A tribute to Ajeimai Yun

by Ambika Aiyadura

Can tigers be our brothers?: Changing human-animal relations in the Mishmi Hills, Northeast India

by Ambika Aiyadura

Wildlife conservation in India: from policy to practice

by Ambika Aiyadura

The multiple meanings of nature conservation: insights from Dibang Valley, Arunachal Pradesh

With increasing concerns about the degradation of forests threatening the existence of wildlife, conservation projects are seen as the need of the hour. However, conservation as a concept is often understood differently by the local community, the scientific community, and the state. A critical examination of the ongoing efforts for tiger conservation in Dibang Valley, Arunachal Pradesh, exposes the fault lines in the narrative of nature conservation as the state imposes its agenda through the establishment of sanctuaries and reserves, without considering the needs of the local Mishmi tribe and excluding their traditional conservation practices.by Ambika Aiyadura

The last hunters of Arunachal Pradesh: the past and present of wildlife hunting in North-east India

by Ambika Aiyadurai and N. Velh

Living on the Sino-Indian border: the story of the Mishmis in Arunachal Pradesh, Northeast India

In northeast India, there are several indigenous peoples who reside along theSino-Indian border about whom there is very little academic research. Somecommunities are present on either side of the border, making research verydi cult. The Mishmi is one such indigenous group living in the northeastregion of India bordering southern Tibet. Out of four Mishmi clans, threereside on the Indian side and one on the Chinese side of the internationalborder. After the Sino-Indian War, movement of Mishmi people acrossthe border was restricted, impacting social ties and trade-related activities. Wediscuss relations between the Mishmi and the British, followed by their interactionswith the Indian administration. We document how people used theborders before the war and how development on the border has impactedMishmi lives. This research is a first attempt to document information aboutthe Mishmis in India and China. In this article, we present our preliminaryobservations based on anthropological fieldwork in Arunachal Pradesh, India.Secondary information was gathered from websites, archives, and reports.by Ambika Aiyadurai and Claire Seungeun Le

Evaluating the Status of Forests and Relative Abundance of Wildlife: a Rapid Survey from a Remote and Little Explored Tropical Evergreen Forest of North east India

Volume: 105Start Page: 139End Page: 14

Wildlife conservation and the role of local communities: perspectives from India and China

by Ambika Aiyadurai, Yunxia Li and S. Banerje

Tigers are our brothers: understanding human-nature relations in the Mishmi Hills, Northeast India

Human-nature relations are diverse, multifaceted and often contradictory, especially the relationships with animals. Mishmi people living on the Sino-India border claim tigers to be their brothers and take credit for tiger protection as they observe taboos against hunting tigers. Drawing on this notion of relatedness with tigers, local residents of the Dibang Valley question the governments' recent plans to declare the Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary into Dibang Tiger Reserve and its scientific surveys of tigers and habitat mapping. This paper highlights how Mishmi people relate to tigers and how their understanding of tigers is in contest with versions of state and science, as national property or endangered species. Using in-depth interviews and participant observations in the Dibang Valley, I provide an ethnographic analysis of how different ideas of nature are played out by different actors in Arunachal Pradesh, Northeast India. Tiger conservation projects bring these conflicting versions of nature together, creating unexpected encounters between Mishmi, state and scientists. This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of changing notions of nature in the age of globalisation and an increasingly interconnected world.by Ambika Aiyadura