• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

Copyright by Kalli Fullerton Doubleday 2018 The Dissertation Committee for Kalli Fullerton Doubleday Certifies that this is the approved version of the following Dissertation: Rewilding Expectations: Human-Environmental Relations in Context of Apex Predator Reintroduction in Rajasthan, India Committee: Paul C. Adams, Supervisor Janet M. Davis Gregory W. Knapp Clayton K. Nielsen Rebecca M. Torres Rewilding Expectations: Human-Environmental Relations in Context of Apex Predator Reintroduction in Rajasthan, India by Kalli Fullerton Doubleday Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin May 2018 Dedication To the less than 4,000 wild tigers on Earth and the people who dedicate their lives to them. Acknowledgments The field work in India, data processing and writing in Texas culminating in this dissertation were made possible by many individuals and funding organizations. First, I would like to thank Paul Adams, my advisor, for his immediate support and faith when this project was still in its infancy. Paul provided a consistent point of reference in identifying the most critical pieces in webs of data and unparalleled brainstorming capabilities to push my considerations and interpretations. Each conversation left me with new ways to consider the obvious, and “work to the profound.” Similarly, I would like to thank Clayton Nielson for his knowledge and early direction on pursuing this research. Both provided support when my eagerness was the only engine behind this project. Further, a thank you to the rest of the committee: Janet Davis for great conversations, enthusiasm, and discernment; Greg Knapp for thoughtful feedback at the major points of progress; Rebecca Torres for being there at the start with productive advice and consul on the project and beyond over the last five years. Also, thank you to Kelley Crews for “turning back around and helping the next one in line.” Your mentorship on everything from research design, academic life, running study abroad, down to local Thai food is a highlight and cherished part of my time at UT. Thanks to all the people across Sariska’s landscape, they are the facilitators of this dissertation. The women who took time out of their hectic days to talk and tell stories over chai in their kitchens provided insight but also kindness and support. The many men and women who participated in focus groups in 2014 and 2015 were so accommodating and thoughtful in their participation the dissertation took on entirely new areas of emphasis. Their honesty and emotive descriptions of their relationships with Sariska and its tigers brought new understanding and perspectives on my part. I appreciated their frankness and willingness to discuss these intimate and life-depending topics. Most of all, my gratitude goes out to the nearly 200 women who agreed to lengthy focus group discussions that included difficult topics such as household violence. Throughout v fieldwork, countless families graciously offered dinners, refreshment and time with them to enjoy their company and continue relevant conversations in their homes. These families took care of my research team and me; I am grateful for their offers and for the opportunity to experience Rajasthani hospitality from so many. India, its wildlife and conservation landscapes were open to me in unequaled ways with the help of Anu Marwah, Chinmay Massey, Rodrick Roben and Aman Bhatia. Walking through bamboo jungles behind a forest guard on his search for a cattle-killing tiger, looking a tigress with cubs in the eye from just 30 feet away on foot, moving a hundred pounds of rubbish to rescue a cobra, or trying to keep it together as a macaque monkey peed all over me are just a few of the hundreds of experience that gave me insight into the realities of the human-wildlife relations in India. Anu, and with permission of the Forest Department of Maharashtra, provided access to learn more about tigers, human-tiger conflict and conservation management in India from forest guards and those in reserve management that I ever thought possible. Chinmay’s immediate eagerness to share his passion for wildlife and rescuing those in most conflict opened my mind to a new and broader understanding of conservation at the individual animal scale. Rodrick was a lifeline in the field on more than one occasion, and his friendship was crucial to this work. Aman likewise provided invaluable support and help in the field. Anu, Rodrick, and Aman’s friendship and help over the years sustained me over the long stretches between field seasons. Archna Merh and Apoorva Rana were key to expanding this research into the scared space of women’s lives; their discipline, judgment, and friendship were instrumental to the 2016-2017 field season. Without each of these and many others, this research would have been impossible. Thank you to all the graduate students that have encouraged me, made me take breaks, and renewed my soul, especially Kaiti, Sam, Amelia, and Bisola. Kaiti your 100 offers of