If you are looking for MANE-005 IGNOU Solved Assignment solution for the subject Environmental Anthropology, you have come to the right place. MANE-005 solution on this page applies to 2021-22 session students studying in MAAN courses of IGNOU.
MANE-005 Solved Assignment Solution by Gyaniversity
Assignment Code: MANE 005/AST/TMA/2021-22
Course Code: MANE-005
Assignment Name: Environmental Anthropology
Year: 2021-22
Verification Status: Verified by Professor
Note: There are two sections ‘A’ and ‘B’. Attempt five questions and at least two questions from each section. All questions carry equal marks. The word limit for 20 marks question is 500 words and for 10 marks question it is 250 words.
Section - A
Q1) Discuss briefly development of ecological perspective in anthropology. (20)
Ans) In anthropology, there is a long history of interest in the study of people and their surroundings. Scholars have been interested in how societies interact with their environment and use natural resources since the discipline's inception in the 19th century, as well as how natural processes are conceptualised and classified. The study of subsistence patterns by which populations adapted to biophysical conditions sparked a lot of interest. Environmental research in Anthropology, according to E. F. Moran, has been a part of the discipline from the very beginning. In Anthropology, it is commonly referred to as the ecological approach. Primate Ecology, Human Ecology, Ethno-ecology, Historical Ecology, Political Ecology, Ecofeminism, Environmentalism, Environmental Justice, Evolutionary Ecology, Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), Conservation, Environmental Risk, Liberation Ecology, and a variety of other topics are covered by the ecological or environmental approach in Anthropology.
Ecological Perspective in Anthropology
People's perceptions of and interactions with their physical and biological surroundings, as well as the various links between biological, cultural, and linguistic diversity, are all topics covered by ecological anthropology. Subsistence strategies, the ecology of ethnic foodways, human alteration of the environment, traditional knowledge of wild plants, ethnobiological classification, natural resource sustainability, intellectual property rights among indigenous peoples, the Anthropology of tourism, and environmental anthropology are some of the topics that will be explored in Ecological Anthropology. It may entail skills such as analysing tape recordings of conversations to determine what environmental themes are important to people, following people and recording their actions, or archaeology. Ecological anthropology aims to investigate the multilevel ways in which biological and socio-cultural processes help humans adapt to their surroundings.
Attwood and Salzman defined Ecological anthropology is a branch of anthropology concerned with the long-term and cross-cultural relationships that exist between humans and their environment, or between nature and culture. It investigates how a population shapes its environment and is shaped by it, as well as how these relationships shape the population's social, economic, and political life. Ecological Anthropology, as described by Seymour-Smith, tries to provide a materialist explanation of human society and culture as products of adaptation to given environmental conditions. Ecological Anthropology, according to Ellen, takes a systems approach to studying the interrelationships between culture and the environment. An “understanding that proceeds from a notion of the mutualism of person and environment” and the reciprocity between nature and culture is at the heart of contemporary ecological anthropology. As a result, ecological anthropology and human behavioural ecology and environmental anthropology are closely related.
Q2) Briefly discuss the current trends in environmental anthropology. (20)
Ans) Ecosystem dynamics were viewed as complex adaptive systems in the new ecology. Pereira and da Fonseca and Lepofsky et al. are two examples of studies that provide both cautions and roadmaps for judging human impacts on complex human–ecological systems. With self-organization, hierarchy, scale, dissipative structures, co-evolution, history, nonlinear dynamics, and other features of complex systems, the new ecology aids in the study of the context of our human experience as tremendously complex and endlessly evolving. The concepts of ecosystem structure and dynamics have recently been combined to suggest a broader concept of keystones that can play a significant role in ecosystem control. The development of what became known as "Cultural Ecology," an approach proposed by Julian H. Steward, whose emphasis on behavioural considerations and the comparative method makes this approach among the most robust in the study of Environmental Anthropology, has made significant progress. Cultural Ecology was followed by other approaches that broadened the scope of environmental research in Anthropology. Whereas cultural ecology seemed to focus on cultural areas as a unit of analysis, A. P. Vayda and R. Rappaport's approach emphasises that humans are only a small part of much larger ecological systems.
