Presentation short abstract

River networks, a man-made river system relying on electric pumps, were constructed in 20th century East China for boosting agricultural production. The system provides livelihood for boat people, but their mobility was deprived by ‘ecological conservation’ policies that banned inland navigation.

Presentation long abstract

River networks (hewang, 河网) in East China are a type of man-made agricultural ecosystem created through numerous politically-driven mass campaigns from the late 1950s to the late 1970s. The management and operation of this delicate system rely largely on electric pumps running on electricity generated by fossil fuels. However, river networks expanded the cultivation of irrigated rice and improved agricultural output with much less local ecological impact than conventional irrigation systems like canal and well irrigation. Planned to integrate irrigation and drainage, it seldom caused secondary salination like in conventional canal irrigation projects. And unlike well irrigation, river networks used surface water, so they replenished rather than extracted underground water. Furthermore, river networks provided important livelihoods for the ‘boat people’, a usually underprivileged rural group that dwelled on boats and made a living from water transport. Since the 2000s, however, inland navigation has been banned on many river networks and navigation facilities like locks were demolished in the state’s attempt to ‘conserve the river ecosystem’. Small ferrocement boats used by the boat people have also been unanimously banned from entering major rivers in the system, virtually deprived the boat people of their mobility. Based on numerous fieldworks and interviews, this research explores how a man-made ecosystem largely relying on the energy input of fossil fuels can be vital to the survival of underprivileged local communities and how the pursuit of ‘ecological conservation’ is gradually depriving their livelihoods.