Divers Engaging Policy—Practices of Making Water

Abstract: In this thesis I discuss how divers in Rio de Janeiro and Arraial do Cabo, Brazil, are part of a process of making water (Barnes 2014). This I do by examining the relationship between the policies of the non-governmental organization Project Aware and these divers. These policies under question concerns the growing issue of marine debris, asking divers to directly act towards a solution by removing debris, and inform about the issue. I employ the concepts habitus and the entrepreneurial self as heuristic think-tools in order to illuminate the structuring aspect of this relationship, how it affects the way policies are negotiated, embodied, and practiced in regard to society and the environment (e.g. Bourdieu 1990; Rose 1998; Gershon 2016). My argument is based on observations, interviews, and media analysis. I show how my interlocutors are engaged in making water, in hands on actions of removing debris, and in discourse making where the issue is forwarded, emphasized, and discussed. Further I illustrate the impact that local power structures hold on practices of agents (Barnes 2014; Karlsson 2015).