Yeni Insan Publishing House published the book “Transformation of the Valley: Hydroelectric Power Plants in İkizdere”, written by Ayşen Eren, in the Research-Review category of the Ecology Library Series.
While illuminating the debate on sustainable development and renewable energy, the book focuses on the environmental and societal costs of hydroelectric power plants. Ayşen Eren examines the destructive effects of capitalist development in the example of hydroelectric power plants in İkizdere Valley. In addition to the ecological destruction caused by capital’s seizure of water, she also touches on the change in local social relations.
The book also provides a scientific analysis of the state hand and support behind hydro-development projects. The book is strongly positioned in the field of political ecology and is recommended for graduate and doctoral students.
Prof. Dr. Fikret Berkes, University of Manitoba, Canada:
Ayşen Eren not only gives a good example of interdisciplinary scientific studies in The Transformation of the Valley. This book also illuminates the ongoing debate in the field of sustainable development and renewable energy. The contribution of HEPPs to the country’s economy is known. However, HEPPs also have environmental and social costs. River valleys are turning into electricity generating areas. Eren examines this dilemma with an approach that synthesizes the multi-faceted and multi-layered perspectives provided by the social sciences. The product of unusually in-depth research, this book makes an important contribution to the field of environmental science.
Prof. Dr. Aykut Çoban:
Ayşen Eren discusses several dimensions of the devastating effects of capitalist development in Turkey in her book. While it analyzes the cruel ecological destruction caused by the hydroelectric power plant capital in İkizdere Valley, it also shows how indifferently it has turned the lives of the local people upside down. In this research, we witness that the capital’s seizure of water changes the space and local social relations with it in a shocking way. The author is not satisfied with this, he reveals with scientific certainty that the hydro-development project was implemented thanks to the hand and support of the state behind it. Moreover, it brings the reader together with the enthusiasm of the local resistances that developed along the valley and continued on several fronts, including the courthouses. Thus, Ayşen Eren presents a rich analysis in which the recent neoliberalization of nature in İkizdere Valley weaves together the historical, ecological, spatial, administrative, political and social aspects. With these qualities, the book is a very important contribution to the ecology debate in Turkey.
Prof. Dr. Ståle Knudsen, University of Bergen, Norway:
Among the studies dealing with environmental issues in Turkey, Ayşen Eren’s book is unique with its interdisciplinary perspective. In particular, I found his discussion about judicial processes enlightening and important. On the other hand, its sensitivity to the material dimension of the river environment and its hydroelectric infrastructure is also remarkable. The book is very informative as it is based on extensive research that blends multi-site participant observation with other methods such as the analysis of legal documents and processes, and has a comparative, broad perspective. With these qualities, it is strongly positioned between the field of political ecology and other international debates. For this reason, I highly recommend the book to graduate and doctoral students.
Aysen Eren:
She received her bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from METU in 1987. She completed her master’s degree in industrial engineering at Bilkent University. He started his doctorate studies at Columbia University Industrial Engineering Department in 1989, then changed his life plan and completed his second master’s degree in 1991 and started his career. She returned to university in 2011 to research society-environment relations and environmental issues. He completed his doctorate in environmental sciences at Boğaziçi University Institute of Environmental Sciences in 2017. Freelance researcher Dr. Eren works on environmental justice, energy infrastructures, renewable energy production, sustainable development and environmental management from a political ecology perspective.
Dr. Eren in 2013, Prof. Elinor Ostrom received the Fellowship on Practice and Policy on Commons award. He carried out his doctoral research at Yale University The School of Forestry and Environmental Studies as a Fox International Fellow in the 2013-2014 academic year, and as a TÜBİTAK scholarship in the spring term of 2016. His article titled “The political ecology of uncertainty: The production of truth by juridical practices in hydropower development” was awarded The Eric Wolf Prize, which is given annually by the Political Ecology Society for the best-written academic article, in 2016.
Dr. Since 2007, Eren has been writing articles on environment-human relations from the perspective of “sustainable life” in different magazines and newspapers. His articles can be accessed online at http://surdurullenen-yasam.blogspot.com.
