Category: Environment

The Middle Path to Development: Lessons from Bhutan’s environment policy

If there is a place which can make a traveler feel intimate with it in the shortest time since her arrival, Paro would be it. A gushing river of clear water and a fort marks the entrance to the town. The air is an invitation to inhale deep and a reminder that this is not … Continue reading The Middle Path to Development: Lessons from Bhutan’s environment policy →

Holy cow, armchair anthropology & attraction of the ‘exotic’

A paper I recently read and which I had never known about (although some argue that it has been one of the most well known papers on culture & ecology) amazes me in its method and for the art of stating the obvious. Marvin Harris' paper The Cultural Ecology of India's Sacred Cattle 'attempts' to talks of … Continue reading Holy cow, armchair anthropology & attraction of the ‘exotic’ →

Ecological context & identifying it

This post examines the ecological context of a field study conducted in Kuppam, Andhra Pradesh. I have written about it on the field notes page.  In a preface to his booklet “Economy of Permanence” published in August 1945, J.C. Kumarappa refers to his work as a ‘positive outlook that will suit the genius of the … Continue reading Ecological context & identifying it →

Studying Environmental Law in India

We had an interesting discussion this afternoon on approaches to study environmental law. We lead into this subject from ecology and development perspective. It does not examine environmental law as an area of practice in law but as an exploration of ecological, environmental issues from the legal perspective. The difference must be noted upfront. In … Continue reading Studying Environmental Law in India →