The Politics of Conservation: Sonaha, Riverscape in the Bardia National Park and Buffer Zone, Nepal
Copyright © Thing et al. 2017. This paper problematises the recent participatory turn in nature conservation policy and practices through an ethnographic investigation of the experiences of the marginalised Sonaha (indigenous people of the region of Bardia where the national park is located) in rela...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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2017
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/71174 |
| _version_ | 1848762409362128896 |
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| author | Thing, Sudeep Jones, Roy Jones, C. |
| author_facet | Thing, Sudeep Jones, Roy Jones, C. |
| author_sort | Thing, Sudeep |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Copyright © Thing et al. 2017. This paper problematises the recent participatory turn in nature conservation policy and practices through an ethnographic investigation of the experiences of the marginalised Sonaha (indigenous people of the region of Bardia where the national park is located) in relation to the conservation discourses, policies and practices of the Bardia National Park authorities in the Nepalese lowland. Since the mid-1990s, the country's conservation thinking and policy paradigms have shifted away from an earlier protectionist and fortress conservation focus towards more participatory approaches. However, for the Sonaha who are historically and culturally embedded in and derive their livelihoods from the riverscape in and around the Park, the pre-existing discourses and practices of strict nature conservation still impact adversely on their everyday lives. The paper argues that participatory reform, despite its strengths, has nevertheless reinforced the old conservation paradigm and hegemonic conservation discourses that normalised conservation violence and the marginalisation of the Sonaha. Based on critical ethnographic work with the Sonaha, we present a political ecology critique of conservation approaches. A case for rethinking contestations between indigenous peoples and national park managements is postulated. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T10:47:06Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-71174 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T10:47:06Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-711742018-12-13T09:32:58Z The Politics of Conservation: Sonaha, Riverscape in the Bardia National Park and Buffer Zone, Nepal Thing, Sudeep Jones, Roy Jones, C. Copyright © Thing et al. 2017. This paper problematises the recent participatory turn in nature conservation policy and practices through an ethnographic investigation of the experiences of the marginalised Sonaha (indigenous people of the region of Bardia where the national park is located) in relation to the conservation discourses, policies and practices of the Bardia National Park authorities in the Nepalese lowland. Since the mid-1990s, the country's conservation thinking and policy paradigms have shifted away from an earlier protectionist and fortress conservation focus towards more participatory approaches. However, for the Sonaha who are historically and culturally embedded in and derive their livelihoods from the riverscape in and around the Park, the pre-existing discourses and practices of strict nature conservation still impact adversely on their everyday lives. The paper argues that participatory reform, despite its strengths, has nevertheless reinforced the old conservation paradigm and hegemonic conservation discourses that normalised conservation violence and the marginalisation of the Sonaha. Based on critical ethnographic work with the Sonaha, we present a political ecology critique of conservation approaches. A case for rethinking contestations between indigenous peoples and national park managements is postulated. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/71174 10.4103/cs.cs_15_2 restricted |
| spellingShingle | Thing, Sudeep Jones, Roy Jones, C. The Politics of Conservation: Sonaha, Riverscape in the Bardia National Park and Buffer Zone, Nepal |
| title | The Politics of Conservation: Sonaha, Riverscape in the Bardia National Park and Buffer Zone, Nepal |
| title_full | The Politics of Conservation: Sonaha, Riverscape in the Bardia National Park and Buffer Zone, Nepal |
| title_fullStr | The Politics of Conservation: Sonaha, Riverscape in the Bardia National Park and Buffer Zone, Nepal |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Politics of Conservation: Sonaha, Riverscape in the Bardia National Park and Buffer Zone, Nepal |
| title_short | The Politics of Conservation: Sonaha, Riverscape in the Bardia National Park and Buffer Zone, Nepal |
| title_sort | politics of conservation: sonaha, riverscape in the bardia national park and buffer zone, nepal |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/71174 |