Abstract

Today, conservation involving displacement ignores the historical rights of indigenous tribal people. Conservation for wildlife and natural resources for sustainable development, as has been conceived and constructed by a mainstream conservation discourse to defend and continue a conservation-led-refugee, needs to be problematised, studied and reconceptualised. Current agendas or methodology of displacing and peripheralising indigenous peoples is nothing less than a silent, insidious and somewhat violent exclusionary practice against them which is perpetuated persistently without question, away from the gazed of the mainstream. This paper is an attempt to deconstruct the dominant idea of conservation that fails to associate and recognise the rights and concerns of project-affected people. It unravels how and why the marginalization of the indigenous peoples has been continuously occurring in the conservation of national parks and sanctuaries, and as a response to the same an alternative conceptual framework and methodology that deepens ethical interrogation around socio-cultural, political and economic aspects of the lived experiences of effected indigenous populations is made.

Shyamal Bikash Chakma completed his Post Graduate studies in Development Studies from the TISS, Mumbai and is currently a Freelance Researcher on issues related to tribes, land and environment.

Full Paper Available with the Managing Editor

Bibliography

• Annu, J (2007), ‘The Sundarbans: Whose World Heritage Site?’ Conservation and Society, Vol. 5, No. 3 Asian Age (2010): “2 More Tiger Parks in Maha”, 14 September, available at http://www.asianage.com/india/2-more-tiger-parks-maha-739
• Asmita, K (2006), ‘Wildlife Protection: Reintroduction and Relocation’, Economic & Political Weekly, Pp 1309 – 1311
• Asmita, K (2009), ‘Conservation – induced Displacement: A Comparative Study of Two Indian Protected Areas’, Conservation and Society Vol. 7 No. 4
• Bijoy, C R (2008): “Forest Rights Struggle: The Adivasis Now Await a Settlement”, American Behavioral Scientist, Vol 51, No 12, August, available at http://abssagepub.com/cgi/content /abstract /51/12/1755.
• Bijoy, C.R (2011), ‘The Great Indian Tiger Show’, Economic & Political Weekly, Vol. XLVI, No. 4
• Campaign for Survival and Dignity (2010): “State ofImplementation of the Forest Rights Act – Summary Report”, available at http://www.forestrightsact.com/component/k2/item/15
• Carlos, A. P (1994), ‘Indigenous Reserve and Nature Conservation in Amazonian Forests’, Conservation Biology, Vol. 8, No. 2
• Chowdhury N H (2006); The resistance movement in the Chittagong Hill Tracts: Global and Regional Connections. North American Philosophical Publications.
• Colin. Clarke, Ceri Peach and Steven Vertovec, (eds) (1990): South Asians Overseas: Migration and Ethnicity, Cambridge, University Press, Cambridge,134.
• Costanza, M.T (2011), ‘Conservation, Relocation and the Social Consequences of Conservation Policies in Protected Areas: Case Study of the Sariska Tiger Reserve, India’, Conservation and Society, Vo. 9, No. 1
• Crevello, Stacy (2004): Dayak Land Use Systems and Indigenous Knowledge (Louisiana Forest Products Development Centre, School of Renewable Natural Resources, Louisiana State University, US).
• Daniel, B & James I (2006), ‘Eviction for Conservation: A Global Overview’, Conservation and Society, Vol. 4, No. 3, Pp 424 – 470
• Dash, Tushar (2010): “The Ineffective Forest Rights Act”, The Economic Times, 24 April, available at http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow5851232.cms
• Emma M, Deepsikha M & Kim B (2009), ‘Nature Lovers, Picnikers and Bourgeois Environmentalism’, Economic & Political Weekly, Vol. XL IV, No. 11.
• Gandhi, Divya (2010): “Soligas against Making BRT Sanctuary a Tiger Reserve”, The Hindu, 28 October, available at http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp- national/ tpkarnataka/article853873ec.
• Gunnel, C and K. Sivaramakrishnan (2006), Ecological Nationalisms: Nature, Livelihoods, and Identity, Permanent Black.
• Hal, Herring (2009), ‘A Brief History of the North America Model of Wildlife Conservation’, Good Evening Glassgow, Vol. 15, No. 53
• Hegde, R, S Surya Prakash, L Achoth and K S Bawa (1996): “Extraction of Non-Timber Forest Products of Biligiri Rangana Hills, India 1”, Contribution to Rural Income, Economic Botany (New York: The New York Botanical Garden), 50.3: 243-51.
• House, Paul (1997): “Forest Farmers: A Case Study of Traditional Shifting Cultivation in Honduras” (Department of Agricultural Botany Plant Science Laboratories, The University of Reading Whiteknights, Rural Development Forestry Network, Network Paper 21a summer 1997).
• Karanth, Krithi (2005): ‘Village Relocation in India’s Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary: Addressing People’s Livelihood Needs’, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol 40, No 46, November 12.
• Karlsson, G Bengt. (2011), ‘Unruly Hills: Nature and Nation in India, Orient Black Swan.
• Kohli, Kanchi, Manju Menon and Vikal Samdariya (2010): Crouching Data, Hidden Forest”, 6 August, available at http://d-sector.org/article-det.asp?id=1331,136
• Madegowda, C (2009), ‘Traditional Knowledge and Conservation’, Economic & Political Weekly, Vol. XLV No. 21.
• Madhusudan, M and C Mishra (2003): ‘Why Big Fierce Animals Are Threatened: Conserving Large Mammals in Densely Populated Landscapes’ in Saberwal and M Rangarajan (eds), Battles over Nature: Science and the Politics of Conservation, Permanent Black, Delhi, pp 31-55.
