An Ethnographic Approach to Environmental Valuation

Developing a Participatory Model for the Assessment of the Proposed Tipaimukh Hydro Multipurpose Dam in Manipur: An Ethnographic Approach to Environmental Valuation.

First Author: Adaina 1Khang Chian Co-authors: Aarti Kawlra 2, Sudhir Chella Rajan 3

“How will you compensate us for our River – for the fish in her belly, her water, for the vegetables that grow along her banks, for the joy and memory of living beside her, for the assurance of dying on her lap? What is the price for these?” –Words of Namthonbuiyang, resident of Bamgaijang village

ABSTRACT The proposed construction of the Tipaimukh dam in Manipur has been the focus of increasing concern for more than a decade. This is mainly because of differences and difficulties in comparing the socio-cultural and ecological costs with the economic benefits of the project between the affected local communities and the project proponents. The absence of meaningful participation of the affected communities during the design and planning stages of the Project makes it even more critical to place the present study within a wider human rights approach to development and eco-system management. We point out that developing environmental valuation methods to support decision making on-the-ground cannot take place without taking congnizance of the complex and inextricable link between humans and the natural environment they inhabit as well as their own perceptions of the same. This paper seeks to develop a participatory model in which the perspectives of multiple stakeholders are taken into account and to offer a more people-centric approach to environmental valuation. The ethnographic case study method is employed to elicit the views and socio-cultural idiom of the Zeliangrong community residing in the forest area around the river Barak, adjacent to the proposed dam. The study takes up the example of sentimental attachment to “place” in order to show how a participatory model can be modelled and how taking into consideration the affected communities’ perspectives and worldviews can significantly alter the cost benefit equation of the Tipaimukh dam project.

Keywords: environmental valuation, place attachment, participatory model, ethnographic case method.

1 Research Scholar, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, [email protected] 2 Visiting Faculty, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, [email protected] 3 Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, [email protected]

1. INTRODUCTION

The proposed construction of the Tipaimukh dam in the Barak river valley basin in Manipur has had a long history of changing hands with various public Corporations and Boards. Recently, in 2010, a new memorandum of understanding was signed between the Government of Manipur, Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL) and National Hydro Electric Power Corporation (NHPC) to operate as a Joint Venture Committee (JVC). This Committee has neatly drafted the costs and benefits, rehabilitation and resettlement packages, terms of use of the resources and revenue receipts on account of sale of timber, royalty on river bed materials etc. all without the free prior and informed consent of the people. The stakeholders are restricted to the above three parties and the public (villagers) whose land, river and forests face submergence have not been included in the decision making process.

The proponents of Tipaimukh dam emphasize the economic benefits of the dam such as flood control, hydropower generation, employment opportunity and tourism. On the other hand, the indigenous communities around the river Barak facing displacement, environmental groups and academic experts point to the potentially huge costs to the socio-cultural and ecological habitat of the affected region and question the overall feasibility of the project. The absence of meaningful participation of the people of Manipur, especially from Tamenglong and Churachandpur districts, during the design and planning stages of the Project, makes the present study all the more important and relevant from the perspective of human rights and ecological security. Initially, there had been sporadic, localised and disorganised resistances put up by local people through protests and rallies. They are now joined by more organised civil societies like Action Committee on Tipaimukh Dam (ACTIP), Citizens Concern for Dams and Development (CCDD). However, the people are still kept out of active decision making processes, their voices remains largely unattended and their worldviews and perceptions neglected.

The communities affected by the Tipaimukh dam have not been taken as stakeholders of the project. This is in violation of the recommendations of World Commission on Dams (2000) and also the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (2007), where it is mandatory to get free prior and informed consent of affected people before any large-scale development project can be carried out. The mandatory public hearing under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notification (1994) were conducted under heavy military presence, allowing only those people who were pro-dam to participate in the public hearing. The setting up of three army stations itself on the way to Tipaimukh village speaks volumes on the militarization strategy of the government. The participation of the affected Zeliangrong and Hmar indigenous communities has been minimal in such decision-making processes.

