My hometown Yazd is one of the driest major cities in Iran, with a hot desert climate. My people learned how to coexist with nature to survive in this challenging condition. About 3000 years ago, they invented Kariz, an ancient technology for sustainable water management for drinking and irrigation of plants. Also, they created a unique Persian architecture to survive in the desert. For hundreds of years, these people preserved their culture to see nature as part of an extended family, deserving of care and rights like humans, which is called “mutualism wildlife value orientation” in environmental psychology.
In general, there are two predominant wildlife value orientations among people: domination and mutualism. People with a domination value orientation believe that wildlife should be used for human benefit and are more likely to prioritise human well‐being over wildlife. On the other hand, those with a mutualism wildlife value orientation see wildlife as part of an extended family, deserving of care and rights like humans.
During the last 20 years, many things changed, including our values, and many of our gardens are dried because of excessive water withdrawal and constructing residential buildings. We moved toward domination value and consumed nature, and natural resources to build a better future, while there is no future if human civilization wants to continue to live in conflict with nature.
A selection of the images from the series are shown below (click to view image at full size / original format).
ABOUT AMIR KARIMI
Amir Karimi (b.1991, IRAN) is a documentary photographer and grew up in Yazd, which became a source of inspiration for his works. His artwork takes a critical view of social, environmental, and cultural issues. Amir’s body of work ranges from documentary photography, storytelling, and street photography. In 2016, Amir became a member of Ravi photos, a collective of independent photographers focused on social issues and worked on more than 20 photo projects about social and environmental issues. Currently, Amir is an MA student of psychology, and his focus is on environmental psychology and the interplay between humans and the environment.
Website: amirkarimiphoto.com
Instagram: @amir.h.m.karimi
CREDITS
Unless otherwise stated, all words and images in this article are © Amir Karimi
