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The Chipko movement emerged in the early 1970s in the Garhwal region of the Indian Himalayas. In attempting to draw attention to the difficulty of sustaining their livelihoods in the region, local communities engaged in protests by hugging trees that were marked for felling in state-owned commercial forests. As the story of these protests spread across India and the globe, Chipko was hailed worldwide by ecologists, ecofeminists, policy makers and academics. Ironically, as the legend grew, Chipko’s story became increasingly disconnected from the realities that gave rise to the protests.
This book brings the Chipko movement back from the realm of myth into the world of geographical history. It reveals how the biogeography of the region has been shaped by struggles over resources and livelihoods, and illustrates how Chipko as environmental myth has added a new layer of frustrations to communities now embroiled in a struggle for regional autonomy.
Haripriya Rangan is at the School of Geography and Environmental Science at Monash University in Victoria, Australia.
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Publication
November 2000
256 pages
Cloth
1 85984 783 8
US$60 / £40 / CAN$85
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