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15 - The Political Ecology of Place Meaning

Identity, Political Self-Determination and Illicit Resource Use in the Manas Tiger Reserve, India

from Part IV - Nationalism and Competing Territorial Claims

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 July 2021

By
Dhananjaya Katju  and
Gerard Kyle
Edited by
Christopher M. Raymond ,
Lynne C. Manzo ,
Daniel R. Williams ,
Andrés Di Masso  and
Timo von Wirth
Christopher M. Raymond
Affiliation:
University of Helsinki, Finland
Lynne C. Manzo
Affiliation:
University of Washington, Seattle
Daniel R. Williams
Affiliation:
USDA Forest Service, Colorado
Andrés Di Masso
Affiliation:
Universitat de Barcelona
Timo von Wirth
Affiliation:
Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam
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Summary

We address the intersection of place-based identity and environmental outcomes. We focus on an indigenous tribal community, the Bodos residing both within and in proximity to one of the key spaces for biodiversity conservation in north-eastern India – the Manas Tiger Reserve. We illustrate that the Bodo sense of place, the meanings they ascribe to the landscape, is indelibly linked to identity. We conduct a historical exploration of the politics underlying the development of a modern Bodo identity and the implications of its deployment for the governance of Manas. The strategic manipulation of place meaning for political and territorial gain by the Bodos lies in contrast with much of the sense of place literature that has predominantly focused on the essential role of place for human well-being. Our account moves beyond the static depiction of place meaning to reveal the social, historical and political processes that shape and contest place-making.

Keywords

Sense of placeplace meaningpolitics of placeethnic identity
Type
Chapter
Information
Changing Senses of Place
Navigating Global Challenges
 , pp. 193 - 206
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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