In the Sumapaz river basin, in Colombia, several projects related to mineral extraction, hydropower production, and nature conservation are underway. These interventions alter river landscapes and territorialities, leading to conflicts over access to and use of water. Local populations throughout the basin have mobilized to ensure their permanence in the territory while proposing alternatives to challenge dominant water governance schemes. There, agrarian movements claim rivers and water as part of their territory and identity and envision new discourses and meanings around rivers, in which water is conceived as central to sustaining life.

PhD researcher: Sebastian Reyes Bejarano

The research on the Sumapaz River Basin focuses on analyzing how river ecological fixes related to governance and technology interventions aimed at addressing the current environmental crisis transform river landscapes and territories. It addresses the emerging conflicts around rivers in the framework of these arrangements, pointing out their material and ontological dimensions. It seeks to highlight the alternative co-governance initiatives that emerge during commoning processes developed by agrarian movements mobilized for environmental and water justice.