ecology

"Lively Ethography: Storying Animist Worlds"

In this special issue on Multispecies Studies, Thom van Dooren and Deborah Bird Rose attempt to dwell with the kinds of writing and thinking practices that we have been developing in their research in Hawai’i over the past seven years. Their aim is to develop “lively ethographies”: a mode of knowing, engaging, and storytelling that recognizes the meaningful lives of others and that, in so doing, enlivens our capacity to respond to them by singing up their character or ethos.

"Indicators for Ecosystem Conservation and Protected Area Designation in the Mediterranean Context"

El-Hajj Rita, Khater Carla, Tatoni Thierry, Ali Adam and Vela Errol present a review of ecological and socioeconomic indicators globally used to orient conservation planning on the global and national levels. Their paper suggests a set of suitable, relevant, and practical set of indicators, adapted to Mediterranean-type continental environments.

"The Cultural Politics of Sacred Groves: A Case Study of Devithans in Sikkim, India"

Amitangshu Acharya and Alison Ormsby explore devithans—Nepali sacred groves—in the eastern Himalayan state of Sikkim, India. Given that historically the Buddhist Lepcha-Bhutias’ cultural association with Sikkim’s sacred landscape has been celebrated, while that of Nepali ethnic groups has been largely invisibilized, they argue that devithans have emerged as a potential political instrument for the latter to validate political and cultural claims to Sikkim’s sacred landscape.

Earth First! 29, no. 7

This special “Samhain-Yule” issue of Earth First! is dedicated to Samhain, the Celtic term for “summer’s end,” a time to reassess goals and strategies. It discusses endangered rivers, tar sands, protection from environmental degradation, information about US climate justice activism (MCJ), the “Green Scare,” Deep Ecology, and the G20 Summit. Letters to the editor and songs are included as well.