Trafficking harm: extractivism and tree affordances in the southwestern borderlands of Iran.

Abstract

In Khuzestan, Iran, Conocarpus erectus, a nonendemic, fast-growing evergreen tree species with rich foliage has been widely planted to fight the consequences of extractivism, war, and climate change. The trees were supposed to form a physical barrier to the dust-laden winds while releasing oxygen to alleviate air pollution. Yet the roots of the tree destroyed infrastructure and its pollen proved even more hazardous, provoking asthma attacks in large parts of the population. Hence the tree that was planted to ease breathing became a source of respiratory harm. This article investigates the affordances of the Conocarpus as a living being and its changing value as a 'lively commodity' at the intersections of extractivism, political economy, and human health. It traces the life and death journeys of the tree as it is degraded within the 'hierarchy of breathers' and pushed into abjection, as those who employed it as a green fix did not acknowledge it as a vegetal being with unique characteristics, and affordances.