assistance and follow through have enriched and eased this process. Your friendship and consul in the past and the future are lifelong treasures. Sam and Amelia, your hard work has been inspiring and your continued ethic of care to reach out, check in, and be there are some of the best moments from the last five years. Bisola, what would I vi have done without your effortless wisdom in life and all things dissertation. Thank you, my friend, for all you have done. Thank you to the rest of GAGE for your support and encouragement. I thank my parents, Kevin and Linda Fullerton, who had always provided the needed support and unwavering faith in me when I embarked on an entirely new path toward the unknown. Without their reactions of confidence, there is no doubt I would be several leaps short of my current position. And, especially to my dad for exemplifying a life of courage and determination. My sister, Constance, thank you for the encouraging letters that were all taped around my desk. For several years your words and sketches reminded me of what is important and to keep moving forward. Above all, I thank my husband, George Doubleday, for his kindness, steadfastness, financial support and love from the first day I started this work. George, you made the difficult times manageable and the high moments memorable. Your continued petitions to maintain a life outside of work indeed sustained me and enriched the last five years. Even more, your passion for the land and wildlife renewed my convictions. The care and dedication you have for our own restoration project at Placedo Prairie is inspiring—spreading to me, and everyone you share it with. Without financial support from the following institutions, this dissertation could not have been possible: University of Texas at Austin Graduate School Continuing Fellowship (~$40,000 including tuition and fees), P.E.O. International Scholar Award ($15,000), Evelyn L. Pruitt National Fellowship for Dissertation Research (~$8,000), American Association of University Women Doctoral Fellowship ($2,400), Maurine McElroy Excellence Grant from UT-Austin Quest ($2,000), and College Recruitment Fellowship, University of Texas at Austin (~$30,000). Lastly, but first, in confidence, the Department of Geography and the Environment at the University of Texas provided support and a grant through the Veslka Endowed Fellowship ($900) to conduct the first field season—the launching point. vii Abstract Rewilding Expectations: Human-Environmental Relations in Context of Apex Predator Reintroduction in Rajasthan, India Kalli Fullerton Doubleday, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2018 Supervisor: Paul C. Adams This dissertation considers hidden dimensions of human-tiger relations between people who live in and adjacent to Sariska Tiger Reserve (Sariska), Rajasthan, India and the population of reintroduced tigers. While translocation of wild animals in India is not new, Sariska provides a relevant and high profile case study for examining the re- introduction of a charismatic carnivore as the site of the first tiger reintroduction in the world. This research demonstrates how human dimensions of reintroductions can be studied from a social science perspective to further our understanding of tolerance and intolerance towards reintroductions in the developing world. First, it is imperative to understand past human-wildlife relations and how those relations are re-negotiated spatially by people and predators. Secondly, it is critical to examine hidden costs from human-wildlife interactions, costs explicitly borne by women. And third, to consider these histories, re-negotiations, and hidden costs together to see their formative influences in perceptions of reintroduction benefits and negatives. This is accomplished through three field seasons (summers of 2014 and 2015; winter 2016-2017) utilizing 52 Focus Group Discussions as the primary data. The findings suggest that people’s experiences with Sariska’s original tigers impact their expectations, tolerance, and viii perceptions of the reintroduced tigers and the conservation policies directed at their conservation. Further, the findings argue women may suffer domestic abuse as a result of complex relationships between patriarchal society, gendered labor roles, and tiger presence. These hidden costs then influence women’s perception of benefits and negatives of tiger reintroduction. The hidden costs women endure and the consequential disparity in gendered perceptions, men perceiving more benefits and far fewer negatives than women, is a shortcoming that should be redressed with policy as well as communication strategies by conservation practitioners. This is an area of commonality between human rights groups looking for ways to improve women’s well-being and livelihoods that if addressed would also benefit the reintroduction of tigers to Sariska. To build these arguments, I integrate research from animal geographies, feminist political ecology, conservation social science and human geography.

Load more

  396

Copy Link