Conservation and Development in India: Reimagining Wilderness

Description

Despite decades of efforts to integrate conservation and development, India is torn between two very different worldviews of peoples’ place in the country’s natural environment. This book takes a critical look at nature conservation and poverty alleviation in India. It opens up discussion of the conservation–development nexus in a country that stands at a major crossroads, where forces of neoliberalism, globalisation and urbanisation are driving the future of India’s environment.  As the book shows, conservation in India is increasingly concerned with creating ‘theme parks’ – inviolate, albeit isolated, spaces for wild nature, whereas development is concerned with fast-tracking the construction of built infrastructure while also rolling out nationwide welfare programmes – promising food, clothing and shelter for the poorest of the poor living in rural India. Conservation and development therefore have very different motivations and attempts to find a common ground have been fraught with challenges. This has been particularly so on the fringes of wildlife parks, where the rural poor come in frequent contact with wild animals to the detriment of both people and wildlife. Chapters are written by leading scholars on India to provide a vision of the future of Indian nature conservation. Whilst focused on India, the book will also be of interest to scholars and researchers of conservation and development more globally. As a ‘rising power’, the world’s eyes are set on India’s development trajectory and there is unprecedented interest in the course of development that the world’s largest democracy takes in the decades to come. Conservation and Development in India- Front Cover Conservation and Development in India Title Page Copyright Page Contents List of figures List of tables List of contributors Preface Chapter 1: Introduction: Conservation and development in India Background to this book Concepts in this book Chapters in this book References Chapter 2: The impact of the Anthropocene in the locality: Eastern India in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries The environmental history of a locality South Asian environmental history Eastern India in the Anthropocene A long history of tribal resistance Post 1991 Notes References Chapter 3: For the environment, against conservation: Conflict between renewable energy and biodiversity protection in India Introduction The three cases: Karnataka, Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh Mobilisation of actors around renewable energy as sustainable development Mobilisation of actors around the conservation of biodiversity Conclusion Notes References Chapter 4: Species and sites matter: Understanding human–wildlife interactions from 5,000 surveys in India Introduction Methods Results Discussion Acknowledgements References Chapter 5: Thinking like an elephant, looking beyond protected areas Introduction Bharathan and friends at Thorapally The O’Valley elephants and the people they encounter Coexistence narratives and on-the-ground ‘HEC mitigation’ Conclusions Notes References Chapter 6: Biodiversity in community-managed landscapes: A view of the potential and constraints in the van panchayats of the Kumaon Himalayas Introduction Study area and methods Results Discussion Acknowledgements References Chapter 7: Rethinking landscapes: History, culture and local knowledge in the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Tiger Reserve, India Introduction The context Counter mapping in the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Tiger Reserve The pulls and pitfalls of counter mapping Note References Chapter 8: Conservation and development: Beyond national parks and sanctuaries Introduction International categories National categories Conclusion References Chapter 9: Ficus to filter: Understanding complexities of market incentives for conserving biodiversity on private lands Introduction Market mechanisms for conserving biodiversity in agricultural landscapes Local setting: Kodagu Copious claims, modest realities: tracing the outcomes of incentive projects Uncovering hidden imprints of shade-grown certification Conclusions References Chapter 10: Conclusions: Reimagining wilderness Conservation and development for the rich? Key challenges for conservation and development Towards a reimagined wilderness References Index