Paper short abstract:

In a case study from Panna Tiger Reserve, India, the logic of a conservation practice appears intangible, but understanding the its genealogy may generate an understanding of exchange beyond economics and irrational belief.

Paper long abstract:

This paper discusses a practice observed in a community located in the Panna Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India. Here, cattle deemed old and 'no longer useful' are released and allowed to roam freely in the forest. This is neither a common practice in other forested areas in India, nor is it a customary tradition of the indigenous communities in question. It persists despite there being profits to be made in the sale of the carcasses. This practice also has a positive ecological externality in the form of increase in the pray base for large carnivores, in particular, tigers, which were previously extinct and reintroduced to the reserve.

The authors argue that understanding the genealogy (Foucault) of the practice and the rationale behind it could provide useful input for conservation policy. Human dimension aspects are an inevitable part of conservation in multi-use and human dominated landscapes, a fact which necessitates the need for further research on the role of human interface in socio-ecological systems (Walker, Folke et. al). This paper contests the interpretation that a certain set of 'traditional' or 'non-scientific' behaviour gets transmitted through 'custom' and 'culture'. It argues, instead, that the complex processes of social learning, mitigation, and adaptation render static categories of 'traditional' and 'scientific' simplistic and in need of further analysis (Anderson). It explores the idea of traditional tolerance (Ruiz-Mallen and Corbera) to better understand the underlying mechanisms that drive social norms and the impact of this on community perception and 'the logic of practice' (Bourdieu).