• Madhusudan, M.D & Shankar Raman, T.R, (2003), ‘Conservation as if Biological Diversity Matters: Preservation versus Sustainable Use in India’, Conservation and Society, Vol. 1, No. 1
• Mahesh, R & Ghazala, S (2006), ‘Displacement and Relocation from Protect Areas: Towards a Biological and Historical Synthesis’, Conservation and Society, Vol. 4, No. 3, Pp 359 – 378.
• Mahesh, R (1996), ‘The Politics of Ecology: The Debate on Wildlife and People in India, 1970 – 75’, Economic & Political Weekly, Pp 2391 – 2409.
• Meena, B (2011), ‘India’s Ecological Past’, Economic & Political Weekly, Vo. XLVI, No. 53
• Michael R. C & Denise O. C (1997), ‘Historical Forces Shaping Americans’ Perception of Wildlife and Human – Wildlife Conflicts’, Proceedings of the Eight Eastern Wildlife Damage Management Conference, Paper 7.
• MoEF (2005): Joining the Dots: The Report of the Tiger Task Force, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, New Delhi.
• Montu. Kari (1980): ‘Bangladesh: Tribal Insurgency in Chittagong Hill Tracts’, Economic and Political Weekly, September 6.
• Pande, Pratibha assisted by Neema Pathak (2005): National Parks and Sanctuaries in Maharashtra, Reference Guide, Volume I, BNHS, Mumbai.
• PUDR (1982): Undeclared Civil War, Defend the Rights of Tribals, Oppose Forest Bill, People’s
• Ramachandra, G (1997), ‘The Authoritarian Biologist and the Arrogance of Anti – Humanism: Wildlife Conservation in the Third World’, Economic & Political Weekly, Vol. 27, No. 1.
• Ramchandra, G (2000), ‘Environmentalism: A Global History’, Oxford University Press.
• Robert, B (2010), ‘A Conservation Timeline: Milestones of the Model’s Evolution’, The Wildlife Society, P, 139.
• Robert, P & David, O (2002), ‘Evicting People from Nature: Indigenous Land Rights and National Parks in Australia, Russia and the United States’, Natural Resources Journal, Vol. 42.
• Rose,LcoE(1977): The Politics of Bhutan, Cornell University Press, Ithaca.
• Samarasinghe, SW R de A (1990): ‘The Bhutanese Economy in Transition*, Asian Survey, Vol XXX, No 6, June.
• Rucha, G (2005), ‘Tadoba – Andhari Tiger Reserve: Relocation versus Wildlife Preservation’, Economic & Political Weekly, Pp 4807 – 4809.
• Saxena, N C, S Parasuraman, Promode Kant and Amita Baviskar (2010): “Report of the Four Member Committee for Investigation into the Proposal Submitted by the Orissa Mining Company for Bauxite Mining in Niyamgiri”, 16 August, submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Forests, GoI, available at http://moef.nic.in/downloads/public-information/Saxena_Vedanta.pdf.
• Schende V. W (2002), ‘the Invention of the ‘Jummas’: State Formation and Ethnicity in Southeastern Bangladesh’, Cambridge University Press, Modern Asian Studies, Vol. 26, No. 1.
• Sehgal, Rashme (2010): “MoEF Plans to Uproot Tribals to Save Tigers”, The Asian Age, 30 June, available at http://www.asianage.com/india/moefplans-uproot-tribals-save- tigers-712.
• Sen Gupta, Bhabani (1986): Ethnopoliticat Interstate Tensions and Conflicts in South Asia, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, January.
• Shah. Sukdev (1989): ‘Developing Bhutan’s Economy: Limited Options, Sensible Choices’. Asian Survey, Vol XXDC, No 8. August.
• Shahabuddin, Ghazala, Ravi Kumar, Manish Srivastava (2005): Forgotten Villages, Council for Social Development, New Delhi.
• Sharma, Arpan, Asmita Kabra (undated): ‘Displacement as a Conservation Tool’ in Shahabuddin and M Rangarajan (eds), Making Conservation Work, manuscript under review.
• Shonaleeka, K (2011), ‘Old Wine in a New Bottle’, Economic & Political Weekly, Vol. XLVI, No. 29.
• Somasundaram, H N (1998): “The Soligas – An Overview”, Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary, Natural History, Biodiversity and Conservation (Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, and Vivekanda Girijana Kalayana Kendra, BR Hills).
• Stripes (2010): “List of Core and Buffer Areas of Tiger Reserves in India”, National Tiger Conservation Authority, Government of India, Vol 1, Issue 3, March-April 2010, available at http://projecttiger.nic.in/whtsnew/STRIPES_Issue3.pdf.
• Sudarshan, H (1998): “Traditional Medicine and Healthcare System of Soligas”, Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary, Natural History, Biodiversity and Conservation (Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment and Vivekanda Girijana Kalayana Kendra, BR Hills).
• Sudha, V (2005), ‘Wildlife Conservation Deconstructing the Public’, Economic & Political Weekly, Pp 4805 – 4807, 141.
• Taghioff, Daniel and Ajit Menon (2010): “Can a Tiger Change Its Stripes? The Politics of Conservation as Translated in Mudumalai”, Economic & Political Weekly, Vol XLV, No 28.
• Thapar, Valmik (2005): ‘The Tribal Bill, Moving beyond Tigers’, The Indian Express, Oct.21.
• The Hindu (2010): “400 Families To Be Relocated from Tiger Reserve”, 22 June, available at http://www.hindu.com/2010/06/22/stories/2010062262510800.htm
• Tiger Link (2009): “Fast Track Court for Wildlife Crime Cases”, revised Vol 5, December, available http://www.sanctuaryasia.com/docs/Tiger_Link_Magazine_2009_Final.pdf
• Vasant, S & Mahes, R (2003), ‘Battles Over Nature: Science and the Politics of Conservation’, Permanent Black. Frederick Jackson Turner, the Frontier in American History 1 – 6 (1920).

