Research project

Futuring Heritage: Conservation, Community and Contestation in the Eastern Himalayas

This project researches how initiatives aimed at environmental conservation in the Eastern Himalayas relate to the cultural expectations of its ‘indigenous’ ethno-linguistic minorities. Researching the bearing which human/nonhuman relationships have on times to come (‘futuring’), the project focuses on contested interpretations of nature, and cultural interpretations of space more generally. As such, the project intends to develop new pathways for socially and culturally inclusive approaches to environmental conservation.

Duration: 2025 - 2029
Contact: Erik de Maaker
Funding: NWO Open L grant
Partners: Ashoka University; Forest Department; Garo Hills Autonomous District Council; Garo Hills Nokma Council; Holiday Scout; Leiden University; Meghalaya Basin Management Agency; MLAS (Mutanchi Lom Aal Shezum); North East Society for Agroecology Support; RV University; Society for Urban and Rural Empowerment (SURE); UNESCO; WWF; Wildlife Trust of India.

Futuring Human-Nonhuman Relationships

The landscapes of the eastern Himalayas have been shaping and are shaped by the relationships people form with one another and maintain with a broad range of nonhuman presences. This diversity of relationships and entanglements must be acknowledged to grasp how ecological degradation creates challenges for the future of these valuable yet precarious environments, and the cultural expectations of its indigenous ethno-linguistc minorities. Increasingly, the region attracts initiatives aimed at ‘community-led’ conservation, which frame Himalayan landscapes predominantly in terms of cultural heritage. These, however, sit uneasily with residents’ traditional uses of forests, rivers and mountains, and the human-nonhuman relationships these encompass. How can customary knowledge, skills and ways of life, rather than being disregarded as obstacles contribute to environments that are sustainable? How can initiatives aimed at conservation and climate action in the eastern Himalayas be brought in sync with local ontologies?

Sensorial Ethnographic Mapping and GIS

Conceptualised by a consortium encompassing anthropologists, sociologists, and geographers, as well as societal partners active in the Himalayan region, Futuring Heritage will identify common ground among different stakeholders who at times struggle to grasp each other’s perspectives, desires and decisions.
Developing new spatial methodologies, which explore the intersections of sensoreal ethnographic mapping and GIS technology, the project focuses on usages, perceptions, relations and claims to land. We will research these conceptualisation and valuations of land in the light of how these make reference to heritage, ontology, indigeneity as well as various forms of governance.
Futuring Heritage encompasses three sub-projects, allowing for the comparison of how distinct landscapes encompass heritage in the eastern Himalaya.

Abhimanyu Chettri (PhD): Futuring ‘post-Heritage’: Reinterpretations of spatiality in Sikkim

Gaining UNESCO recognition for the vast Khangchendzonga National Park (in 2016), underscored Sikkim’s widely popular portrayal as an environmentally conscious and sustainably developing state. How does the authorised worthiness of a region combine with extreme weather events and biodiversity loss impact futuring among different human and more-than-human residents of the state?

Erik de Maaker (Senior Researcher): Futuring World Heritage? Custom, cooperation and competing governance

In western Meghalaya, attempts to create a UNESCO recognised Garo Hills Conservation Area reveal the complexity of the fractured legality of local structures of governance. Rich forests, historically sustained mainly due to shifting cultivation, are being objectified, to allow for their monetization as carbon sinks. How does the attribution of these new values transform futuring?

Anna Notsu (PhD): ‘Community-led’ futuring at the intersection of destruction and recuperation

In eastern Meghalaya, where unregulated resource extraction persists, residents are entangled in both destruction and recuperation. In response to ‘community-involved’ degradation, institutionalised attempts at environmental conservation are burgeoning. Simulteneously, community-led initiatives to restore scarred landscapes offer signs of hope. How does this expand the idea of futuring to encompass both conservation and ‘community-led destruction’?