The proposed dam site is at the confluence of the Barak and Tuivai rivers. Located about 500 metres upstream of the Tipaimukh multipurpose project, Ruonglevaisuo (as the confluence is known locally) is a historically sacred site of the Hmar tribe as well as their kindred tribes (the Hrangkhawls and Darlongs of Tripura, the Beites of Meghalaya,

Sakecheps of Assam and Komrems of Manipur). It was believed that it was at Ruonglevaisuo that the kindred tribes parted ways after centuries of traveling together, thus revealing the cultural and sentimental importance of the region.

Figure 1. Tipaimukh Dam Site

Further upstream where the present study is located, lies the Zeliangrong indigenous community whose culture, sentiments and identity are closely associated with the Barak river basin and the surrounding environment. This is amply attested to in the numerous myths of origin of the different tribes in the region that pay homage to this river as an ancestral diety. The rich eco-system of this river valley basin also supports both fishing and agrarian subsistence cultures and the inhabitants’ relationship to their local habitat is, as will be evident from the ethnography, a reciprocal one involving both “gift” from one generation to the other and equally a “debt” that must be repaid.

In this paper a preliminary participatory model for the assessment of Tipaimukh dam is discussed with particular emphasis placed on the sentimental dimension of environmental value 4.This is done by taking a case study of the Zeliangrong indigenous

4 Elsewhere we have proposed the notion of Deep Economic Value (DEV) which is multi-dimensional in nature and responsive to the complex interrelationships between humans and their natural environment. The distinguishing quality of DEV is that these relationships between humans and the environment are mediated by culture (Milton, 1996). We define DEV on the basis of Erik Cohen’s (1976) ‘Environmental Orientations’, identified as the instrumental, territorial, symbolic and sentimental value in this context. This basically calls for non-monetary expression of value in the other three dimensions apart from

community where a place attachment tool was tested.

2. WHY A PARTICIPATORY MODEL OF ASSESSMENT AND VALUATION?

Environmental valuation has typically employed either stated preference or revealed preference techniques, both of which tend to elicit value solely in monetary terms. Consequently, damage assessment and compensation have been treated simply as cash payments, thereby ignoring other factors impinging upon the loss. Stated preference techniques have shown, however, that respondents actually express environmental value in terms other than price, even if these dimensions are typically passed over by environmental economists (Spash 2000, 2008). There is therefore a need to broaden the concept of total economic value to accommodate other dimensions of value which monetary valuation cannot. For instance, in the case of projected submergence of indigenous Zeliangrong villages along the Barak river basin, the appropriate measure of value would be willingness to accept compensation (WTA), but the present state-of-the-art is not capable of valid measurement of WTA for non priced environmental goods. In such cases, the only option, willingness to pay (WTP) option to avoid environmental degradation, severely underestimates economic value because what one is willing to pay is constrained by one’s income or ability to pay. In such indigenous communities with economic structure which is basically subsistence in nature, such payment mechanism will not elicit true preference/valuation of the good in question.

In this study, conducted among the Bamgaizang, Ntaizizang and other neighbouring indigenous communities, the income section of the demographic questionnaire was mostly left blank by respondents at the initial stage until the researcher provided guidelines on how to implicitly calculate the monthly income from fishing, hunting and cultivating. Even then, there were lean seasons where the imputed mean monthly income was reported as being less as Rs. 50 for a family of five. Such responses indicate the minimal worth of monetary value in these societies. Valuation in situations like natural resource damage assessments will therefore not be representative unless we can find more effective ways to involve the community to elicit their understandings meaningfully. There is a need for further methodological explorations and participatory approaches where value can be gauged through non monetary expressions 5.

The indigenous villagers perceive and define their life in relation to the land and forest in which they dwell. Their myths of origin demonstrate the cultural significance they place equally on individual life, land and forests. For instance, the Barak River and the forest are deeply associated with their religious beliefs, spirituality and history. Zeihlat Lake is instrumental, and hence can fit in well in the indigenous scheme of valuation. Such a conceptual framework for a multi-dimensional value is conceivable when we allow for a participatory approach to valuation. This paper gives particular emphasis on the sentimental dimension, which is only one of the many dimensions of environmental value. 5 Refer to DEV discussion.

another sacred lake which is connected to the spiritual life and history of the people. It was in this lake that political and spiritual legendary figures like Haipou Jadonang, Rani Gaidinliu etc. used to draw inspiration from the python deities that reign in this Lake. Further downstream is the river island called ‘Thiledam’ meaning ‘life and death’ in Hmar (another indigenous tribe). This is believed to be the resting place for all human souls after their death.

