Send message to Author

Paper short abstract

This paper reads Goa’s khazan lands as living hydro-agro-aqua technologies shaped by 4,000 years of community knowledge. Through bunds, canals and sluice gates, khazans manage tides, salinity and floods, supporting rice, fish, salt and diverse food systems.

Paper long abstract

Khazan lands sustain complex agro-ecological systems that integrate food production, habitat creation, and water management. They support salt-tolerant rice, seasonal vegetables, and coconut palms, while providing vital habitats for diadromous fish, prawns, and crabs moving between freshwater and marine environments. Traditional aquaculture practices are closely aligned with lunar rhythms and tidal cycles, enabling communities to regulate water flows, maintain ecological balance, and ensure sustainable yields.

Salt pans within khazans demonstrate adaptive seasonal management. During the monsoon, inundated pans support aquaculture, while in the dry season they facilitate high-quality salt production. Coconut palms planted along bunds stabilise soils, prevent erosion, buffer storms, and provide food, oil, fibre, and culturally significant materials. Together, these practices reveal khazans as multifunctional landscapes where agriculture, aquaculture, and coastal protection coexist.

Beyond production, khazans embody principles of reciprocity and integrated management. Water, soil, plants, animals, and humans are understood as interdependent, governed through collective decision-making and shared responsibility. This ethical relationship foregrounds care, restraint, and long-term stewardship over extractive use.

This paper positions khazans as precursors to contemporary ideas such as sponge cities and resilient food systems. By absorbing, storing, purifying, and slowly releasing water and nutrients, khazans function as living infrastructures that regulate hydrology, sustain biodiversity, and secure nutrition. As hybrid “future-past” technologies, they link indigenous engineering, cultural practice, and ecological knowledge, offering critical lessons for climate-resilient, equitable, and integrated approaches to water and food systems in both rural and urban contexts.