Paper short abstract:

Recent energy and development projects have affected, transformed, dispossessed, and disrupted human animal relationship, their traditional migration routes, common lands, and have also reshaped their animal rearing activities and mobilities along with changing water bodies and solar energy projects

Paper long abstract:

Mega energy projects in the Thar Desert of Pakistan are reshaping and reconstructing human animals relationshps and mobilities. The desert is known as a habitat for indigenous pastoralist groups. Since the initiation of coal mining, energy projects, solar energy projects, and infrastructure-related development, the region has experienced reshaping, relocation, and dispossession of animal and human mobility and their existence. The region's identity, sense of belonging, and subsistence livelihood have been shaped by rain, drought, and human animal mobilities, particularly during the monsoon season or in drought year. Recent energy and development projects have affected, transformed, dispossessed, and disrupted their local relationships with animals, their traditional migration routes, common lands, and have also reshaped their animal rearing activities and mobilities along with changing water bodies, and solar energy water projects. The shrinking of common lands and urbanization have reshaped new mobilities with the possibility of solar water pumps, not only altering the pattern of seasonal mobility but also changing the human animals relationships and practices in the desert. Furthermore, this paper will highlight how camels, historically known as the ships of the desert, are becoming a burden in cemented development infrastructure, while donkeys, once domesticated, are now reverting to a wild state. This research is based on ethnographic fieldwork and embedded knowledge as a native of the region who belongs to a pastoralist family. Ethnographic fieldwork was conducted for a doctoral project between 2022 and 2023 in the southeastern district of Pakistan, bordering India.