3. WHAT DO WE MEAN BY PLACE ATTACHMENT?

There has been recent interest in questioning ‘place’ from a variety of perspectives, in terms of its relation to the basic understanding of being and the extent to which it continues to be an aid or a hindrance for thinking about culture and economy. While placelessness has become the essential feature of modern condition, the fact remains that place continues to be most important in the lives of many people, if we understand, by place the experience of a particular location with some measure of groundedness (however, unstable), sense of boundaries (however, permeable), and connection to everyday life, even if its identity is constructed (Escobar, 2001). The concept of sense of place is therefore increasingly being used to represent the idea that there are aspects of human relationships to nature that legal, political and market institutions do not fully represent in economic and other social transactions (Kirsch, 2001; Torgerson, 1999).

Place attachment can be understood as comprising place dependence and place identity (Williams and Vaske, 2003). Place attachment represents a concept of valuation that encompasses both functional and emotional/symbolic meanings (Schreyer et al. 1981). Place dependence is a functional attachment which suggests an ongoing relationship with a particular setting. These functional meanings have to do with the opportunities that a particular environmental setting supports in terms of specific activity needs or behavioural goals better than an alternative. However, rather than focussing exclusively on the tangible or objective properties of the environment, the shift towards ecosystem management underscores the importance of also understanding the subjective, emotional and symbolic meanings associated with natural places and the personal bonds or attachments that people form with specific places or landscapes (Williams and Stewart, 1998). Environmental psychologists (Proshansky et al. 1983) have addressed these meanings in terms of attachment to places such as home, neighbourhood and country. This place attachment (an emotional attachment) therefore refers to the symbolic importance of a place as a repository of emotions and relationships that gives meaning and purpose to life (Shamai, 1991).

4. MEASURING PLACE ATTACHMENT: SOME PRELIMINARY INTERPRETATION

Fieldwork was conducted among the Zeliangrong community to assess their sense of place or ‘place attachment’ with their land, forest and other natural resources in the region. The following is a brief ethnographic account centred on the native’s constructions or perceptions and experience of place by looking at local knowledge and localised expressions. The following study was designed to facilitate more participation

from the people in terms of voicing their understandings on value, with particular focus on place based attachment value 6.

4.1 Methodology

The study was conducted in five villages along the Barak river basin with 210 respondents. The design, content and administration of survey questionnaires were developed and carried out following focus group discussions, personal interviews and also through participant observation. Three focus group discussions were conducted to assess the environmental consciousness of the groups and to identify various sentimental feelings they possess towards their land. Personal interviews were also conducted to identify various dimensions of value and worldviews of the native communities involved. Participants in the focus group discussions and interviews were mostly subsistence farmers, village elders, local school teachers, housewives and village youths. In addition to the ethnographic data collection techniques the study also involved the creation and administration of a questionnaire designed to elicit through sub sets of the sentimental dimension of value associated with “place attachment” – place dependence and place identity.

The main objective of the survey was to measure the sense of place attachment of the people to their land and forests using a tool developed by Williams and Vaske (2003). The measurement was done on a five point Likert scale as ‘strongly disagree’, ‘disagree’, ‘neutral’, ‘agree’ and ‘strongly agree’ to twelve items. Participants answered six questions for each component of place attachment structured in the Likert scale. The tool developed by Williams and Vaske has taken care of the construct and convergent validity and also concerns regarding generalizability.

As an interviewer, the researcher facilitates the communication of intended ‘meaning’ when administering the survey questions. This was crucial in improving data quality and reducing measurement error because people’s responses might be driven by the bigger agenda of being in favour or against the construction of Tipaimukh dam. The whole process of qualitative enquiry and community participation happens in an ambience of trust developed by living in these villages and also on the knowledge that the study is apolitical and an academic one. We now go on to show “place identity” and “place dependene” as the two sub-categories or dimensions of Place Attachment.

