The Nature Of Endangerment In India

This book is a study of the concepts of endangerment and extinction. Examining interlinking discourses of biological and cultural diversity loss in western and central India, it problematizes the long history of human endangerment and extinction discourse.

Perhaps no category of people on earth has been perceived as more endangered, nor subjected to more preservation efforts, than indigenous peoples. And in India, calls for the conservation of Adivasi culture have often reached a fever pitch, especially amongst urban middle-class activists and global civil society groups. But are India's 'tribes' really endangered? Do they face extinction? And is this threat somehow comparable to the threat of extinction facing tigers and other wildlife? Combining years of fieldwork and archival research with intensive theoretical interrogations, this book offers a global intellectual history of efforts to 'protect' indigenous peoples and their cultures, usually from above. It also offers a critique of the activist impulse to cry 'Save the tigers!' and 'Save the tribes!' together in the same breath. It is not a history or an ethnography of the tribes of India but rather a history of discourses - including Adivasis' own - about what is perceived to be the fundamental question for nearly all indigenous peoples in the modern world: the question of survival. Examining views of interlinking biological and cultural (or biocultural) diversity loss in western and central India - particularly in regard to Bhil and Gond communities facing not only conservation and development-induced displacement but also dehumanizing animal analogies comparing endangered tigers and tribes - the book problematizes the long history of human endangerment and extinction discourse. In doing so, it shows that fears of tribal extinction actually predated scientific awareness of the extinction of non-human species. Only by confronting this history can we begin to decolonize this discourse.

We live in a time of serious environmental catastrophes. Every year we lose thousands of species, even as others slip deeper into danger. The extinction crisis is well known; what is not are stories of people trying to turn the tide. In Rewilding, environmental journalist Bahar Dutt documents stories of hope for India's natural world. She meets people who are trying to conserve species not just by replenishing their dwindling numbers, but also by restoring their habitats in the wild. This means going to great lengths, from airlifting corals from coast to coast, to going undercover as a spy to check the availability of toxic drugs that wiped out a bird. In the process, Bahar learns that though it may not offer easy answers, rewilding can offer great rewards. And that news about the environment doesn't always have to be bad.

Biomonitoring of water quality is very much essential for assessing the overall health of water bodies and safe supply of drinking water. The chemical nature of toxicant is highly dynamic in environment with time and space whereas biological system can integrate all environmental variables over a large period of time in terms of effect that can be easily measured and quantified. In view of the above, there is a pressing need to determine the water quality of natural resources as well as drinking water based on the standard protocols and guidelines from regulatory agencies. It is clear that the synthetic chemicals are essential for our society to maintain the health and well being of the people. However, there has been a range of detrimental effects on human health and natural environment. In general, we need to improve our management of waste chemicals discharged into the air, water and soil environments. New techniques are needed to predict adverse effects before they occur and for the treatment of wastes. In addition, a range of social, political and economic factors will be needed to be taken into account in order to achieve success.

The notion of Endangerment stands at the heart of a network of concepts, values and practices dealing with objects and beings considered threatened by extinction, and with the procedures aimed at preserving them. Usually animated by a sense of urgency and citizenship, identifying endangered entities involves evaluating an impending threat and opens the way for preservation strategies. Endangerment, Biodiversity and Culture looks at some of the fundamental ways in which this process involves science, but also more than science: not only data and knowledge and institutions, but also affects and values. Focusing on an "endangerment sensibility," it encapsulates tensions between the normative and the utilitarian, the natural and the cultural. The chapters situate that specifically modern sensibility in historical perspective, and examine central aspects of its recent and present forms. This timely volume offers the most cutting-edge insights into the Environmental Humanities for researchers working in Environmental Studies, History, Anthropology, Sociology and Science and Technology Studies.

This book examines how and where psychology can engage itself in the framing of social policies for national as well as human development in India. Although the role that psychological knowledge can play in informing social policy decisions has been discussed for a long time, psychologists by and large have had little role in framing policy decisions related to such important domains as education, health, social justice and social inclusion. Policy makers, not only in India, but more or less everywhere have focused on interventions at the macro level, which has led them to ignore the root causes of the problems lying at the micro level. However, with the more humanistic approaches now being followed by economists and other social scientists, the person in society is slowly taking centrestage. Micro-level variables like happiness, the wellbeing of individuals and the social relationships within which people define themselves are becoming important. Therefore, this book discusses important psychological issues related to human development; particularly, health and education, social justice, social integration, environment and work organizations, besides focusing on some general issues relating to the logic of making social policies. It is a first-ever attempt in India to inform policy makers about how micro-variables can be a crucial factor to consider while framing social policies.

Public awareness about rich wildlife heritage of our country, the factors affecting the survival of the species and an understanding of how we can contribute to their well being are the keys to successful conservation. The edition provides basic in formation on the rare and endangered animals of India and their conservation.