The ecosystem concept elevates the physical environment above all other biological concepts and theories. During the latter half of the 1970s and the first half of the 1980s, anthropologists with an interest in the environment went in a variety of directions. One of the most notable was the use of evolutionary ecology concepts to focus on biocultural processes. Environmental Anthropology studies have recently focused on the environment–technology–social–organization nexus, with an emphasis on development programmes and environmental degradation analysis. Many environmental anthropologists support environmentalism and believe that ethnography is the most appropriate, equitable, and effective method for dealing with "environmental policy." Most likely, the sustainability approach appears to be a new field in which to comprehend "the fundamental character of interactions between nature and society." As a result, Environmental Anthropology is leading the way with a diverse range of approaches in a multidimensional framework.
Environmental Anthropology is now recognised as having a broad scope of application. As a result, satellite imagery can be used to locate ecological hotspots such as pollution and ecological imbalances. Different types of data on human and environmental features can be mapped using Geographical Information Systems and other related techniques. Macroscope software can also be used for mapping purposes. A survey can be conducted over a period of time and space, and the results can be compared. Ethnographic research aids in the collection of first-hand information about people and their lives, as well as the identification of relevant issues and their appropriate solutions. In appropriate contexts, risk analysis, content analysis, statistical and computational packages, as well as many field-oriented methods and techniques, can be used.
The proper methodological approach and strategies for accessing values or areas of cultural consensus, identifying and interpreting social mechanisms, and understanding human-environment interaction and interrelation in a more appropriate and comprehensive way help us to understand human-environment interaction and interrelation in a more appropriate and comprehensive way. Environmental Anthropology builds on the work of anthropologists who have studied human environmental use in the past, but it must inevitably go beyond those approaches. If analysis of global environmental changes is to be informed by local and regional divergences in causes and effects, an Environmental Anthropology for the twenty-first century must build on the comparative approaches proposed by Steward. This poses a significant challenge to research methods, because despite differences in the environment, culture, economy, and history, generally agreed-upon ways of selecting sample communities or sites and what data is to be collected across highly variable sites must be undertaken. A number of international centres are currently working to develop these common standards.
Section-B
Q3) Discuss environmental justice and human rights issues. (20)
Ans) Human rights, as a philosophical concept, refers to the reasonable demands for personal security and basic well-being that all individuals, as members of the species Homo sapiens, can make on the rest of humanity. The UN concept of human rights acknowledges that reasonable people, regardless of political affiliation, demand certain minimum standards of behaviour from governments toward their own citizens at all times and places. It is based on natural law, political principles, national and international legal instruments, and humanitarian agreements. Collective and indigenous rights have now been incorporated into the human rights framework; the challenge now is to ensure that individual and collective rights are mutually reinforcing. Indigenous rights are a unique legacy of Anthropology and cultural relativism, as well as a target of anthropological concern when criticising modernization trends and development practises. The right to health, a decent existence, work and all occupational safety and health, the right to an adequate standard of living, freedom from hunger, an adequate and wholesome diet, and decent housing, the right to education, culture, equality and non-discrimination, dignity, and harmonious development of personality, the right to personal and family security, the right to peace, and the right to an adequate standard of living
These rights represent the ideals that the government aspires to provide to its citizens, namely, basic life necessities to which all people are entitled. Degradation of the environment is not a new threat to human survival. The ability to modify the immediate environment and subsequent inability to prevent escalating environmental degradation can be explained in part by the rise and fall of many past societies. Desertification, deforestation, declining fisheries, poisoned food, polluted water and air, and climatic extreme weather events that continue to intensify floods, droughts, and hurricanes are all threatening tribal and indigenous societies. The majority of today's environmental crises are difficult to define, comprehend their causes, and comprehend their consequences. People who live in areas rich in natural or strategic mineral resources are more likely to be subjected to human environmental rights violations. Because tribal areas are open spaces far from densely populated areas, they become the Environmental Justice logical location for military exercises, weapons testing, and the storage or disposal of hazardous wastes. Take, for example, a military exercise zone in Madhya Pradesh's Hoshangabad district, where tribal residents face numerous challenges.