5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Place Identity

Place identity sentiments were expressed in emotionally loaded responses that one possesses roots, have a place in this world, or belong to a community, a village or a

6 For a more refined and philosophical understanding on the concept of ‘place’, see Casey (1993, 1997). In this paper, we take place in a more empirical and analytical sense.

neighbourhood and forms part of the over-all identity of a person. They have a very strong sense of collective spirit represented in their village name. In their traditional set- up, once a person crosses the village boundary, he is identified to the outside world, first by his village name, and than his personal name. This sentiment relating to place identity could otherwise also be understood as the ecological façade of a person’s answer to the question “Who am I?” Thus, one of the reasons individuals assigns importance to a place is that these places help to identify themselves to others.

The first item of the survey tool (refer appendix) “I feel (village name) is a part of me” has 99% of the respondents opted for ‘strongly agree’. In their indigenous worldviews, it is the land, more than anything else, which gives life and meaning to their whole being. It is in the land that their history, culture and identity are contained. Man and his land are inseparable and they form one whole. The traditional land base also holds significant symbolic and emotional meanings as it the repository of ancestral remains. The place of death is more important than the place of birth for this Zeliangrong indigenous tribe. They believe that the value of life of a person is not destructible even after his death, because the spirit remains. These ancestral spirits looks after the people and protect them from other spiritual forces. Thus, the people are deeply attached to their ancestral burial places which are held in high and solemn regards.

Another strong perspective on the value of land is brought out by its comparability to the value of a person’s life. For instance, if a person is accidentally killed in a hunting expedition, the apology comes in the form of offering a plot of land called ‘Theihzi’. Land is considered ‘eternally indestructible’, and hence seen as the only worthy compensation. It is this concept of permanency of land that brings high value to it.

The third item of the survey “I am very attached to Bamgaizang” has again 96% of the respondents strongly agreeing to it. The concept of the home, in relation to their traditional territories, is the sphere in which they practise their culture. Traditionally, a group would identify their boundary with another group by using the hills, rivers, valleys, mountain range or rocks as the marker. 60% of the respondents reported a strong sense of security and confidence once they set their foot into their territory. This sense stems from the knowledge these are the forests that they, their fathers and forefathers have hunted for generations, or the rivers they grew up fishing. 35% of the respondents reported a feeling of being oneself the moment they see their village even from a distance. While the former develops a functional attachment, the latter group develops emotional meanings and relation to their land. In this item, respondents also reported feelings of attachment arising from particular sites or incidents as repository of childhood or youthful memories. When asked how they would express such nostalgia and memories, most responses came in the form of songs that adore the beauty, prosperity and uniqueness of their ancestral land which enable the creation of such fond memories.

Place Dependence

The second dimension of place attachment is place dependence, which represents a

more functional relationship with a place. These functional meanings have to do with the opportunities the setting affords in terms of specific activity needs i.e. when the occupants of a setting perceive that it supports their behavioural goals better than an alternative.

The respondents strongly agree that their very existence depends on the nurturing of, and respect for the land they hold. Their central concern is to preserve and maintain their intimate relationship with nature in such a way that nature would always remain bountiful to them. 99% of the respondents asserted that there is an inseparable relationship, control and livelihood dependence on their land, river, forests, mountains, wetlands and other forest resources. One respondent has the imagery of the Barak River as their ‘moneylender’ or ‘banker’ providing fish, crabs, prawns, sand, stones, transportation route, fertile basin for vegetation etc. Especially during the lean season, the villagers’ main occupation is fishing and is considered even more important than agriculture. Another respondent said, “This Barak River is like parents to us, it sustains and provides our needs and rear the entire community”. For the farmers, fishermen and hunters of these villages that thrives on bio-diversity based agro-ecological system, no other place can compare to their land. There is also rich vegetation along the river bank, a nature’s gift , as put by one villager. The concept of a ‘garden’ is extended to the entire forest and not just their respective backyards. The economic, cultural and sentimental attachment with nature, intimate as that of kinship ties, is well reflected in this philosophical questioning of a village elder, “How will you compensate us for our River – for the fish in her belly, her water, for the vegetables that grow along her banks, for the joy and memory of living beside her beauty, for the assurance of dying on her lap? What is the price for these?”

Their concept of natural resource management is rooted in the overall conception of their spiritual relationship with Mother Earth and the respectful dependence that they have on land. The Zeliangrongs believe that cutting of a tree before it matures (except for survival) is sinful; it should complete a certain natural timeline. Cutting of a tree is also otherwise done on consideration of its regenerative potentials. The principles of reciprocity, social and environmental responsibility also guide these indigenous communities in their utilisation and management of natural resources. The inhabitants’ relationship to their local habitat is a reciprocal one involving both “gift” from one generation to the other and equally a “debt” that must be repaid. A farmer (respondent) strongly voiced his understanding that losing land and forests is like cutting off the intergenerational lifeline.

