Linking Access and Vulnerability: Perceptions of Irrigation and Flood Management in Pakistan

Abstract

This article reports the results of a survey conducted in four villages in central Pakistan regarding people's perceptions about irrigation- and flood-related issues. The article uses the perception studies methodology from the human ecology school to address the political ecology agenda in resource and hazards geography. The log-linear analysis of the survey data shows that people are knowledgeable about social power differentials and interactions between various social factors in influencing their access to resources and vulnerability to floods. The article further demonstrates that water users and vulnerable populations are much more likely to suggest social explanations than naturalistic or fatalistic explanations for their differential access to irrigation water and vulnerability to flood hazard.