Social change in Indian Tibet

Abstract: The chapter focuses on the fact that as compared to other mammals, including primates, humans are behaviorally, anatomically, and physiologically monandrous. However, sometimes multimale matings within the window of life-span of sperm and ovum also occur. Moreover, humans show adaptations to the possibility of sperm competition. The issue of sperm competition in humans still needs predictions that separate sperm competition from the alternative hypotheses. On the basis of this information, it can be inferred, that in eutherian mammals, the sperm fertile life-span tends to be short. In addition, there are no sperm-storage organs, the interactions between sperm and the female tract are complex and competition between ejaculates is in the nature of scramble competition not contesting competition. Sperm face major barriers within the female tract and the timing of mating in relation to ovulation determines male success at fertilization to a great extent. Thus, mechanisms of sperm competition in mammals appear to differ to a great extent from other taxa, in which sperm are stored within the female tract for long periods of time.

Abstract: Changes in economy and land use are under way in the Indian Transhimalayan region of Ladakli, creating both negative and positive prospects for wildlife conservation in this sparsely populated and previously remote area. New livestock breeds, irrigation developments, farming practices, foreign tourists, and a large military presence are changing the way people view and use the mountainous land that surrounds them. With only 0.3% of the land currendy arable, changes in wildlife and natural resource conservation are most apparent on Ladakh 's extensive rangelands which are apparently undergoing a redistribution of use associated with social changes and recently introduced animal husbandry and farming practices. Internationally endangered species such as the snow leopard, several wild ungulates, and the black-necked crane provide special incentive for conservation efforts in what are some of the best remaining natural areas in the mountainous regions to the north of the Himalayan crest. The success of newly created protected areas for wildlife conservation in Ladakh rests on an understanding of the effecls of various development directions, a commitment to environmentally sensitive development amid the many competing demands on Ladakh 's natural resources, conservation laws appropriate to human needs, and a clear recognition that solutions can be neither directly adaptable from other mountainous areas nor even widely applicable across the Himalayan region. fc Conservation de la Jaunt et ckangementi d'utiliiation des trrres dam la region trtmshimalayeiinf du Ladakh, Inile. Des changements dans ['economic et 1'utilisation des terres sont en train de se produire dans le region transhimalayenne du Ladakh en Inde, entrainant des expectatives negatives aussi bien quc positives pour la conservation de la faune dans celte zone faiblemenl peuplee et jusque dans ces derniers temps isolee, Les nouvelles especes de bestiaux, les projets d'irrigation, les pratiques agricoles, les touristes etrangers et la presence d' in stall aliens militaires imponantes ont modifie la maniere dont la population percoit et utilise le milieu momagnard qui les entoure. Si 1'on considere qifa present seulemertt 0,3 pour cent des terres sont arables, les changements dans la conservation de la faune et des resources naturelles sont plus apparents dans les grands paturages du Ladakh; ces paturages semhlent subir line redistribution de leur utilisation associcc aux changements sociatix ct aux pratiques d'clcvagc du bctail ct dc culture qui ont ete introduces recemment. Les especes menacees a 1'echelle Internationale, comme le leopard des neiges, plusieurs ongules sauvages et la gnie a col noir, fournissent une forte justification pour les projets de conservation dans ces zones naturelles qui comptent parmi les meilleures encore preservers dans les regions montagneuses situees au nord de la crete himalayenne. Le succes des zones protegees qui ont etc recemment crcecs pour la conservation dc la faune du Ladakh est base sur une comprehension des effets de diverses approches vis-a-vis du developpement, un engagement total envers un developpement respectant 1'environnement dans le cadre des demandes multiples sur les ressources naturelles du Ladakh, des lois sur la conservation appropriees aux besoins de la population, et une admission claire que les solutions ne peuvent ni etre directement adaptees a partir d'autres zones montagneuses, ni elre applicables a la totalite de la region himalayenne. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Artensehutz und Landnutaingsdnderungen im Transhimalaya Gfbiet van Ladakh, Indien. 1m indischen Transhimalaya Gcbict von Ladakh verandern sich die Okonomie und die Landnutzung— was in diesem sparlich besiedelten und frtther abgeschiedenen Gebiet Vorund Nachteile fur den Artenschutz mit sich bringL Neue Arten bei der Viehzucht, Bewasserungsprojekte, neuc Landwirtschaftsmethoden, auslandische Touristen und ein grofies militarisches Kontingcnt verandern die Art und Weise, in der die Revolkerung das sie umgebende Land sieht und nulzt. Da nur 0,3% des Gebietes anbaufahig sind, werden Veranderungen bcim Artenschutz und bei der Erhaltung der Naturressourcen auf den ausgcdehnten Flachcn Ladakh's besonders auffallig. Diese Gebiete unterliegen einer Nutzungsordnung, die sich aus sozialen Veranderungen und kurzlich neu eingefuhrten Ackerbauund Viehzuchtmethoden ergibt. Tiere, die global geschutzt sind, wie der Schneeleopard, verschiedene wilde Hufiiere und die schwarzhalsigen Kranichc gcben Erhaltungsbcstrebungcn besondere Motivation, denn die bergigen Regionen nordlich des Himalaya Kammes gehoren zu den besterhaltenen unter den verbliebenen Naturlandschaften. Der Bestand der neuerlich geschaffenen Schutzgebiete in Ladakh hangt voin Verstandnis der Auswirkungen verschiedener Entwicklungsprojekte ab, ebenso von der Verpflichtung fur umweltgerechte Entwicklung innerhalb der vielen konkurrierenden Anforderungen an Ladakh's Naturressourcen. Gesetzgebung auf dem Gebiet des Artenschutzes muB den menschlichen Bedurfnissen angcpaBt sein, und es mulJ erkannt werden, daB Losungen von anderen Bergregionen nicht unbedingt iibernommen werden konnen und oftmals fur das Himalayagebiet unzutreffend sind. 'Department of Ecology/ Zoo logy (IBG), University of Tromsn, N-9037 TromsB, Norway Department of Wildlife Protection, Leh 19-1101, Ladakli, Jammu and Kashmir, India 'School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, CT OfiSll, U.S.A. Present address: Vikram Sambhai Centre for Development Interaction, Thaltej Tekra, Ahmedabad 380054, Gujarat, India 'Conservation Action Group, 211 DDA(SFS) Haul Khas, New Delhi 110016, India

