Water narratives and power dynamics in Puerto Badel: the case of the Restoration of Degraded Ecosystem of the Dique Canal Project in Colombia

During the last centuries, the Dique Canal has been intervened that end up degrading the ecosystems and causing environmental and social damage among the people living at the canal's bend, especially Afro-Colombian communities. Recently, a new infrastructure intervention aimed to restore the ecosystem: Restoration of Degraded Ecosystems of the Dique Canal Project (RDEDCP), proposing a way of looking a reality that establish environmental design, functions and relations with its water bodies. These particular realities are not natural but codified in specific narratives. As a result, this research investigates how the RDEDCP shapes narratives in Puerto Badel, Colombia, and how these narratives are understood, perceived, and experienced. Through a political ecology approach, three main water narratives are analyzed Ecosystem Restoration; Catastrophic floods; and drinking water resources. The results reveal that narratives originate from a historical perspective, are now facing environmental and social challenges in the pre-construction phase. Similarly, results expose that these narratives reinforce and resist power dynamics among public entities, the private sector, and communities of Puerto Badel, contributing to the pursuit of interests and legitimation of this infrastructure project; while excluding communities, setting agendas, and shaping environmental relations. This research contributes to the ecosystem restoration debate by using a political ecology approach to highlight how the RDEDCP’s narratives reveals conflictive ideas about water, and its implications.