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In the Himalayas, water is seen by some as intricately linked to humans and produced through ethical actions. Its materiality, as a lack or excess of rain or snow, as healthy or receding ice, as destructive hail or flash flood, is a reflection of humans' moral attitude and an outcome of a process of reciprocity that links humans to nonhumans, the land, and divine beings. This perspective departs from the conception of water seen through development projects and from studies about climate change, which tend to objectify water through an epistemology that isolates nature from culture. Water as the materiality of ethics is examined by drawing on cases from Ladakh and Zanskar in the Himalayas and by reviewing studies from other parts of the Himalayas. In particular, water as the materiality of ethics is analyzed through three perspectives: how water is produced as people interact with a sacred geography, how snowy peaks are produced as objects of morality through affective attachment and encounters, and how water is produced as part of multispecies assemblages. A review of an ontology of water defined by reciprocity is important considering the significant changes currently taking place in the Himalayas and which are brought about by climate change and state production through large‐scale development projects. It can enrich our understanding of their implications for the cultural life of the often marginalized peoples of the Himalayas and contribute to narratives about the Anthropocene. This article is categorized under: Human Water > Water as Imagined and Represented Human Water > Rights to Water
In the Himalayas, water is seen by some as intricately linked to humans and produced through ethical actions. Its materiality, as a lack or excess of rain or snow, as healthy or receding ice, as destructive hail or flash flood, is a reflection of humans' moral attitude and an outcome of a process of reciprocity that links humans to nonhumans, the land, and divine beings. This perspective departs from the conception of water seen through development projects and from studies about climate change, which tend to objectify water through an epistemology that isolates nature from culture. Water as the materiality of ethics is examined by drawing on cases from Ladakh and Zanskar in the Himalayas and by reviewing studies from other parts of the Himalayas. In particular, water as the materiality of ethics is analyzed through three perspectives: how water is produced as people interact with a sacred geography, how snowy peaks are produced as objects of morality through affective attachment and encounters, and how water is produced as part of multispecies assemblages. A review of an ontology of water defined by reciprocity is important considering the significant changes currently taking place in the Himalayas and which are brought about by climate change and state production through large‐scale development projects. It can enrich our understanding of their implications for the cultural life of the often marginalized peoples of the Himalayas and contribute to narratives about the Anthropocene. This article is categorized under: Human Water > Water as Imagined and Represented Human Water > Rights to Water
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This research unfolds the notion of ‘settling with/in forests,’ shaped by the dynamic environmental and socio-political interactions in India’s Garhwal Himalayas. Garhwal’s forests perform diverse ecosystem functions that characterise the regional landscape. Settling with/in forests is fundamental to Himalayan communities as, directly and/or indirectly, forests structure the ecology, livelihoods, settlements, and seasonal mobilities across the mountainous landscape. Today, Garhwal’s forests are endangered by the cascading impacts of global warming, increasing urbanisation, natural disasters, and extensive infrastructure construction. Using a “thick description” approach, the research seeks to examine the intertwined layers of forests, local habitats, practices, and institutions, provide insight into the region’s unique environmental history, and identify the challenges associated with settling with/ in forests. The research combines fieldwork, archival materials, and interpretive mapping to examine a case study in the Garhwal Himalayas.The findings highlight the conflicts and coexistence of State policies and non-state adaptations, as well as the vulnerability of the region’s forests to climatic stress and future anthropogenic change. The forests of Garhwal are critical to the larger Himalayan ecology, and the research findings point the way forward for developing potential adaptations that strengthen the concept of settling with/in forests.
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