Sinai Aquifer: Politics, scales and poetics

• In Event: Plumbing the Depths: Towards a Deeper Understanding of Groundwater

Abstract

This paper investigates the subaltern's reliance on shallow aquifers for the Bedouin population in South Sinai, Egypt. The mountain aquifers provide just enough water for a small population of herders to sustain their livelihoods and navigate the unpaved mountain paths of the peninsula. However, despite efforts by state projects in Sinai to address the water scarcity issue, they have not utilized the local aquifer as a water source. This is due to several reasons: firstly, the amount of water available would not support the state's large-scale extraction projects; secondly, technical, geological, and political challenges make it impractical for the state to extract water from these sources. This paper explores how water serves as a source of sovereign power for small populations in strategically important areas. It delves into the Bedouin methodology, ethics, and imaginaries surrounding their local aquifers in contrast to dominant national ones.

Author

• Alaa Attiah, University of Toronto