Indigenous People and Nature

Insights for Social, Ecological, and Technological Sustainability

1st Edition - April 8, 2022
Editors: Uday Chatterjee, Anil Kashyap, Mark Everard, Gopal Krishna Panda, Dinabandhu Mahata
Language: English
Paperback ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 3 2 3 - 9 1 6 0 3 - 5
eBook ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 3 2 3 - 9 1 6 0 4 - 2

Indigenous People and Nature: Insights for Social, Ecological, and Technological Sustainability examines today’s environmental challenges in light of traditional knowledge… Read more

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Indigenous People and Nature: Insights for Social, Ecological, and Technological Sustainability examines today’s environmental challenges in light of traditional knowledge, linking insights from geography, population, and environment from a wide range of regions around the globe. Organized in four parts, the book describes the foundations of human geography and its current research challenges, the intersections between environment and cultural diversity, addressing various type of ecosystem services and their interaction with the environment, the impacts of sustainability practices used by indigenous culture on the ecosystem, and conservation ecology and environment management.

Using theoretical and applied insights from local communities around the world, this book helps geographers, demographers, environmentalists, economists, sociologists and urban planners tackle today’s environmental problems from new perspectives.

Cover image
Title page
Table of Contents
Copyright
Contributors
Foreword
Section I. Introduction: structural view and distribution of indigenous population
Chapter 1. Indigenous people activities on ecosystems and sustainable development- a paradigm shift
1.1. Introduction
1.2. Significant disparities between indigenous and nonindigenous populations exist across far too many indices
1.3. Livelihoods and traditional knowledge of indigenous people
1.4. Environmental impact on indigenous people
1.5. Threats to biodiversity and ecosystems from economic development
1.6. Food insecurity and climate change challenges
1.7. Traditional knowledge’s critical significance in combating climate change
1.8. Drawbacks and difficulties of responding to climate change
1.9. Possibilities for indigenous people’s long-term viability
1.10. Indigenous women’s crucial contribution
1.11. Right to make one’s own decisions
1.12. Rule commendations
1.13. Looking forward
1.14. Conclusions
Chapter 2. Birhors of Purulia: marching toward mainstream of the society
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Materials and methods
2.3. Results and discussion
2.4. Conclusions
Chapter 3. City of the indigenous people: a study of Kohima City, Nagaland, India
3.1. Introduction
3.2. Location, geography and climate
3.3. Historical background
3.4. Socioeconomic, culture, and religion
3.5. Urban form analysis
3.6. Built environment
3.7. Conclusions
Section II. Intersection between environment and cultural diversity
Chapter 4. Perception of agricultural drought vulnerability and hurdles of tribal life: a study of Jungle Mahal blocks of Western West Bengal
4.1. Introduction
4.2. Background
4.3. Materials and methods
4.4. Results and discussion
4.5. Conclusions
Chapter 5. Assessing and quantifying livelihood vulnerability of tribal farmers in water-stressed region of rural West Bengal, India
5.1. Introduction
5.2. Study area
5.3. Materials and methods
5.4. Results and discussion
5.5. Conclusions
Chapter 6. Ethnomedicine and indigenous people: analysis of economic and ecological sustainability in Jangalmahal area of Paschim Medinipur and Jhargram districts, West Bengal, India
6.1. Introduction
6.2. The study area
6.3. Materials and methods
6.4. Results and discussion
6.5. Policy recommendations
6.6. Conclusions
Chapter 7. Livelihood constraints of indigenous people exposed to climatic hazards: an insight from Indian Sundarbans
7.1. Introduction
7.2. Background and study area
7.3. Materials and methods
7.4. Results and discussion
7.5. Conclusions
Chapter 8. Functions of social work on integration of the indigenous population into society
8.1. Indigenous population
8.2. Materials and methods
8.3. Economic discrimination of indigenous people
8.4. Political and property rights of indigenous people
8.5. Anthropology
8.6. Ecological risks
8.7. Technology and indigenous people
8.8. Functions of social work in indigenous people
8.9. Conclusions
Chapter 9. Living in sick tea plantations: socioeconomic and health conditions of indigenous tea garden workers and their survival strategies
9.1. Introduction
9.2. Life of the indigenous people in tea plantations
9.3. Study objectives
9.4. Materials and methods
9.5. Findings
9.6. Discussion
9.7. Conclusions
Chapter 10. Bhumij in a heterogeneous society: negotiating hierarchies and access to water in the Jungle Mahals of West Bengal
10.1. Introduction
10.2. Rationale and objectives
10.3. Materials and methods
10.4. Bhumij—from the lens of anthropologists
10.5. The spatial location of the Bhumij in the village
10.6. Conflicting worldviews and the politics with water
10.7. Negotiating the hierarchies within—Bhumij and the Kurmi Mahato
10.8. Conclusions
Chapter 11. Indigenous populations, ethnomedicine and sustainability: The Indian perspective
