Ecology in Rojava
Rojava is Trying to Build a Green Society, But Turkey is Starving It of Water and Power
"The energy reforms the region needs are macropolitical in nature. Turkey must be forced to allow full water-flow into NES to increase the amount of hydroelectric power that can be distributed. The partial embargo imposed on NES must be lifted in order to allow the AANES to import new parts for the dam, its own refineries to reduce its reliance on the Syrian regime, or even materials like solar panels to reduce its reliance on diesel altogether. The US could open such a border crossing into NES tomorrow if it wanted: it chooses not to, preferring to keep the region marginalized, isolated and diplomatically vulnerable."
Anna Lau, Erdelan Baran, and Melanie Sirinathsingh, “A Kurdish response to climate change,” November 18 2016, openDemocracy.
Historical human societies have been based on structures of domination, with men controlling women, elites controlling masses of people and humans controlling nature. In Rojava, these structures are being combatted by women’s emancipation, ecology, and democracy.
Ercan Ayboga, “Ecology Discussions and Practices in the Kurdish Freedom Struggle,” June 28 2018, Komun Academy
A comprehensive essay by a specialist in Kurdish ecology, tracing the evolution of an ecological approach, including its basis in ancient communal practices, capitalist modernity’s treatment of the environment, and change when you make ecology a basic principle of the revolution.
Matt Broomfield, “Planting trees below Turkish bombs in Syria.” February 18 2018, New Statesman
Activists are working to “Make Rojava Green Again,” in an international campaign to plant thousands of trees, reverse damage caused by war and government-enforced monoculture, and reestablish a sustainable relationship between human and nature.
Ecological Movements in Kurdistan: From Rojava to Bakur
A recent panel organized by Institute for Social Ecology with activists from Rojava and Bakur. The revolution in Rojava has captured international attention for its feminist and democratic character, but there is much less awareness of its strong environmental dimension. Creating a world where both women and the natural world can thrive are deeply connected in Rojava. Jineology, the Kurdish word for the feminist “science of women,” comes from Jin, meaning woman, which shares the root word Jiyan, meaning life. This event will explain how democracy, women’s empowerment, and social ecology are interrelated and central to the vision of a different world being built in Kurdistan, from Rojava to Bakur.