This is what Nature has become: Tracing climate and water narratives in India’s rainfed drylands

The political ecology of small freshwater bodies in Kerala, India

“…Zimmer et al (2020) state that the destruction, degradation, and restoration of ponds are not merely biophysical processes but signify socio‐political and institutional changes. Small freshwater bodies, having the characteristics of commons, and their governance have been under tremendous stress, often failing to cope with the pressures from the market forces and centralized state interventions (Bharucha, 2019; Nayak et al, 2014; Nayak & Berkes, 2011; Unnikrishnan et al, 2016).…”

“…The empirical literature on small-scale water commons has captured the process of change in the (de)commonization efforts in critical resources like water bodies. Nayak and Berkes (2011), Unnikrishnan et al (2016), Nayak et al (2014), and Bharucha (2019) have all tried to trace the trajectory of institutional change in commons by observing different types of ecosystems from large reservoirs like lakes to small-scale coastal fisheries. Deploying varied methods like geospatial analysis, archival research, assimilating oral narratives, surveys, and participant observation, they found that the lack of recognition for traditional community rights has led to degradation and even disappearance of ecosystems, along with marginalization and poverty among dependent communities.…”

“…Power operates at multiple scales and forms. Whereas Robbins (2000) attempted to provide a theory of corruption in natural resource management, Mehta (2017), Shah and Narain (2019), and Bharucha (2019) dissected the fallacious discourses of "scarcity" of resources-its social construction and its pervasive hold in policy discussions. These studies have underscored the fact that "scarcity" has more to do with access and distribution patterns and less to do with biophysical reasons.…”

Review Essay

“…The perception of a certain resource as adequate or inadequate is a function of human needs (demand) and of the power used to contest those needs (demands). For example, Bharucha (2019) argues that India's water policies present the narrative of scarcity as: (i) a universal, natural, and ontological fact; (ii) universally perceived without questioning power and access 5 ; (iii) a constraint to growth and progress because questioning human demands and needs are off-limits; and (iv) threatened by external limits (climate change). 6 The relational nature of resource scarcity is often missing in Malthusian debates that blame population as an environmental problem because they fail to see scarcity "as the result of powerful actors getting away with resource appropriation and thus enhancing degradation" (Mehta 2010, 25).…”

Transforming livestock productivity through watershed interventions: A case study of Parasai-Sindh watershed in Bundelkhand region of Central India

“…Agriculture and allied sectors are the major sources of income for more than 60% of the rural households residing in these areas (FAO, 2015;2013). While the drylands are also beset with poverty and malnutrition largely due to fragmented land holdings, poor production and frequent crop failure (Bharucha, 2019;Chikwanha et al, 2021), they hold huge potential to bridge yield gaps through natural resource management interventions, since current resource use efficiency is much less than the achievable potential (Anantha et al, 2021a;Wani et al, 2017). Studies indicate that the conversion of degraded pasture lands into productive grasslands is not only helping meet fodder demand but also supporting other ecosystem services (Anantha et al, 2021b;Garg et al, 2021b).…”