http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5047-4218
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ABSTRACT
Encroachers on dam, canal and stream reservations in Sri Lanka have a long history, although largely neglected and sparsely investigated by academics and policy makers alike. They have been observed to degrade water resources at an alarming rate and have proven resistant to attempts of eviction. The present work attempts to employ a discourse analytical viewpoint to open up and explore the ideas, perspectives and justifications held by various social groups regarding the legality of encroachers, thus moving beyond the simplistic legal/illegal binary that has characterized previous academic inquiries on the matter. In doing so, the present work has found three competing discourses or ‘storylines’, each of which characterize encroachers in a different way. Together, these different discourses provide a platform to better understand the social practices, behaviors and motivations of the encroachers, and provide more complex and nuanced answers to the questions of ‘who they are’ and ‘what can be done about them’.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Data availability statement
The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are not publicly available due to sensitivity and ethical considerations but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
ORCID
Kavindra Paranage http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5047-4218
Notes
1 The importance given to protecting irrigated agriculture and the supporting water resource systems has been justified on two fronts. Firstly, irrigated agriculture accounts for 18% of the GDP and 26.4% of the workforce and is of considerable economic importance. Secondly, irrigated agriculture has had a history that exceeds 2500 years, with country's very identity being constructed as a ‘hydraulic civilization’ (Peebles Citation1990).