Thread by @prernabindra

Thread
My piece in @MongabayIndia on relocation from #Wayanad #Wildlife Sanctuary based on my @MPhilCL @Cambridge_Uni research supervised by @EliaApos Ialso drew on my yrs of experience.Resettlement from #ProtectedAreas (PA) is contentious @csandbrook 1/22
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& I discuss a largely ignored narrative:of people seeking support for relocation.Historically,resettlements have been poorly recorded; there have been evictions from PAs that have led to penury, isolation, further impoverishment, which I strongly condemn.There is NO room 2/22

for forced,induced,unjust resettlement. However,it is troubling that resettlement discourse has ignored the narrative of people voluntarily seeking to move out of PAs where they face immense hardship due to lack of access to education,healthcare, markets,roads,jobs,business
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...opportunities. People want a life where they don’t live in constant fear of elephants passing thru their backyard; of encountering an #elephant/#tiger/ #bear on the way back from the market or when they step out to get a breath of fresh air, or to use the toilet
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Where people seek to move out because they want a life like yours or mine, with college, internet,Facebook,mkts, theaters, white collar jobs. They have aspirations for themselves & more so, for their children. Yes, there are such people and you need to hear their story
5/22

I start with one of the youngest & brightest, 17 y/o Radhika who lived inside Wayanad Sanctuary #Kerala & says #education was difficult,esp. for girls. Most families were reluctant to send girls to hostels. Her mother lost out on education, but dreams big for her daughter
6/22

Now resettled in a town, Radhika is adept at computers & dreams of becoming an army officer;she loves the uniform & wants to serve her country. Radhika’s father moved Kerala High Court seeking relocation, citing that they lived an “animal-like” existence in the sanctuary. 7/22

I remember Mir Hussain, an octogenarian who has seen 5 generations in his tiny settlement in Uttar Kotri (#Corbett landscape). His roots run deep, yet he is desperate to leave. Pointing to his 10 y/o grandson grazing cattle, he asked me “Tell me, what is his future here?”
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He was not the only one. In a meeting in Maidavan,Kalagarh, villagers from Teria, Pand, Khadrasi etc demanded relocation &accused officials of not understanding their pain. Till abt 3yrs back they would call me in desperation, as nothing had moved & they were still stuck.
9/22

People who earlier lived in Goloor inside #Wayanad said they carried their harvest on headloads to the market~12 km away. Such practices & the perception that they were illiterate,naïve disadvantaged while bargaining for a fair price.
10/22

This problem, of course, only arose when they had a harvest, which was usually lost to raids by wild animals, like elephants, wild pigs, ungulates; a problem faced by farmers across India jstor.org/stable/27917931
11/22

Raghavan in #Wayanad lost his entire investment in a banana plantation in a night.I heard the same story #Satpura #NationalPark where Budhman said crop loss was perennial. Now, living outside Satpura,he practices organic & multi cropping,owns a tractor & even has savings.
12/22

Most farmers living in wildlife landscapes spent their nights in machans to drive away wild animals & safeguard their crops, a common practice across India, causing mental & physical health issues: @MaanBarua Photo credit: Biswajit Mohanty
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A man I met spent nights on a platform on a #tree-for fear of elephants. Fear is a constant companion; simply going to school to buy oil can be fatal.Apu Master (Wayanad) lost his 5 y/o son to an elephant. Budhman’s mother died during childbirth due to lack of medical care
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What hurts Krishnadhar of Manimunda village, Wayanad is that they are the ‘forgotten people’: “We are cut off, so whether there is another world war, or India wins a cricket match, we do not hear of it. There is no electricity, no TV, no internet.”
15/22

There are other social, gender issues discussed, staying within forests is esp. hard for women which i hope to further delve in.
People residing within PAs have petitioned authorities, even courts, seeking urgent relocation eg @ Mudumalai & Wayanad. bit.ly/2Okwuo4
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Ending with a positive story of Dasi, a Jenu Kuruba tribal, Nagarahole Tiger Reserve(TR), who, after shifting outside, says finally, her fields are yielding good returns; she earns ₹ 4-5 lakh per annum and has even been awarded as a ‘super-farmer’.
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Relocation is not just a #wildlife #conservation initiative, it needs to b viewed from a human-welfare lens,as noted by @India_NHRC for Raigoda village, #Satkosia #TigerReserve #Odisha which urged the govt to speed-up relocation for people’s welfare
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18/22

I'm aware of the distress associated with resettlements & have, & will oppose it. Equally, I have had the privilege to have met & worked with those desperate to move, & their voice needs to be amplified too.
Being for wildlife does NOT make one anti-people...which is a ..19/22

strange notion that persists. Communities living in/around #forests r its guardians.they have been my teachers,their traditional knowledge is awe-inspiring & must b partners in #conservation. Spending time with such #forest people are my most precious memories.What amazes 20/22

..me is their resilience. And their acceptance for wild animals who can harm them. They wish them no harm(tho there is occasional retaliation, v came across a poisoned #elephant carcass the day I visited #Wayanad -just don't want them as immediate neighbours.
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Many villages have sought relocation. We need to ensure that they are supported & relocation is voluntary, just, informed & incentivised. Above all, it is not your or my view that matters: it is the voice of the people themselves that we need to respond to, & with empathy
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@csandbrook is director of @MPhilCL (& such an amazing experience this is) Here i want to thank him for his support-even as we agreed to disagree on many matters :-) Thanks @csandbrook equally my gratitude to @bhask286 for your faith in me & @EliaApos the best of supervisors🙏