Sud Political Ecology of the Ridge

The Establishment and Contestation of Urban Forest Conservation in Delhi
1. Auflage 2017
ISBN: 978-3-515-11715-9
Verlag: Franz Steiner
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Deutsch, Band 23, 267 Seiten

Reihe: Megacities and Global Change / Megastädte und globaler Wandel.

The remains of the time-worn Aravalli Mountains that extend through Delhi are known as the Ridge. The range is also the site of Delhi’s once continuous but now scattered forests, four segments of which are legally protected as wildlife conservation areas today. How did a biodiversity park and a wildlife sanctuary come to be established in a large and rapidly growing megacity with severe competition for land resources? What does this mean for various citizens who use the forests for different purposes?

Megha Sud provides an insight into the answers to these questions by examining the negotiations that led to the establishment of conservation as the dominant discourse in the Ridge, highlighting the role of various actors and the unequal power relations embedded in these deliberations and their outcomes. In this study she brings together concepts from political ecology and urban political ecology, using literature on local politics and development to ground the argument in the context. She argues that the forested spaces of Delhi must be understood as implicated in the socio-political structures of the city if urban conservation policies are to be sustainable both socially and environmentally.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Sud, Megha

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Architektur Städtebau, Stadtplanung (Architektur)
• Geowissenschaften Geographie | Raumplanung Regional- & Raumplanung Stadtplanung, Kommunale Planung
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Regierungspolitik Umwelt- und Gesundheitspolitik
• Geowissenschaften Geographie | Raumplanung Wälder
• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Umweltschutz, Umwelterhaltung

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;CONTENTS;6
2;ABSTRACT;10
3;ZUSAMMENFASSUNG;12
4;ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS;14
5;LIST OF ACRONYMS;16
6;1 INTRODUCTION;18
6.1;1.1 SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF URBAN FORESTS IN DELHI;18
6.2;1.2 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE DELHI RIDGE;19
6.3;1.3 OUTLINE OF THE BOOK;22
7;2 STATE OF THE ART: LOCATING THE STUDY IN THE FIELD OF POLITICAL ECOLOGY;27
7.1;2.1 POLITICAL ECOLOGY: THE PROBLEM OF DEFINITION;28
7.2;2.2 URBAN POLITICAL ECOLOGY;38
7.3;2.3 CENTRAL ELEMENTS OF POLITICAL ECOLOGY AND URBAN POLITICAL ECOLOGY;45
7.4;2.4 POST-STRUCTURALIST URBAN POLITICAL ECOLOGY IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH;47
8;3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS, METHODOLOGY AND METHODS;50
8.1;3.1 RESEARCH QUESTIONS;50
8.2;3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN;51
8.3;3.3 ENTERING THE FIELD AND FRAMING THE STDY;61
8.4;3.4 METHODS OF DATA ELICITATION;65
8.5;3.5 CHALLENGES AND LIMITATIONS;69
8.6;3.6 DATA RELIABILITY AND RESEARCHER POSITIONALITY;70
9;4 A HISTORY OF DEFORESTATION, AFFORESTATION AND PROTECTION;72
9.1;4.1 BRIEF OVERVIEW OF DEFORESTATION AND AFFORESTATION PRE-COLONIAL AND COLONIAL PERIODS;72
9.2;4.2 LEGAL STATUS OF THE RIDGE: A READING OF NOTIFICATIONS (1913–2006);76
9.3;4.3 CONCLUSION;82
10;5 THE STATE AS MULTIPLE ACTORS;83
10.1;5.1 INTRODUCTION: THE STATE IN ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS;83
10.2;5.2 THE DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY;88
10.3;5.3 THE FOREST DEPARTMENT;94
10.4;5.4 THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA;102
10.5;5.5 CONCLUSION;104
11;6 CONSERVATION OF THE RIDGE ENTERS PUBLIC DISCOURSE;105
11.1;6.1 KALPAVRIKSH AND SRISHTI;105
11.2;6.2 FORMATION OF THE JOINT NGO FORUM FOR THE RIDGE;108
11.3;6.3 LEGACY OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM 1979–1995;115
12;7 THE THREE CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION PROJECTS IN THE RIDGE;118
12.1;7.1 THE MAHIPALPUR RIDGE: OF MINES, MALLS AND BIODIVERSITY PARKS;119
12.2;7.2 SANJAY VAN: CITIZEN RESTORATION PROJECT;141
12.3;7.3 THE ASOLA BHATTI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY;149
12.4;7.4 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION;174
13;8 UNEQUAL POLITICS: FORMATION AND USE OF CONSERVATION SPACES;180
13.1;8.1 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ENVIRONMENTALISM AROUND THE RIDGE;181
13.2;8.2 CRITICAL REVIEW OF PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION AS A DISCURSIVE PRACTICE;191
13.3;8.3 SCIENTIFIC EXPERTS AS POLITICAL ACTORS;196
13.4;8.4 IMPLICATIONS FOR THE MARGINALISED;200
13.5;8.5 THE SUBORDINATE SOCIAL JUSTICE DISCOURSE;210
13.6;8.6 CONCLUSION;215
14;9 DISCOURSES, STORYLINES AND METABOLISM OF THE RIDGE;217
15;10 CONCLUSION;225
15.1;10.1 SUMMARISATION OF MAIN ARGUMENTS;225
15.2;10.2 POST-STRUCTURAL CONTEXTUAL URBAN POLITICAL ECOLOGY;226
15.3;10.3 SOME OPTIMISTIC REFLECTIONS;227
15.4;10.4 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH;228
16;REFERENCES;230
17;APPENDICES;258

Über Autor(innen)

Sud, Megha
Megha Sud is a Policy Analyst focusing on environmental politics and the interface between environment and development. She has a PhD in Human Geography from the University of Cologne and currently works at the OECD on biodiversity policy. She has worked with TERI and WWF India in the past and received her Bachelor’s Degree in History from the University of Delhi (Hindu College), and her Master’s Degree in Development Studies from Tata Institute of Social sciences, Mumbai.