Paper Short Abstract:

Can decomposed peat, emitting CO2, or a water lily, causing blockages on rivers be deemed dangerous in the Anthropocene? Disrupted natural processes and wetland maintenance practices like mowing intertwine with new policies, knowledge and conflicts, redefining notion of “dirt” and “toxic”.

Paper Abstract:

The Biebrza wetlands (Poland), although drained, remain among Europe's most valuable wild habitats, shaped by centuries of local farming practice – mowing. Climate challenges along with social changes of the Soviet era and capitalist transformation, led to the cessation of the traditional aquatic economy. The Biebrza National Park, established in 1993, crucially regulates mowing to sustain bird populations and aims for water retention and river re-wilding despite local community’s resistance. At the same time, new hydro-biological knowledge highlights the CO2 emissions from drained peatlands, urging rehydration, a daunting task after 200 years of drainage policies. Additionally agricultural runoff and mowed biomass introduce biogens, causing algae overgrowth, eutrophication, and hypoxia in the Biebrza river. Paradoxically in the Anthropocene, the natural processes accelerated and imbalanced by climate change and human activity started to be considered as unwanted and dangerous, challenging the definition of what is toxic, dirty, and aesthetic. The yellow water lily embodies this paradox—simultaneously admired and labeled as “dirt” to be mowed. The lily is as much a graceful non-human inhabitant of the river, as it is a marker of: conflict; local memory and perception of the river and ecological instability. Viewing water as a trance-substance that permeates local and institutional aesthetics, values, and environmental care strategies, as well as conflicts related to the peatland and river “management”, prompts reflection on the land-centrism of thinking about the wetlands. Simple eco-technologies, such as underwater cameras, provide a different perspective, revealing the multidimensionality of the Biebrza waterscape with its "above" and "below”.