Paper short abstract:

The aim of this contribution is to show how the paradigm of “sentinels” can be useful in a promising field of anthropological research such as the Alps in the Anthropocene, and how this paradigm can enlighten the interspecies relations in contexts of climate and ecosystem uncertainty.

Paper long abstract:

The aim of this contribution is to show how the paradigm of “sentinels” can be effectively used in a promising field of anthropological research such as the Alps in the Anthropocene, and how this paradigm can enlighten the interspecies relations in contexts of climate and ecosystem uncertainty. "Sentinel Devices", the third issue of the American magazine Limn, dedicates to the theme of sentinel devices a wide review of articles and surveys resulting from a whole series of contributions investigating the sentinel role (of environmental changes) played by some “non-human devices”. Among these, some interesting ideas look at animals as real sentinels, able to anticipate and mark the signs of ongoing climate and ecosystem uncertainty, and the potential dangers associated with it. The research was carried out with the peasant communities of the Mont‐Blanc area (Italy) and is part of a broader research framework on the Anthropocene and perception of climate change in the Alps. As I would show, local actors such as hunters, chamois, high mountain ecosystems, soils, are thus configured as “alpine sentinels” of an ongoing global change, often difficult to grasp, sometimes perceived and sometimes obscured by the same communities called to cope with it.

Paper short abstract:

Listening to the bees as sentinels of Climate Change. The interspecies perspective of beekeepers could allow to create forms of collaborative knowledge, and to imagine strategies for climate crisis adaptation and to face desertification.

Paper long abstract:

Bees can be considered as sentinels (KECK 2013) of environmental and social changes.

Their health and behaviours, if interpreted through the beekeeper's intuitive sensitivity (INGOLD 2000), can deliver informations about the ecosystem and on the very nature of the relationships that constitute it: an interweaving of human and non-human actions which results in a constant process of co-creation of worlds (TSING 2015).

In the last years beekeeping has been facing a tragic crisis, due, among other factors, to the lack of

nectar.

In this proposal, which is the result of a two-years field work, the relationship between soil microorganisms,

water, the grass cover of the soil, the health of plants and pollinating insects is investigated.

According to some beekeepers, the reasons for the disappearance of the nectar are to be found in the

desertification process which is advancing in our latitudes, a phenomenon favoured by agricultural

and economic practices which see each element of the territory as alienated from the others.

Following their holistic and ecosophical (GUATTARI 1989) perspective, preserving the soil's ability to retain water and favouring the grassing and the survival of all microorganisms inhabiting it means helping plants to secrete nectar and fight the phenomenon of desertification. By listening to the voice of sentinels of sentinels such as beekeepers, who are actors of a privileged relationship with non-human beings, it is possible to imagine strategies for resilience and mitigation

of the climate crisis.

Paper short abstract:

The paper revolves around human/bird relations and current ecological developments, including the possible extinction of iconic animals such as the Atlantic puffin. Particular attention is given to how contemporary Icelandic artists engage with the puffin as a harbinger with dark ecological message.

Paper long abstract:

Through visual analysis and multi-species ethnography this paper sheds light on current human/animal relations and ecological developments within the Arctic region. These developments include increased human and more-than-human mobility, climate change and massive extinction of wild animals, frequently described as the sixth mass extinction (Kolbert, 2014). Among some of the iconic animals that have recently been listed as endangered is the Atlantic puffin (Birdlife, 2021). In Europe, the population size is estimated to have decreased by 68% over the past 50 years. The paper investigates visual and material representations of the Atlantic puffin within the context of art, tourism and museums. Particular attention is given to contemporary Icelandic artists and how they engage with the puffin as a complex naturecultural symbol and harbinger with dark and gloomy ecological message. The title of the paper is a statement given by one the visitors who attended the performance Sliceland - The Westest Pizza in Europe! by Curver Thoroddsen at Látrabjarg, the largest bird cliff in Europe and a major tourist attraction in Iceland.

Paper short abstract:

Iceland allows for quiet places devoid of anthropogenic sounds. Besides desired quietude there is another, uncomfortable silence expressed by declining numbers of birds. Based on multispecies fieldwork, the contribution explores the sonic relationship between humans, birds and their fragile habitat.

Paper long abstract:

The fascination with Iceland's remoteness, which allows for quiet places devoid of anthropogenic sounds, can be juxtaposed with another, uncomfortable silence that can be particularly grasped in declining numbers of birds. Through multispecific fieldwork in bird habitats in Iceland, this article explores the auditory-sonic relationship between humans, birds and their shared fragile habitat. Based on personal field ornithological explorations and conversations with ornitho- and audiophilic people, the contributation traces eco-activist and artistic resonances triggered by this fragile northern lifeworld. It will focus on the role of sounding or silencing by referencing three bird species: the extinct Great Auk, the Arctic Terns and the Northern Fulmars. The multispecies eth(n)ographical field trip was based on an idea of a perceptual learning about lifeworlds (ethe) (van Dooren and Rose, 2016; Ingold 2017; Gibson 1955, 1963, 1986) and during which these three species became important "teachers".

Paper short abstract:

This presentation aims to explore the transformations in the relationship between La Malinche volcano in east-central Mexico and the Nahua communities living at its slopes, with particular attention to the impact of ecological deterioration in the area in producing a crisis of such relationship.

Paper long abstract:

La Malinche or Matlalcueye is a volcano located in the states of Puebla and Tlaxcala (Mexico) that represents a central ecosystemic, economic, and identity site for the Nahua and Otomi communities that live at its foot. Its toponyms condense much of Mexico's history: La Malinche, also known as doña Marina, was a slave woman who became the interpreter of Hernan Cortés, whose translation work was crucial to the outcomes of the conquest of the Mexica empire; Matlalcueye, on the other hand, is the Tlaxcaltec name of a Nahua water deity who was very important within the cult of the mountains prevalent in prehispanic Mexico. The relationship between local communities in the area and the La Malinche volcano thus dates back to prehispanic times, when figures such as the tiempero were in charge of establishing a social relationship with the mountains and the weather, responsible for good crop recults and human health. This relationship, however, seems to have broken down due to the violent historical and social processes, coupled with current climatic changes and ecological deterioration of the area, which shape experiences of disorientation among the communities' inhabitants. Condensing this crisis between community and territory emerges the figure of the talador, the illegal woodcutter, a community dweller who contributes to the environmental devastation of La Malinche's forests and who reveals all the voracity of the current predatory economic system.