Conservation and indigenous cultures: learning from the Yanadi community in the Eastern Ghats, India
Biodiversity conservation in the Global South is defined and implemented through multiple approaches and frameworks, but in most cases, there is little understanding or value for cultural ecosystem services (CES). CES remain a challenge to incorporate, not only because of their intangibility, but al...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Resilience Alliance
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Society |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol26/iss4/art42/ |
| _version_ | 1811280334762803200 |
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| author | Diya Paul Suresh Jones |
| author_facet | Diya Paul Suresh Jones |
| author_sort | Diya Paul |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Biodiversity conservation in the Global South is defined and implemented through multiple approaches and frameworks, but in most cases, there is little understanding or value for cultural ecosystem services (CES). CES remain a challenge to incorporate, not only because of their intangibility, but also because of multiple definitions and specificities that emerge from particular human-nature interactions. In India, CES literally and figuratively form a critical part of the social fabric of rural communities. Hence, there is an imperative to acknowledge CES broadly, but also more critically within indigenous communities whose lives continue to revolve around natural resources. Here, we examine CES in part of the Eastern Ghats, southern India through the lifeworld of the Yanadi or Irula people, who shape their lives around the forests, successfully adapting to scarcity and dealing with present-day challenges that threaten their existence. Drawing on a mixed-methods approach that includes semistructured interviews and participant observation, we argue that, as much as the Yanadi lifeworld is shaped by the forests, the forests have been shaped by the community and their interaction with species and spaces. We discuss the CES that are sought out by the Yanadi community and elaborate on how these intangible or nonmaterial benefits are critical. We also examine the consequences of the state's lack of acknowledgement of CES in its management interventions since the 1970s, alienating the community that depends on the forest for not only resources, but also spiritual, cultural, and social capital. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T01:11:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0d7e8bbcee164f8f8efd721393426204 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1708-3087 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T01:11:48Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | Resilience Alliance |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Society |
| spelling | doaj.art-0d7e8bbcee164f8f8efd7213934262042022-12-22T03:09:06ZengResilience AllianceEcology and Society1708-30872021-12-012644210.5751/ES-12779-26044212779Conservation and indigenous cultures: learning from the Yanadi community in the Eastern Ghats, IndiaDiya Paul0Suresh Jones1Cottey College, USALORIS-The Biodiversity Conservation Society, IndiaBiodiversity conservation in the Global South is defined and implemented through multiple approaches and frameworks, but in most cases, there is little understanding or value for cultural ecosystem services (CES). CES remain a challenge to incorporate, not only because of their intangibility, but also because of multiple definitions and specificities that emerge from particular human-nature interactions. In India, CES literally and figuratively form a critical part of the social fabric of rural communities. Hence, there is an imperative to acknowledge CES broadly, but also more critically within indigenous communities whose lives continue to revolve around natural resources. Here, we examine CES in part of the Eastern Ghats, southern India through the lifeworld of the Yanadi or Irula people, who shape their lives around the forests, successfully adapting to scarcity and dealing with present-day challenges that threaten their existence. Drawing on a mixed-methods approach that includes semistructured interviews and participant observation, we argue that, as much as the Yanadi lifeworld is shaped by the forests, the forests have been shaped by the community and their interaction with species and spaces. We discuss the CES that are sought out by the Yanadi community and elaborate on how these intangible or nonmaterial benefits are critical. We also examine the consequences of the state's lack of acknowledgement of CES in its management interventions since the 1970s, alienating the community that depends on the forest for not only resources, but also spiritual, cultural, and social capital.https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol26/iss4/art42/cultural ecosystem serviceseastern ghatsforest managementindigenous communitymarginality |
| spellingShingle | Diya Paul Suresh Jones Conservation and indigenous cultures: learning from the Yanadi community in the Eastern Ghats, India Ecology and Society cultural ecosystem services eastern ghats forest management indigenous community marginality |
| title | Conservation and indigenous cultures: learning from the Yanadi community in the Eastern Ghats, India |
| title_full | Conservation and indigenous cultures: learning from the Yanadi community in the Eastern Ghats, India |
| title_fullStr | Conservation and indigenous cultures: learning from the Yanadi community in the Eastern Ghats, India |
| title_full_unstemmed | Conservation and indigenous cultures: learning from the Yanadi community in the Eastern Ghats, India |
| title_short | Conservation and indigenous cultures: learning from the Yanadi community in the Eastern Ghats, India |
| title_sort | conservation and indigenous cultures learning from the yanadi community in the eastern ghats india |
| topic | cultural ecosystem services eastern ghats forest management indigenous community marginality |
| url | https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol26/iss4/art42/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT diyapaul conservationandindigenouscultureslearningfromtheyanadicommunityintheeasternghatsindia AT sureshjones conservationandindigenouscultureslearningfromtheyanadicommunityintheeasternghatsindia |