These isolations also appeal to those seeking economic, political, and environmental alternatives, such as the rich coal regions of India inhabited by tribal people. As a result of these factors, residents of Narmada Dam become displaced, alienated from their traditional holdings, and struggle to maintain individual, household, and community health. People are also abused because they are thought to be in the way of progress and national needs, which take precedence over individual and community concerns. As a result, people are forcibly relocated while governments and industry construct dams, expand export-oriented intensive agriculture, develop international tourist facilities, and preserve wilderness in order to save the bio-commons and attract foreign eco-tourist dollars. Individual and collective human rights are also included in the human rights framework, and it is critical to provide justice in this area. Abuse of these rights occurs as a result of the demand for land, property, large water projects, ecotourism, and other similar activities. The government of India's Forest Right Act of 2006 takes care to protect these two aspects of environmental justice in India.
Q4) Describe the issues related to resettlement and rehabilitation policy in India. (20)
Ans) Despite the fact that India launched a slew of development projects in various parts of the country after independence, the Central and State governments never developed a specific policy to address the issue of population displacement. In the past, displaced people's resettlement and rehabilitation were based on ad hoc plans, resolutions, and orders passed for specific States or even projects as the need arose. In the absence of a national Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) policy, different state governments and central government ministries pursued different resettlement and rehabilitation policies. The World Bank's 1980 policy on "involuntary resettlement" was the first major development agency to take a stand on the issue. This policy has since been updated and improved, and many other international organisations have used it as a model. “The fundamental goal of the Bank's policy is to restore displaced people's living standards and earning capacities – and, where possible, to improve them,” the bank says. The Bank, on the other hand, lacks information on the ‘living standards and earning capacities' of displaced people before and after resettlement for the vast majority of dams it has financed.
Resettlement legislation exists in India, but only in a few states: Maharashtra, M.P., and Karnataka. The R&R policy in Orissa differs in the mining, industrial, thermal power, and water sectors. As a result of this haphazard approach, many of the displaced have been denied fair compensation for their losses. There was no broad policy in place until 2004 to guide the rehabilitation of State-sponsored projects in irrigation, power, mining, and other areas. GO.MS. No.68 of the irrigation and canal ayacut development (CAD) department, issued on April 8, 2005, is the state of A.P.'s R&R policy. When we compare the Draft NRP 2006 to the G.O. 68 of A.P., we can see that the G.O. 68 of A.P. is a carbon copy of the National Policy on R&R 2003 in many ways. It was common for states to have eminent domain policies, many of which dealt solely with the legal process of expropriation, a few of which outlined compensation mechanisms, but none of which addressed resettlement in ways that avoided impoverishment. Government policies on resettlement and rehabilitation that have been released in recent years are examples of how governments are becoming more sensitive to the issue of displacement. The commitment of governments to establish "best practises" in resettlement and rehabilitation, however, is critical and yet to be proven.
As a result, they continue to seek out forest products for survival, resulting in forest fires and forest land narrowing. The restoration of affected people's living conditions necessitates sound and long-term plans, but supporting policies for income restoration and living stability, particularly employment generation policies, are typically of a short-term nature. However, the displaced people discovered that, while they had lost everything, they had gained very little from the projects that had forced them to relocate. As a result, development-related displacement may result in "new poverty" rather than "old poverty"; many affected peoples are already suffering; poor people are becoming even poorer. Resettlement policies have been the subject of several criticisms.
