Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) are gaining a reputation as the primary interventions to increase ecological resilience and provide sustainable livelihoods in India’s climate-sensitive delta regions. The performance of NbS however depends on the level of their sensitivity to gender, equity, and local socio-cultural dynamics. This chapter delves into these topics through an ecofeminist interpretation of Amitav Ghosh’s The Hungry Tide (The Hungry Tide. HarperCollins, 2004), a work of fiction that is based in the Sundarbans—the largest deltaic mangrove region of India. In the course of introducing Kusum and the displaced communities, the novel uncovers the impact of environmental marginalization upon gendered exclusion which are compounded in the situations where there is both ecological uncertainty and the state-driven conservation agenda. Val Plumwood and Vandana Shiva in their works, introduced the idea of ecofeminism that dealt with the patriarchal dualisms of nature/culture and man/woman, which are at the root of not only the environmental crisis but also the gender issues. As stated by Rennie, ecofeminism sets out to reveal how these dualisms organize the social and ecological hierarchies, thus perpetuating systemic inequality. This serves as a valuable lens for a critical analysis of women’s roles in traditional ecological knowledge, informal caregiving economies, and disaster response, which are still undervalued in NbS planning. Through the exploration of the conflicts that can arise through the imposition of conservation measures from above and the community-based ecological activities from below, The Hungry Tide exposes the need for gender-sensitive and regionally based adaptation mechanisms as a result of the climate change issue. The author in this chapter considers the Sundarbans as more than a natural realm, but a place full of conflicts, both cultural and gendered and, therefore the ecofeminist ideas can definitely contribute to better NbS designs and policies. The latter would not only increase the climate resilience but also make sure that the women’s livelihoods, independence, and ecological agency remain the cornerstones of sustainable development in the deltaic India.

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Delta Resilience Through Feminist Ecologies: Insights from the Hungry Tide

  • Chinmoyee Biswas

摘要

Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) are gaining a reputation as the primary interventions to increase ecological resilience and provide sustainable livelihoods in India’s climate-sensitive delta regions. The performance of NbS however depends on the level of their sensitivity to gender, equity, and local socio-cultural dynamics. This chapter delves into these topics through an ecofeminist interpretation of Amitav Ghosh’s The Hungry Tide (The Hungry Tide. HarperCollins, 2004), a work of fiction that is based in the Sundarbans—the largest deltaic mangrove region of India. In the course of introducing Kusum and the displaced communities, the novel uncovers the impact of environmental marginalization upon gendered exclusion which are compounded in the situations where there is both ecological uncertainty and the state-driven conservation agenda. Val Plumwood and Vandana Shiva in their works, introduced the idea of ecofeminism that dealt with the patriarchal dualisms of nature/culture and man/woman, which are at the root of not only the environmental crisis but also the gender issues. As stated by Rennie, ecofeminism sets out to reveal how these dualisms organize the social and ecological hierarchies, thus perpetuating systemic inequality. This serves as a valuable lens for a critical analysis of women’s roles in traditional ecological knowledge, informal caregiving economies, and disaster response, which are still undervalued in NbS planning. Through the exploration of the conflicts that can arise through the imposition of conservation measures from above and the community-based ecological activities from below, The Hungry Tide exposes the need for gender-sensitive and regionally based adaptation mechanisms as a result of the climate change issue. The author in this chapter considers the Sundarbans as more than a natural realm, but a place full of conflicts, both cultural and gendered and, therefore the ecofeminist ideas can definitely contribute to better NbS designs and policies. The latter would not only increase the climate resilience but also make sure that the women’s livelihoods, independence, and ecological agency remain the cornerstones of sustainable development in the deltaic India.