Climate Change and Wickedness (Essay Sample)

Climate Change as a Wicked Problem Student's Name Institutional Affiliation Course Name/Title Instructor's Name Due Date Climate Change as a Wicked Problem Climate change remains a significant phenomenon in the modern society. According to Middle East Eye, climate change is a wicked problem in Turkey, affecting the water levels and supply, and is considered a significant cause of the drought in the country due to high temperatures and humidity (Middle East Eye, 2023). While addressing climate change issues in modern society has increased economically, socially, and politically, the effects of the problem are constantly growing with more complex and intense impacts. For instance, with political efforts such as the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Accord of 2015, countries have agreed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Despite the efforts, the effects of climate change, such as intense droughts, heat waves, and rising sea levels, continue to be experienced (Council on Foreign Relations, 2020). Hence, it creates its classification as a wicked problem not only in the affected cities such as Ankara, Istanbul, and Izmir, which, as of 2023, were at a high risk of facing expatiating drought in months despite the application of viable solutions to lower the effects. Wicked problems are a symptom of other issues (Noordegraaf et al., 2019). For instance, in Turkey, the climate change effects are a root cause of the high temperatures and humidity levels causing drought in more than 60% of the country. Based on the article, Turkey: Istanbul Residents Urged to Save Water Amid 'Catastrophic Drought,' this paper analyses the drought issue in Turkey using the major social science theories to explain why climate change is wicked. The article is based on the extensive drought issues affecting 60% of the country due to shortages or rain. While there are reservoirs set to sustain the water needs of the people, the high usage of the water intensifies the threat of some cities losing their water supply. From the article, the authorities focus on people living in the cities to reduce their water consumption with the hopes of increasing the water available for future use, mainly in the agricultural industry for irrigation. Firstly, Turkey is a significant exporter of agricultural products such as horticulture, sugar, and grains, which create employment and earnings for the country. For instance, nearly 20% of Turkey's employment and 6% of its GDP are in agriculture (OECD, 2018). The drought effects as a factor of climate change affecting the water levels of the country are thus detrimental to its agricultural output and lead to the vulnerability of the major cities as they lack water, showing various wickedness. For instance, the affected supply of farm products due to the drought is irreversible and would lead to more issues like the lack of seeds, as the available products are only for consumption. Secondly, the wickedness theory by Rittel and Webber better describes the climate change issue in Turkey and how it is increasing the drought effect in the country. As theorists Melvin Webber and Horst Rittel described, wicked problems are unique and complex, affecting society's social and cultural setup and thus lacking a definitive formulation or solution (Rittel & Webber, 1973, p. 158). This is significant with the decline in water available for usage in agricultural activities; despite the creation of reservoirs in Turkey, the drought effects are constantly increasing, mainly in the cities. The authorities are, therefore, continually putting in various trials to try and contain the problem, with the number of approaches being increased to try a conclusive solution (Ahsan et al., 2023, p. 204). Moreover, tremendous efforts by the government of Turkey and city municipalities to engage with the members of the society, such as increasing transboundary cooperation in ensuring an increase in water supply and empowering people living in these areas to reduce their consumption, portray the challenges of solving climate change (Insight Turkey, 2022). According to Niskanen et al. (2021), the common characteristic of the wickedness theory is the complexity of the problem formulation, and it is not easy to know the effects of the applied solutions (p.1). The water levels continue to decline despite setting up dams to increase the water supply in major cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir (Yılmaz et al., 2021, p. 539). In contrast, the consumption of water remains the same and increases based on the populations of these cities. For instance, as of August 2023, Istanbul, with a population of more than 15 million people, had a water reservoir to sustain for only three months (NASA Earth Observatory, 2021). The authorities thus concentrated on educating the populated cities and their communities on the significance of reducing their water consumption. Finally, while the government looks for ways of solving the water shortages in the country and its main metropolis, it is committed to ensuring its population can reduce the causes of climate change in the long run. The individual contributions of the members of society significantly mitigate the effects of climate change nationally and globally as people understand the intensity of the problem (Turkes et al., 2019, p. 481). This considers climate change a wicked problem affecting the most critical amenities of society, for instance, necessary water. The lack of or limited water levels in the country would, therefore, mean a lack of sustenance for the major sectors of the country, such as agriculture, considering more than 60% of the country does not receive enough rainfall, further affecting the functioning of the country such as the health sector and the industries. The people's abilities to individually understand the magnitude of the problem, thus portraying how wicked climate change is, as the authorities take part in trial-and-error methods of reducing or reversing its effects, have significantly failed over the decades. In conclusion, while governments and communities create solutions for the challenges of climate change, climate change remains an intricate issue in modern society. With the constantly rising population, for instance, in the main cities such as Ankara, Izmir, and Istanbul, the methods to solve climate change's effects like drought remain a significant problem for the country and globally. Despite thes...