Paper short abstract:

This paper examines how adaptation to climate change is taking place through "rogue engineering" and participatory technoscience in Zanskar in the Indian Himalayas

Paper long abstract:

Zanskar, a politically marginalized region of the Indian Himalayas characterized by challenging topographies and a dominant agrarian economy, is facing ever-increasing problems of water shortage due to reduced snowfall and the recession of glaciers. At the intersection of climate change and state abandonment, "rogue engineers" are acting in the margin of the state and sometimes through informal expertise to help the local population adapting to climate change. Whether entrepreneurial individuals or people working for national and foreign NGOs, rogue engineers are building water infrastructures that are invested with aspirations for a better future where adaptation to climate change meets increased agricultural productivity. But these infrastructures are also sources of deception when they fail to meet their promises or when they fall in disrepair. This paper maps a number of initiatives in different villages of Zanskar and raises some questions about the social effects of a shift towards participatory technoscience as a means to adapt to climate change.