Mounting evidence indicates large-scale climatic phenomena such as El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) can overwhelm endogenous factors that govern the population dynamics of wild species. We add to this evidence by documenting an ENSO-related decline of large mammals in the Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary, in Rajasthan, India. This event coincided with the drought of 2000, following two consecutive monsoon failures. Time series of biennial counts (1991-2005) shared a common feature: all 13 species declined in abundance from 1999 to 2001, with 11 species experiencing an apparent decline exceeding 25%. An ENSO index explained much of the variability in population size, apparently reflecting mass mortality and/or recruitment failure caused by the major 1998-2000 La Nina event, followed by a rapid rebound. ENSO apparently overwhelmed endogenous factors and synchronized the dynamics of the mammalian community. Our findings may prove to be symptomatic of geographically broad impacts of large-scale climate on the dynamics of terrestrial vertebrate communities, even in protected areas. Our findings reinforce the growing recognition that we should not overlook global-scale causal agents of ecological change.

La Niña's signature : synchronous decline of the mammal community in a 'protected' area in India

Civil liability for environmental damage: an assessment of environmental claims under private and public law in India

This article presents new evidence with which to evaluate the validity of the popular picture of religious environmentalism in India. It examines accounts of a large number of incidents described in Indian language newspapers, the colonial archive, and hunting literature published between the 1870s and 1940s, in which British and other sportsmen clashed with villagers in India while out hunting. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the colonial sports-hunting obsession was in its heyday, but opposition to hunting across India was also mounting. Rural villagers, in particular, were often willing to become involved in physical combat with hunters, apparently in order to protect local wildlife. Sportsmen often assumed that it was religious fanaticism that made Hindus defend the lives of what they saw as game animals, trophies, and specimens. The article provides evidence that, in addition to religion, a mixture of other motivations explains Hindu interest in the conservation of certain species. Anti-colonial consciousness, assertions of local authority and territoriality, and an environmental ethic can all be identified as being at work. The end result was the increased conservation of certain species of wildlife.

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Resistance to Hunting in Pre-independence India: Religious environmentalism, ecological nationalism or cultural conservation?*

Aims: The objective of this study is to highlight and document indigenous weather forecasting knowledge of the people of Higher Himalaya in Uttarakhand so that the same could be improvised and used effectively for disaster risk reduction in remote and inaccessible areas. Study Design: The study is based on interactions with the community members in identified habitations of the four valleys selected for this research in Uttarakhand Himalaya. Place and Duration of Study: Four valleys in the state of Uttarakhand, India are taken up for the study; Johar, Byans and Niti valleys together with upper reaches of Bhagirathi valley. The data is collected between June 2012 and January 2015 through fieldwork carried out in the area. Methodology: The present study is based on the response of 871 persons of the selected 73 Higher Himalayan villages of Uttarakhand, recorded using a specially designed semi-structured questionnaire. Besides this, perception of the people is also gathered through focused group discussions, in-depth interviews and key informant interviews. Special care is taken to select elderly people for response as they have memories of longer time span and 50 percent of the respondents are more than 50 years in age. Special care is also taken to ensure gender balance. Original Research Article Rautela and Karki; JGEESI, 3(3): 1-14, 2015; Article no.JGEESI.19016 2 Conclusion: Traditional weather forecasting is used by the people of the study area for local level decision making in pursuits related to travel and agriculture as also for capturing timely information related to possible hazardous events. It is perceived that the traditional knowledge of the people is based upon uniformity of weather pattern that has lately been disturbed by climate change. People are therefore finding it increasingly difficult to use this knowledge effectively. The elderly persons however have faith in this knowledge. Backed with their experience they are able to improvise and include more reliable indicators for weather prediction. Formal recognition is however a must for these practices to be better utilized by the masses as also for planning process. Integrating this knowledge with the modern science can help in better understanding of various climate related parameters and in managing climate risk.

Weather Forecasting: Traditional Knowledge of the People of Uttarakhand Himalaya

In this paper new collaborative research is presented following a re-examination of the faunal remains and
architectural evidence from a selected number of Cotswold-Severn long barrow sites. Five different loci of
deposition are considered: ‘pre-barrow’ contexts; the chambers; the superstructure of the barrow and the
ditches; the forecourt; and blocking material. These spatial locations were chosen following research that has
demonstrated that these areas are likely to represent different temporal, as well as spatial, patterns of activity.
While the faunal remains are diverse in character, common themes observed at the sites include: the deposition
of complete or partial remains of foetal and young animals within chambers; the use of teeth and cranial
elements within blocking material; and, within each temporal context, the absence of clear evidence for feasting
and the importance of cattle, and the small but constant inclusion of wild mammals. This complexity of
practice has the potential to mature our thinking regarding the nature of human–animal relationships within
the early Neolithic of Britain and provide a secure foundation of evidence for subsequent interpretations.

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Animals and Cotswold-Severn Long Barrows: a Re-examination

Rainfall is very unreliable in western Rajasthan and drought and famine are frequent. Applying an ecological-anthropological approach, this study shows how different socio-economic and caste groups adopt different adaptive strategies for subsistence and demonstrates the inter-relationships between physical, social, economic and political factors in the human ecology of the region.

Robert J Fisher

Papers

If rain doesn't come : an anthropological study of drought and human ecology in western Rajasthan