At Nature's Edge The Global Present and Long-Term History

About this book

Living in an epoch when environmental issues make the headlines, this is a work that goes beyond the everyday. The authors carrying out research in six Asian and African countries come together to ask how and why human impacts on nature grew in scale and pace from a long pre-history. Eschewing any easy labels, this is a collection that will give food for thought to scholars and concerned citizens alike.

Ecologies as diverse as the Himalaya and the Indian Ocean coast, the Negev desert and the former military bases of Vietnam, the Namib desert and the east African savannah have in common a longtime human presence and the many ways people have modified nature. The studies illumine specific patterns and responses across the long-time. Most important they go beyond an overt centering of the European experience, drawing together diverse experiences when addressing critical environmental questions. The tapestry of life and the human reshaping of environments evokes both concern and hope.

Contents

Acknowledgements
Nature and History: An Introduction
Gunnel Cederlöf and Mahesh Rangarajan

1: Provincializing the Anthropocene: Eurocentrism in the Earth System, Kathleen D. Morrison
2: Anthropogenic Landscapes of the Central Himalayas, Vasudha Pande
3: Wild Children, Michael Adams
4: An Historical Ecology of Cattle in Mozambique, Anneli Ekblom
5: Wild Beasts in the City, Harini Nagendra
6: History Eats its Young: The Perils of Short-Termism in Understanding the Past, Sandra Swart
7: Going, Going, Gone: A History of Israel's Biodiversity, Alon Tal
8: History and the Militarized Landscape: Long Historical and Broad Social Views, David Biggs
9: Natural' No More? Delhi's Yamuna River, Ravi Agarwal
10: South Asia's Coastal Frontiers, Sunil Amrith
11: Narratives from Indian Seas: Marine Resource Use, Ecosystem Responses, and Accidents of History, Rohan Arthur
12: Expanding Nature Conservation: Considering Wide Landscapes and Deep Histories, T. R. Shankar Raman

Bibliography
Index
About the Editors and Contributors

Customer Reviews

Biography

Gunnel Cederlöf is Professor of History, Centre for Concurrences in Colonial and Postcolonial Studies, Linnaeus University, Sweden. Mahesh Rangarajan is Professor of History and Environmental Studies, Ashoka University, Haryana, India.


Contributors:
- Michael Adams
- Ravi Agarwal
- Sunil Amrith
- Rohan Arthur
- David Biggs
- Gunnel Cederlöf
- Anneli Ekblom
- Kathleen D. Morrison
- Harini Nagendra
- Vasudha Pande
- T. R. Shankar Raman
- Sandra Swart
- Alon Tal