Although a number of laws and regulations have been passed to protect people who lose their jobs or assets as a result of development projects, involuntary resettlement policies for hydropower and reservoir projects typically have many flaws due to low compensation packages and slow income restoration. In 1986, Maharashtra, for example, passed a law called "Restoration of Affected Persons within Development Projects." The Act establishes a framework for beneficiaries and affected parties to share project benefits. Proposed policies, on the other hand, have proven insufficient in terms of restoring income and re-establishing a standard of living. It has been argued that resettlement policies are inconsistent, that compensation and support levels vary from project to project, resulting in varying perceptions of benefit comparison among affected persons, and that issues such as social equity, indirect losses and intangible incomes, commercial opportunities, forest products, and other factors are not taken into account when compensating for displacement, among other things. This is due to the fact that displaced communities are exposed to a variety of dangers.
Q5) Write short notes on:
a) Sustainable development (10)
Ans) Physical characteristics, ownership, and usage patterns are used to classify resources. A claim of benefit that is legally and socially recognised and respected by communities and the state is known as a property right. In society, there are four types of properties: private, public or state, common property, and open access. The terms "property rights" and "tenure" are used interchangeably. Property rights confer management status on property owners, whereas tenure refers to acts of pure ownership without any mention of management. Private property is the most common type of property; individuals, households, and even groups own the resources and have the exclusive right to use them, to exclude others from using them, and to trade with them. We all have personal property, such as clothes, cars, and houses, and these are the best examples of private property. The Tatas, a family-owned business, is an example of corporate private ownership. Individuals or businesses do not own the public good or property resources, and the general public is not barred from using or enjoying them. They allow for indivisible use and consumption by a group of people.
Natural and environmental resources, national parks, rivers, waterways, oceans, and marine fisheries in exclusive economic zones (EEZ) are examples of public property. State-owned minerals units, municipal corporations, and the national highway authority, which owns public roads, are other examples. As a result, public goods are considered state property because the state is the sole owner of the resources or properties. This leads us to the definition of long-term development. When the World Commission on Environment and Development released its report, Our Common Future, in 1987, it attempted to address the problem of conflicts between environmental and development goals by defining sustainable development as "development that meets current needs without jeopardising future generations' ability to meet their own." As a result, in the modern era, it is critical that we manage CPR in a sustainable manner so that our generation and future generations can benefit from it.
b) Gender and forest (10)
Ans) The majority of women, particularly those living in rural or semi-urban areas, place a high value on their relationship with the forest and their products. It is critical not only as a source of income for their family, but also as a means of maintaining other relationships that are not directly related to their livelihood. For example, the local community's belief system is highly entwined with the nearby forest area, such as sacred groves and sacred geography. Women are the primary gatherers of a wide range of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP) for subsistence and as a source of income as a result of the gender division of labour. In forestry, women play an important role in essentially three areas:
Gathering fuelwood, fodder.
Employment and income.
Protection and management.
Gathering fuelwood, fodder.
For poor women, gathering fuelwood, fodder, and NTFPs is an important subsistence and economic activity. Women's relative status within the family has been observed to be higher in well-forested villages/villages close to natural forests, owing to their greater contribution to household subsistence and cash incomes. Furthermore, because they have limited access to private resources, women, particularly those who are poor, rely heavily on public resources to meet their basic needs.
Employment and Income
The main forest-based activities from which people derive employment and income are:
Sale of firewood and fodder
Rearing of livestock (grazing in and/or collecting fodder from forests)
Collection and processing of NTFP
Forest-based handicrafts and cottage industries
Wage labour.
Protection and Management and of Forests
Gender focus in forest policy, forestry schemes, and government programmes was recommended in a study commissioned by UNDP and UNESCO with special reference to nontimber forest products (NTFPs). Forest degradation as a result of development activity has observable effects on women's lives. Because they understood the value of forests in their lives, women played an important role in the Chipko Movement in protecting trees from commercial exploitation.
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