{"id":9512,"date":"2025-06-23T12:40:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T10:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/?p=9512"},"modified":"2026-06-23T12:41:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T10:41:15","slug":"people-and-water-what-is-blue-anthropology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/people-and-water-what-is-blue-anthropology\/","title":{"rendered":"People and water: What is blue anthropology?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

According to the Central Statistical Office (GUS), Poland has only 1,600 cubic meters of renewable water per capita per year. Croatia has 28,800. Neighboring Slovakia \u2013 14,800 m\u00b3. The reasons are twofold: climate change, and poor water management. Poland has been draining wetlands, straightening rivers, and paving over cities. The result? Instead of being absorbed and retained, water accelerating the water deficits in soil and rivers that climate change is already driving. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Droughts, floods, poor water quality \u2013 these are already an everyday reality. And it will get worse. Projections for the second half of the 21st century predict an increase in the frequency and intensity of droughts in central Europe. Will it take a full-blown water crisis \u2013 water as a costly, contested resource \u2013 for us to grasp how central it is to our lives? Or can we get there sooner, by learning to see water not just as something we manage, but as something that surrounds us, shapes us, and with which we are in constant relationship?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is precisely the question a team of researchers from the University of Warsaw set out to explore. Dr. Ma\u0142gorzata Owczarska, Dr. Magdalena Kozhevnikova, and Magdalena Siemaszko, M.A., investigated how people across different regions of Poland experience water \u2013 its absence, its excess, and its everyday presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their project, \u201cExperiences of water excess, water deficit and water’s balanced presence. A study in Blue Anthropology,\u201d is one of the first in Poland to bring together anthropology, ecology, and audiovisual research to document the local, cultural, and emotional dimensions of our relationship with water. This approach differs from classical hydrological research. It is not about measuring precipitation or water levels. It is about how we \u2013 as people \u2013 experience water: how we talk about it, how we remember it, how we react when it disappears or seeps into our basements; but also about how water actively co-creates social worlds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Biebrza River, 2022. Photo by Ma\u0142gorzata Owczarska<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How do you study a relationship with water?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The project examined three water scenarios across three locations, each revealing something distinct about how local residents relate to \u201ctheir\u201d water. The sites were chosen to cover a range of contexts: lowland water in an agricultural setting, water in an industrialized mountain region, and water in a major urban agglomeration. The research relied on qualitative methods: participant observation, in-depth interviews, conversations, and audio and video recordings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the study areas was the Biebrza National Park and its buffer zone. The region is known for its wetlands of a semi-anthropogenic character, unique on a European scale \u2013 places where water has never simply \u201cflooded,\u201d but followed a rhythm of annual inundation. Today, that rhythm is faltering: the region is struggling with drought and the disruption of the river\u2019s flooding cycles. The researchers found that the practice most deeply linking people to the wetlands and the Biebrza River was \u201csianowanie\u201d \u2013 the mowing of meadows. Once a form of care for land and livestock, it became, after the agricultural shifts of the early 21st century, a source of conflict between the National Park and the local farming community. The disagreement is rooted in the region’s history, conflicting aesthetics, and fundamentally different ideas about what it means to \u201ccare for\u201d a river. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the B\u00f3br Valley in Lower Silesia, it is flood control infrastructure \u2013 dams, power plants, weirs \u2013 that defines the landscape. The researchers examined how local communities live in the shadow of these structures. The rivers of Lower Silesia were regulated and put to work producing paper and textiles, a process that permanently transformed the region. Historical and contemporary infrastructure, the presence and disappearance of their wild inhabitants, and pollution levels. Residents shared memories of trout fishing in the local stream, or swimming in a river thick with toxic foam. Field interviews in the area gave rise to an interactive map of the approximately century-old, post-German water intakes of Pilchowice, featuring underwater recordings and conversations with residents that document the region\u2019s water worlds. (https:\/\/powody.pl\/pilchowice<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the Vistula in Warsaw, the project took to the water itself. From the deck of the wooden boat \u201cRwij Ga\u0142\u0105zki,\u201d the researchers spoke with people they encountered along the way, recorded sounds above and below the surface, and documented the river through photographs and video. They also turned their attention to urban fountains and disappearing watercourses. The aim was to show that water can be experienced in ways other than reading about it (https:\/\/powody.pl<\/a>). A separate case study examined the use of mussels in urban water supply systems, focusing in particular on the ethical dimensions of that form of interspecies cooperation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Pilchowice Dam on the B\u00f3br River. Photo: Tauron press materials<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What has happened to water? <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Research by anthropologists at the University of Warsaw points to a deep divide between humans and water \u2013 one that has been widening for the past 150 years. Modernity disrupted our relationship with water in a fundamental way. Since the 19th century, we have come to see water as an abstract chemical compound: something to be managed, measured, and regulated. It was then that large-scale drainage and land development programs began. Today, the total length of drainage ditches in Poland is nearly as long as the distance from Earth to the Moon!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith modernity, water became abstract and lost almost all of its spiritual connotations. In the past, European bodies of water were home to water nymphs, and wells housed various kinds of spirits; every body of water had its own character. When the Romans built aqueducts, they did not connect watercourses, because each had its own specific nature and could not be mixed. All of that ceased to be important by the end of the 19th century,\u201d says Dr. Ma\u0142gorzata Owczarska.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At some point, water simply lost its subjectivity. As the Industrial Revolution gathered pace, it came to be seen both as a threat to be contained and a resource to be put to work. The regulation of watercourses was meant to make wastelands more productive and rivers more controllable for the common good. Ecological consequences were not part of the conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnother argument for draining wetlands was that standing water was deemed a health hazard. Wetlands were believed to emit so-called \u2018rotten air\u2019 and \u2018marsh fumes,\u2019 which were seen as the cause of disease and death. This served to legitimize the draining of wetlands and the regulation of rivers,\u201d comments Dr. Owczarska.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"
