Environment and Culture: An Introduction

Abstract

Even to an untrained eye, Iran's environmental landscape appears bleak. Drying or dried up lakes, polluted rivers and brooks, thirsty cities with polluted air, sandstorms and bird-less skies, vanishing orchards and gardens in the vicinity of cities and villages, the victims of urban growth, species on the verge of extinction, pasturelands serving as urban wastebaskets, with plastic bags instead of blooming poppies, hazardous wastewaters destroying fish, insects, and humans alike, shrinking forests invaded by cars and villas, or else exploited by the timber industry, and, of course, scarcity of water almost everywhere. In-depth study of Iran's environmental problems, as presented in this special issue, only confirms the general impression outlined above. Iran's aquifers are fast depleting, and desertification is steadily rising. 1 Yet by some standards Iran is actually ahead of its neighbors and even other countries in the semiarid and arid zones. In its wildlife reserves and conservation efforts, reforestation, level of public debate about environmental problems, and even legislation to conserve and protect the environment, Iran as a whole stands favorably in comparison with the rest of the Middle East and its neighboring regions. The 2016 Global Environmental Performance Index ranks Iran 105 among 180 countries, with a total score of 66.32 out of 100, below Turkey (99) and Egypt (104), but above China (109), India (141), and Pakistan (144). Iran's relatively high ranking among its peers leaves room for hope, if the data is accurate. 2 Yet considering what is at stake-an unusually rich habitat and a diverse ecology in and around the Iranian plateau-no level of concern is alarmist. Nor is it possible to translate a holistic environmental crisis into mere statistics. A Regional Destiny It goes without saying that environmental problems do not recognize national boundaries, or even topographical divides. Today's global climate change only tends to reaffirm the collective nature of our environmental fate. Iran is part of a larger ecosystem that stretches from Central Asia, Afghanistan, and the northern Indian subcontinent to Mesopotamia and the Arabian Peninsula, though the Karakum desert, the Zagros and Hindu Kush ranges, and the Persian Gulf draw natural boundaries, if not barriers,

Nature relatedness scale: Validity and reliability in the Persian context, factors constructing and influencing it

“…Therefore, both humans and non-humans are intertwined in the term in English and Persian. In addition, due to Iranian spiritual traditions, there is familiarity with terms such as connecting with nature and feelings of kinship, appreciation, or unity with nature [ 32 , 63 – 65 ].…”

“…Both Islam and Zoroastrianism, the two most influential religions in Iran, respect nature and give advice towards its preservation. Moreover, one of the most accurate solar calendars in the world, the Solar Hijri (Persian) calendar, belongs to the Iranians [ 32 ]. The significance of mentioning these cultures and rituals that have already become embedded in people’s psyches is that they can act as forces to encourage individuals to adopt more sustainable lifestyles.…”

Iran’s water policy: Environmental injustice and peripheral marginalisation

“…Iran’s ecological and environmental conditions have alarmed many observers. The disproportionate construction of dams and inter-basin transfer (IBWT) projects, as well as the excessive use of surface and underground water resources in Iran, have resulted in widespread deforestation and desertification, water pollution, the drying up of wetlands and lakes, and many other examples of environmental degradation ( Amanat, 2016 ) . These dynamics contribute to making Iran one of the most critical geographies for human and natural life in the coming years.…”

Reflection of nature in the material culture of the Karbi tribe: A case from Kamrup (M) district, Assam, India

“…Similarly, culture also performs its own role in reshaping nature providing thereby opportunities for cultural reproduction (Amanat, 2016;Bennett, 1994;Goode, 1904). Like other traditional rural societies, the dwellers of the Brahmaputra Valley have also been using the natural resources simply to fulfill their daily needs and necessities without degrading much their local environment (Saikia, 2011;Deka, et al, 2011;Saha, 2016).…”

“…During the recent years, the modification of the physical environment to fulfill human demands has put the man-environment relationship in a critical state (Arnold and Guha, 1995;Gadgil and Guha, 2000;Khan, 2015;Ellis et al, 2000). This has created a new interface between human and nature for which all kinds of modern social processes, such as rapid population growth, urbanization, industrialization, globalization are generally held responsible (Schimel, et al, 2007;Gu and Subramaniam, 2014;Primdahl and Swaffield, 2010;Kizos, et al, 2010;Amanat, 2016). These processes driven primarily by irrational and selfcentric human activities have remoulded the cordial relation between human and environment to be a 'hostile' one leading the primitive 'biological man' to transform into an 'economic man' thereby bringing a paradigm shift in the idea of human-environment relationship (Singh, 2014;Haila, 2000).…”