Abstract: The Indian region of Ladakh has recently undergone comprehensive sociocultural changes through the process of acculturation. The present study employs an acculturation psychological framework to assess how two groups of Ladakhi college students navigate through different degrees of exposure to acculturation and how this affects their mental health. Using mixed methods, 292 (age: M = 20.89, SD = 1.66; 64.4% females) respondents were included in the quantitative assessment and 12 participated in semistructured interviews. Analysis revealed that students with less acculturation exposure were more oriented toward ethnic culture and to a greater extent experienced impaired mental health when compared with the sample with more acculturation. Most prevalent among the students (34.2%) was a bicultural orientation, integrating both ethnic and mainstream culture. In general, acculturation orientation was not associated with quantitative measures of depression or anxiety. The qualitative analysis revealed agency and...

Abstract: The host populations living around the four mountain highways in the mountain rimland of South Asia represent the full range of responses in the Bjorkland-Philbrick model. While enhanced income from foreign exchange is seen desirable by central governments there is usually a price to be paid in terms of the receptivity of the local people to foreigners. Furthermore, the plains dwelling population are often as alien as the foreigners when visiting the mountains. The attitude of Bhutan to toursim demonstrates how a small principality seeks to control alien influences. Tourism is permitted, but only at an enormous cost to the tourist. The roads to India are built, and it is inescapable that alien influences will now modify Bhutanese life. For the foreigner, the South Asian mountain rimland continues to attract. Two very attractive historical routes remain barred to the foreigner by the Indian government; north through Pithoragarh District in Kumaon to Lake Mansarowar and Mt. Kailash; and second, the traditio...

Abstract: Ladakh is an isolated arid environment in the Western Himalayas whose population relies mainly on glacial melt water. If the predicted adverse impacts of climate change occur, rising temperatures would accelerate the retreat of glaciers and place immense stress on the traditional Ladakhi agriculture and way of life. Very few studies in hydrology and glaciology currently document physical processes happening in Ladakh and only one project has combined climate data based upon measurements of temperature and precipitation, collected by the Indian Air Force in Leh town, and perceptions of local communities in order to explore the potential impacts of climate change in the area. This information constitutes the basis for climate change-related interventions of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), both local and international, and could help inform any future climate modeling. However, the quality of this data can be questioned on several points, it terms of accuracy, availability and, most importantly, usefulness. Moreover, this chapter discusses the relevance of this kind of data when the focus is placed upon the adaptation of local communities to global environmental changes where climate change may not be the primary cause. For instance, the region is also currently undergoing a rapid transition from subsistence farming to a market-based economy due to the integration of Ladakh into India and the growing influx of tourism. When addressing the broader context of environmental change, reliable, accurate, and available climate data and models could be useful only if used as part of a holistic approach. This approach requires research and interventions to combine scientific information with local knowledge and perceptions about the impacts of climate change to root the physical data in a “real world” context. It must also acknowledge other drivers of environmental changes such as unsustainable development.

Abstract: When the famine in Shansi was over, and I began to consider the reasons of it, I felt I must study the causes of human suffering, not only in China but in all the world. In pondering Western civili...

Abstract: The manner in which cultural factors affect fertility has become an important area of anthropological concern. In this article, it will be shown that while fraternal polyandry does not affect individual fertility it does have a significant depressing effect on aggregate fertility and functions, unperceived and unintended, as an important mechanism for reducing population growth.

Abstract: Polyandry has long held an important place in the literature on kinship and social organization, and Tibet has commonly been used to exemplify a fraternal polyandrously organized society. But even a cursory examination of the literature on marriage and the family in Tibet reveals glaring contradictions concerning the role and importance of polyandry. This paper attempts to show how these contradictions are resolved when marriage is analyzed in terms of stratification and land tenure. Polyandry emerges as only one strategy (albeit a major one) in a larger "monomarital" pattern that was characteristic of certain types of landholding serf and lord strata.