/ Studium / Isabella Pamplona
A Fluid way of life: Adaptation and ecologies of exclusion
Isabella Pamplona | Master Thesis, 2025
This thesis investigates the lived experiences of Puertoelseños in the flood-prone city of Puerto Elsa, Paraguay, to examine how fluidity operates both as a mode of everyday life and a form of resistance within ecologies of exclusion. Using ethnographic methods—including in-depth interviews and participant observation—conducted over 14 weeks between 2023 and 2024, the research traces how residents navigate an environment shaped not only by seasonal flooding but also by systemic economic marginalisation and political neglect, thereby challenging dominant models of climate adaptation.
Drawing on urban political ecology, postcolonial theory, and feminist notions, the thesis argues that institutional notions of adaptation often overlook the hyperlocal, embodied, and socio-cultural practices of marginalised communities. For Puertoelseños, fluidity is not merely a reactive strategy but a multidimensional way of being, deeply embedded in their spatial, temporal, and social realities.
Through the analysis of space as volumetric and adaptation as a continuous negotiation of identity and environment, this study positions fluidityas a lens for rethinking climate adaptation beyond exclusionary paradigms. It concludes by arguing for more inclusive and plural understandings of climate vulnerability— one that acknowledges the political agency embedded in everyday life at the margins.