The Vistula River in Warsaw. Photo by Pawe\u0142 Kalisi\u0144ski\/Pexels<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Does water pay off? <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We are seeing the consequences of this today. Water responds slowly, but persistently. Drainage systems \u2013 such as ditches and canals \u2013 which were originally intended to protect against excess standing water, now exacerbate drought. Concrete-lined, straightened riverbeds increase the risk of flooding: they act like gutters, carrying water away too fast for it to soak into the soil. When heavy rain hits parched ground, the water runs off instantly and levels rise suddenly. When concentrated in such a \u201cgutter-like\u201d channel, it cannot be contained; it surges forward, leading to local flooding and so-called flash floods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is a synergy at play. The way we manage water is beginning to converge with climate change and the human-accelerated intensification of certain phenomena,\u201d says the researcher \u2013 and water circulation, she adds, is already changing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Poland, annual rainfall still amounts to around 600 mm. But water no longer appears in the form of snowmelt and long, steady drizzle. Instead, we now experience intense downpours interspersed with long periods of drought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back to water <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The project \u201cExperiences of water excess, water deficit and water\u2019s balanced presence\u201d is, at its core, an attempt to reconnect with water \u2013 shifting our perspective toward the intersection of the human and the non-human, and bringing water back into a social context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researchers wanted to show what a different kind of relationship with water might look like, and to find the language to describe it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe wanted to start returning to the rivers \u2013 to understand our relationships through embodiment rather than narrative. The \u2018from the water\u2019 perspective changes how you see Warsaw entirely. The distinction between \u2018with the current\u2019 and \u2018against the current\u2019 is something completely different from the division between the right and left banks, which we usually think about in terms of bridges,\u201d explains Dr. Owczarska.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To escape the pull of land-centric thinking, the researchers turned to an underwater camera and microphone \u2013 tools that could show a wider audience that a river is not just a blue ribbon in the landscape, but has its \u201cabove\u201d and its \u201cbelow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd beneath the surface, something remarkable is happening. When we showed this footage at a meeting of a rural women\u2019s association, the reaction was immediate \u2013 ‘How beautiful!’ It’s also about aesthetics. After seeing their own backyard landscape from underwater, the women decided they wouldn\u2019t cut down yellow water lilies or other aquatic plants. And that, it turns out, actually helps retain water in the landscape and counteract drought,\u201d says the researcher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The researcher in the field, 2024. Photo by G. Bulisova<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Me and water<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Over the course of the project, hundreds of local water microhistories came to the surface. Some are singular; others are shared by whole communities. In the Biebrza Valley, \u201csianokosy\u201d \u2013 haymaking \u2013 is a characteristic water-related experience for many residents. In Pilchowice, water calls to mind hydraulic structures, old German-era water supply systems, and floods. In Warsaw, the relationships with water multiply:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are so many of these relationships, and they are so diverse, that we would need several separate projects to explore them all. We\u2019ve identified a whole range of themes: from trash and the homelessness crisis \u2013 the class-based use of water \u2013 to fountains where children bathe and the people who keep them running; urban bioindicators that make it possible to notice that we are dealing with drought at all; renaturalization projects, urban permeabilization, blue-green infrastructure; all the way to water sports enthusiasts, naturists, and other locally rooted micro-relationships,\u201d explains Dr. Owczarska.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In their work, the researchers introduce the concept of hydroperformativity \u2013 the idea that the way we talk and think about water, when it meets water\u2019s own material agency, helps shape not only our water worlds but our water crises as well. Water, the project shows, is not merely a physical phenomenon. It is a social and cultural reality. It doesn\u2019t just flow from the tap \u2013 it shapes our decisions, influences our relationships, and stirs our emotions. Learning to understand that relationship may be one of the keys to responding to the climate crisis. Not only engineers and politicians, but residents, local communities, and institutions can learn to \u201csee water\u201d \u2013 not as something abstract, but as a close neighbor with a history, a voice, and a memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The text was originally published in Polish on the Serwis Naukowy UW <\/em>website<\/em><\/a> on June 9, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Poland is drying up. Our drinking water reserves are among the lowest in the European Union. In a world where droughts are punctuated by violent floods, and tap water may become a luxury, researchers from the University of Warsaw propose a revolutionary perspective: let\u2019s stop treating water as an obedient resource. Let\u2019s see it as a full-fledged participant in social life, one that must be cared for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":9518,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[224],"tags":[1770,1769,1772,1421,1416,1492,1419,1387,1773,1771],"class_list":["post-9512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cultural-anthropology","tag-biebrza-river","tag-bobr-river","tag-climate-crisis","tag-cultural-anthropology","tag-ethnology","tag-faculty-of-culture-and-arts","tag-institute-of-ethnology-and-cultural-anthropology","tag-university-of-warsaw","tag-vistula-river","tag-water-experience"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9512"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9512\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9520,"href":"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9512\/revisions\/9520"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}