11.1. Introduction
11.2. The tribal way of living and their health
11.3. Traditional medicine system in tribes
11.4. Tribes of India and their traditional medicine system: An overview
11.5. Experiences gathered from traditional healing practices in tribes: First hand accounts from Saharia, Baiga and Bhil tribes of India
11.6. Conclusion
Chapter 12. Livelihood issues and educational challenges of indigenous people—retrospective and perspective from a backward district in India
12.1. Introduction
12.2. Research context and objectives
12.3. Materials and methods
12.4. Livelihood issues of the Indigenous people
12.5. School participation of tribal first-generation learners
12.6. Discussion
12.7. Conclusions
Chapter 13. Exploring livelihood issues and challenges of indigenous people of Anamalai, Parambikulam Aliyar Basin during the pandemic
13.1. Introduction
13.2. Study area profile
13.3. Materials and methods
13.4. Results and discussions
13.5. Conclusions
Section III. Indigenous and traditional culture impact on the ecosystem and indigenous population
Chapter 14. Diminishing indigenous material culture among the Totos of North Bengal
14.1. Introduction
14.2. The studied area and people
14.3. Materials and methods
14.4. Results and discussion
14.5. Conclusions
Chapter 15. The practice of entomophagism in India by indigenous people: past, present, and future
15.1. Introduction
15.2. Ethnoentomophagism in India
15.3. Diversity of edible insect orders in India
15.4. Diversity of edible insect species in Indian states
15.5. Diversity of entomophagous indigenous people from India
15.6. Tribal perception and factors responsible for entomophagism in India
15.7. Current status of entomophagism in India
15.8. Conclusions
Chapter 16. Folk dance and local ecologies: ethnographic explorations on the Chhau mask makers of Charida, West Bengal
16.1. Introduction
16.2. Conceptual frames of analyses
16.3. Materials and methods
16.4. Folk dances and local ecologies of West Bengal
16.5. The “mukhosh gram”—Charida
16.6. Changing socioecological trends
16.7. Conclusion
Chapter 17. Present sociocultural status of the Sri Lankan indigenous people (the Veddas) and future challenges
17.1. Introduction
17.2. Materials and methods
17.3. Results and discussion
17.4. Present sociocultural status and future challenges
17.5. Recommendations
17.6. Conclusions
Chapter 18. Dealing with vulnerabilities in tribal food security—a study on Jhargram district of West Bengal, India
18.1. Introduction
18.2. Study area
18.3. Socioeconomic profile of sample household
18.4. Materials and methods
18.5. Results and discussion
18.6. Conclusions
Chapter 19. Diversity and acceptance of insect mini-livestock among the indigenous people of Laos PDR: traditional knowledge, culinary, and bioprospecting
19.1. Introduction
19.2. Materials and methods
19.3. Data acquisition and analysis
19.4. Results
19.5. Discussion
19.6. Conclusions
Chapter 20. Tasar sericulture: an underutilized tool of poverty eradication among the tribals of Bankura district
20.1. Introduction
20.2. Materials and methods
20.3. Observations and discussion
20.4. Conclusions
Chapter 21. Rituals and festivals of indigenous people of Chota Nagpur plateau of West Bengal: A positive correlation with the environment
21.1. Introduction
21.2. Materials and methods
21.3. Results and discussion
21.4. Conclusions
Section IV. Indigenous population, ecology conservation, potentiality, and technology
Chapter 22. Persistent climate-driven floods: a voiced case of indigenous women experiencing ecosocial and health risks in a South-East community in Anmabra state, Nigeria
22.1. Introduction
22.2. Justifying community-based participatory research with indigenous communities in Nigeria
22.3. Statement of problem
22.4. Study area
22.5. Materials and methods
22.6. Results and discussion
22.7. Environmental effects of flooding
22.8. Effects of inequitable distribution of gender roles during flood crisis
22.9. Effects of flood crisis on women health
22.10. CBPR, policy implications, and flooding as an ecosocial event
22.11. Conclusions
Chapter 23. Transformation of a pristine livelihood in response to development—An overview of the Onge tribal community, Little Andaman Island, India
23.1. Introduction
23.2. Study area
23.3. Material and methods
23.4. Discussions
23.5. Conclusions
Chapter 24. Sustainable uses of bamboo by indigenous people with special emphasis on North-East India
24.1. Introduction
24.2. Bamboo and rattan trade
24.3. Distribution of bamboo vegetation in the world and in India
24.4. Diverse, indigenous, ethnic groups of India and their dependence on bamboo vegetation for centuries
24.5. Various ethnobotanical uses of bamboo by indigenous people
24.6. Conclusions
Chapter 25. Salt for living: sustainable practice of salt harvesting in the Cirebonese community and its threat by coastal hazard
25.1. Introduction
25.2. Material and methods
25.3. Results and discussion
25.4. Conclusions
Chapter 26. Indigenous technologies: knowledge and practices for sustainable development
26.1. Introduction
26.2. Materials and methods
26.3. Results and discussion
26.4. Indigenous practices for disaster management
26.5. Indigenous methods for water conservation
26.6. Indigenous methods for agricultural development
26.7. Sustainable sanitation and hygiene for the indigenous people
26.8. Conclusions
Index