Closely related to their sentimental place attachments, are also the historical and cultural landscapes which are the sources of many folklores and river songs. For instance, ‘Zeihlat’ lake is deeply attached to the peoples’ religious beliefs, cultural life and history. The legendary freedom fighters of the Nagas, Haipou Jadonang and Rani Gaidinliu who fought the British colonial rule as a part of the National Freedom Movement drew inspiration from the deities that coexist in the Zeihlat, and Ahu Khowduang (Barak water falls). In their oral tradition, stories have been told of a ‘magical sword’ that felt into one of the Zeilat lakes and that one day another legend will

be born, worthy and capable of retrieving the sword and fight for the cause of the motherland.

Another important item of the tool concerns the issue of substitutability of a place. 70% of the respondents strongly disagree while 28% disagree to the idea of being relocated to a similar site. This indicates that the very concept of a culture –its way of life, the subsistence practices, systems of meaning, social organisation and identity cannot, as modern economic concepts presume, easily be separated from its geographic setting 7. A respondent argues that, so much of what constitutes a culture is woven into spatial patterns and localised meanings, to move a culture would amount to destroying it.

6. CONCLUSION

The study suggests that most people experience feelings of place attachment which go beyond the instrumental value of the place. Relationship to the resource or a place represents a concept of valuation that encompasses both functional and emotional meanings and attachments. The non-willingness to substitute is strongly influenced by the intensity of attachment that people have with their land. This relationship that people have with the natural resources, the extent to which their identity is tied to them, needs to be understood before responses to changing environmental conditions can be predicted. This study is an initial attempt to describe the characteristics of the people in terms of the dependence and meanings they attach to the resource.

Efforts to determine appropriate compensation for losses suffered by indigenous peoples practicing traditional subsistence lifestyles test the limits of current social science in identifying and delivering an equitable solution to resource damages that result in sentimental and cultural loss. We suggest that an equitable solution may reside in an interdisciplinary synthesis of the knowledge at hand, and operationalizing it in inclusive participatory approaches. These indigenous communities have worldviews, principles, concepts, philosophies and lifestyles that support the sustainable management of the commons. Such participatory modelling can help uncover the extent of economic dependence, the guiding cultural ethos, psychological make-up and all such aspects that need to be studied and understood before any mega developmental projects can be introduced.

7 The idea that cultures are necessarily bounded by geographic territory have begun to be criticised (Gupta and Ferguson, 1997; Olwig and Hastrup, 1997), but it is also very much the case that deterritorialization of cultures is intensified by modernization and globalization (Appadurai, 1997). Hence, many cultures are no longer as territorially bounded as they once were, but the process of disembedding cultural practices and social relations from a place has profound implications for cultures that experience this transformation.

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Appendix

SURVEY SITE: BAMGAIJANG VILLAGE

Please indicate the extent to which each statement below describes your place attachment to your village . (Circle the number that best describes the extent of your sentimental attachment by each statement)

Strongly Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Agree

I feel Bamgaijang is a part of me 1 2 3 4 5

Bamgaijang is the best place for what I like to do 1 2 3 4 5

Bamgaijang is very special to me 1 2 3 4 5

No other place can compare to Bamgaijang 1 2 3 4 5

I identify strongly with Bamgaijang 1 2 3 4 5

I get more satisfaction by living in Bamgaijang more than any other 1 2 3 4 5

I am very attached to Bamgaijang 1 2 3 4 5

Doing what I do at Bamgaijang is more important to me than doing it in any other place 1 2 3 4 5

Bamgaijang helps define and express who I am inside 1 2 3 4 5

I wouldn’t substitute any other area for doing the types of things I do at Bamgaijang 1 2 3 4 5

Bamgaijang means a lot to me 1 2 3 4 5

The things I do at Bamgaijang, I would enjoy just as much at a similar site 1 2 3 4 5

______

Note: The odd-numbered items measure place identity, the even numbered items measure place dependence, and the final item is reverse scored.