Inter Press Service News Agency 2013, “Civil Society Calls for Vote on Drilling in Ecuador’s Yasuni Park”, 24 August by Angela Melendez,

International Land Coalition Asia 2013, “US Capital Energy Oil Company and heavily armed Belize security forces confront Indigenous Q’eqchi Maya Leaders as they traverse their traditional territories where US Capital is illegally operating”, 23 August,

Genesis 1: 20-31

Lynn White, “The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis,” Science 155, 3767 (10 March 1967), p. 1205. White thinks that “Since the roots of our trouble are so largely religious, the remedy must also be essentially religious, whether we call it that or not. We must rethink and refeel our nature and destiny,” p. 1207. This may overstate the point, but religion is a highly important factor in the environmental crisis.

Ari L Goldman, “Focus of Earth Day Should Be on Man, Cardinal Cautions,” New York Times, 23 April 1990.

David Harvey (1996) Justice, Nature and the Geography of Difference, (Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers, Page 121)

René Descartes, Discourse on Method for Reasoning Well and for Seeking Truth in the Sciences (1637).

Benedict de Spinoza, Ethics, ed. And trans. Edwin Curley (London: Penguin, 1996), Page 26

Michael Mack, Toward a Redefinition of Europe’s Political Identity: Spinoza’s Non ‐ hierachical Vision “ Telos 145 (Winter 2008) pp. 67 ‐ 86, Page 73

Ibid., Soper, Page 22

Ignazio Masulli, Nature and History – The evolutionary Approach for Social Scientists (New York: Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, 1990) Page 57

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Collected Works, Vol. 3, p. 276 cited by T. Benton, Marxism and natural limits: an ecological critique and reconstruction, New Left Review, 178: 51 ‐ 86, Page 54

Adrian Franklin, Nature and Social Theory (London: Sage Publications, 2002). Page 42

Brown, R.D. (2007). The history of wildlife conservation and research in the United States – with implications for the future. Pp.1 – 30 in H. Li (ed.). Proc. Taiwan Wildlife Assn. Taiwan national University, Taipei. 293pp.

Ibid., Brown, Page 3

Ibid., Brown, Page 4 For details, see Robert D. Brown (2010), ‘A Conservation Timeline: Milestones of the Model’s (North American Model) Evolution’, Wildlife Society