A Political Ecology of Date Plantations in the Jordan Valley - Dr. Natalia Gutkowski, Ben Gurion University of the Negev

Climate change, often framed as a time of crisis and emergency, is a dominant lens through which
the Middle East is depicted. Yet, this framing of a regional crisis conceals as much as it reveals.
This talk examines the political ecology assemblage surrounding date plantations in the
transboundary and occupied Jordan Valley region across Israel/Palestine and Jordan, highlighting
the sociopolitical effects of a mundane climate change rhythm shaped by the redistribution of
nonhuman species. By delving into the contact zones between Israeli, Jordanian, and Palestinian
officials, state scientists, farmers, agri-tech developers, and nonhuman actors such as the Red Palm
Weevil and the technologies used to combat it, this talk highlights how the temporal nature of
power and the temporal power of nature work to reshape borders. Through an analysis of the
frictions between diverse temporal layers—including ecological, sociotechnical, political, and
market-based timescapes—I argue that climate change politics in borderlands are fundamentally
time politics, continually constructed and reconstructed by both human and nonhuman agents. By
shifting the focus from crises or emergencies to the routines of climate change, this paper
highlights the everyday dynamics at the intersection of environmental challenges and recurring
cycles of slow and spectacular violence. These mundane temporalities illuminate how people
navigate climate change in the borderlands, offering a nuanced regional perspective on daily life,
struggles, and negotiations as well as the political opportunities and ad-hoc alliances that emerge
in the face of climate change.

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Lior Libman

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