Uday Chatterjee

Dr. Uday Chatterjee is an Assistant Professor at Bhatter College in Dantan, Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal, India, and an Applied Geographer with a Post-Graduate in Applied Geography from Utkal University and a Doctorate in Applied Geography from Ravenshaw University in Cuttack, Odisha. He has contributed to a number of research papers that have been published in reputable national and international publications, as well as edited book volumes. He has also organized (as the convener) a Faculty Development Program on "Modern ways of teaching and advanced research methods," which was funded by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR). Urban Planning, Social and Human Geography, Applied Geomorphology, Hazards & Disasters, Environmental Issues, Land Use and Rural Development are some of his research interests. The West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) of the Government of West Bengal, India, financed his research. He has worked as a reviewer for a number of international publications. Dr. Uday Chatterjee is currently the lead editor of the Springer Special Issue (S.I) on Urbanism, Smart Cities, and Modelling.

Affiliations and expertise

Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, Bhatter College (Affiliated to Vidyasagar University), Dantan, India

Anil Kashyap

Anil Kashyap is Head of Department of Geography and Environmental Management at the University of the West of England. Dr. Kashyap brings a wealth of national and international experience with 22 years in academia, research, and the public sector. Prior to this was Deputy Head of School at Coventry University and Professor and Director of School of Real Estate at RICS School of Built Environment. He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, master’s degree in urban planning and a PhD from University of Ulster, United Kingdom. Dr. Kashyap is Chartered Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), London, Member of Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), London and Fellow of the Institute of Town Planners (ITPI), India. He is also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) United Kingdom and a Council Member of the International Federation of Housing and Planning (IFHP) representing India. He has recently been appointed to a prestigious panel of International Land Measurement Standard Setting Committee (ILMS – SSC) led by RICS, London. Dr Kashyap has strong research interest spanning from energy efficiency in built form, healthy and smart cities, urban regeneration and infrastructure development and financing.

Affiliations and expertise

Head, Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of the West of England, UK

Mark Everard

Mark Everard is Associate Professor of Ecosystem Services at University of the West of England. Mark has extensive experience developing and implementing the sustainable management of ecosystems across five continents, including East and Southern Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and China.

Affiliations and expertise

Associate Professor of Ecosystem Services, University of the West of England, UK

Gopal Krishna Panda

Gopal Panda is Emeritus Professor in Geography and former Chief Executive of the Population Research Center at Utkal University. Author of 6 books, he teaches and researches coastal geomorphology, remote sensing, climate change, natural hazards, and disaster management.

Affiliations and expertise

Emeritus Professor in Geography and former Chief Executive of the Population Research Center, Utkal University, India

Dinabandhu Mahata

Dinabandhu Mahata is a Researcher in the Department of Geography at Central University of Tamil Nadu. Author of numerous journal articles and book chapters, his work focuses on urban geography linkages with the environment.

Affiliations and expertise

Researcher, Department of Geography, Central University of Tamil Nadu, India