists, appliedanthropologists,waterresourcespro-fessionals,andpolicymakers.Teach-ers, in particular,will appreciate he"Food for Thought" sections foundinmostchapters-the extensivenotesandbibliographieswill be useful forcriticalthinkingexercisesandpaperassignments. Water resources pro-fessionals, including environmentalscientists, will benefit from the in-depth exploration of water develop-ment issues, manyof which aregen-erally ignored in project planningand mpactanalysis tudies.The bookwill hammerhomethe veryreal con-

sequences of resource managementpractices, many of which are fre-quently devised in offices remotefrom the actual impact area.Water, Culture, & Power pro-vides a significant service to the fieldof water management. First, it high-lights, using an effective case studytechnique, the stories and facts be-hind both past and continuingstruggles over water. In doing so,this volume can be viewed as a guide-book to some of the factors criticalto a formal impact assessment ofproposed projects-factors that areoutside the disciplines of engineer-ing, hydrogeology, and planning.This book argues strongly for theinclusion of anthropologists on anyimpact assessment team. More thanthat, however, the book presents,without stating so explicitly, the casefor injecting simple compassion intothe water management process.

PATRICIA M. DOORISDepartmentof EnvironmentalScienceSaint Leo CollegeSaint Leo, FL 33574

sequences of resource managementpractices, many of which are fre-quently devised in offices remotefrom the actual impact area.Water, Culture, & Power pro-vides a significant service to the fieldof water management. First, it high-lights, using an effective case studytechnique, the stories and facts be-hind both past and continuingstruggles over water. In doing so,this volume can be viewed as a guide-book to some of the factors criticalto a formal impact assessment ofproposed projects-factors that areoutside the disciplines of engineer-ing, hydrogeology, and planning.This book argues strongly for theinclusion of anthropologists on anyimpact assessment team. More thanthat, however, the book presents,without stating so explicitly, the casefor injecting simple compassion intothe water management process.

PATRICIA M. DOORISDepartmentof EnvironmentalScienceSaint Leo CollegeSaint Leo, FL 33574

DNA: A HISTORY OF ATHOUSAND HEROESDNA Pioneers and Their Legacy. UlfLagerkvist. Yale University Press,New Haven and London, 1998. 156pp., illus. $20.00 (ISBN 0-300-07184-1 cloth).DNA has become a cultural symbolfor various forms of "biopower." Itis the magic bullet of dreamed ge-netic therapies, the crystal ball ofpredictive diagnostics, the goldenproduct of start-up biotech compa-nies, and the multiple Nobel prize-winning molecule. In this context ofhigh public visibility and social pres-tige, numerous books on DNA's past,present, and future are appearing.DNA Pioneers and Their Legacy isone of them, focusing on the historyof DNA research.

Ulf Lagerkvist, a retired professorof biochemistry from the Universityof Goteborg in Sweden, presents acollection of historical essays on"DNA: its discovery, its role as ge-netic material, its structure and rep-

DNA: A HISTORY OF ATHOUSAND HEROESDNA Pioneers and Their Legacy. UlfLagerkvist. Yale University Press,New Haven and London, 1998. 156pp., illus. $20.00 (ISBN 0-300-07184-1 cloth).DNA has become a cultural symbolfor various forms of "biopower." Itis the magic bullet of dreamed ge-netic therapies, the crystal ball ofpredictive diagnostics, the goldenproduct of start-up biotech compa-nies, and the multiple Nobel prize-winning molecule. In this context ofhigh public visibility and social pres-tige, numerous books on DNA's past,present, and future are appearing.DNA Pioneers and Their Legacy isone of them, focusing on the historyof DNA research.

Ulf Lagerkvist, a retired professorof biochemistry from the Universityof Goteborg in Sweden, presents acollection of historical essays on"DNA: its discovery, its role as ge-netic material, its structure and rep-

Evolution, Variation, and Classificationof PalmsA. Hendersonand F.BorchseniusISBN 0-89327-426-7MEM 83

Paramos:A Checklist of Plant Diversity, GeoraphicalDistribution and Botanical Literature

J. LuteynISBN 0-89327-427-5MEM 84

Evolution, Variation, and Classificationof PalmsA. Hendersonand F.BorchseniusISBN 0-89327-426-7MEM 83

Paramos:A Checklist of Plant Diversity, GeoraphicalDistribution and Botanical Literature

J. LuteynISBN 0-89327-427-5MEM 84

A Color Atlas of Plant StructureB.G. BowesISBN 0-89327-423-2Co-publishedwith MansonPublishingLtd.Varzea:

Diversity, Development and Conservation ofAmazonia's Whitewater FloodplainsC. Padoch,J. MarcioAyres,M. Pinedo-VasquezndA. HendersonISBN 0-89327-419-4

AEB 13

A Color Atlas of Plant StructureB.G. BowesISBN 0-89327-423-2Co-publishedwith MansonPublishingLtd.Varzea:

Diversity, Development and Conservation ofAmazonia's Whitewater FloodplainsC. Padoch,J. MarcioAyres,M. Pinedo-VasquezndA. HendersonISBN 0-89327-419-4

AEB 13

THE NEWYORKBOTANICALARDENPRESSBronx,NY 10458-5126Tel718.817.8721 * Fax718.817.8842E-mailnybgpress@nybg.org

THE NEWYORKBOTANICALARDENPRESSBronx,NY 10458-5126Tel718.817.8721 * Fax718.817.8842E-mailnybgpress@nybg.org

0 00096 0 See C00096 0 See C

March 1999arch 1999 24141

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