Hyderabad: Women feel free in the forest, said one of the village women interviewed by a Cambridge scholar whose research work was based on understanding the gendered forest and the use of digital surveillance technologies for conservation and the gender-environment relationships the women had developed.
According to the study's author, it demonstrated the gendered nature of forests of the Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) in India, and their different socio-cultural framings. It also revealed how the forest spaces of the CTR are used by women for a wide variety of cultural and livelihood needs.
The tech
Remotely operated camera traps, sound recorders and drones are increasingly being used in conservation science to monitor wildlife and natural habitats, and to keep watch on protected natural areas.
The Cambridge researchers who studied CTR in Uttarakhand found that the technologies were being deliberately misused by local government and male villagers to keep watch on women without their consent. They also found that wildlife monitoring technologies were used to intimidate and spy on women.
The study
The study titled, The gendered forest: Digital surveillance technologies for conservation and gender-environment relationships, was published as "online first" in Environment and Planning F. Cambridge researcher Trishant Simlai, author of the study, had spent 14 months interviewing 270 locals living around the national park in northern India. The interviewees were mainly women from nearby villages.
His report revealed "how forest rangers in the national park deliberately fly drones over local women to frighten them out of the forest", and stop them collecting natural resources despite it being their legal right to do so.
Vulnerability of women
Simlai said the women, who previously found sanctuary in the forest away from their male-dominated villages, feel watched and inhibited by camera traps, so talk and sing much more quietly. This increases the chance of surprise encounters with potentially dangerous wildlife like elephants and tigers. One woman he interviewed has since been killed in a tiger attack.
The study reveals a worst-case scenario of deliberate human monitoring and intimidation. But the researchers say people are being unintentionally recorded by wildlife monitoring devices without their knowledge in many other places - even national parks in the UK.
The negative impact
"Nobody could have realised that camera traps put in the Indian forest to monitor mammals actually have a profoundly negative impact on the mental health of local women who use these spaces," said Simlai, a researcher in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Sociology and lead author of the report.
"These findings have caused quite a stir amongst the conservation community. It’s very common for projects to use these technologies to monitor wildlife, but this highlights that we really need to be sure they’re not causing unintended harm," said Professor Chris Sandbrook, Director of the University of Cambridge’s Masters in Conservation Leadership programme, who was also involved in the report.
He added: "Surveillance technologies that are supposed to be tracking animals can easily be used to watch people instead – invading their privacy and altering the way they behave."
Many areas of conservation importance overlap with areas of human use. The researchers call for conservationists to think carefully about the social implications of using remote monitoring technologies – and whether less invasive methods like surveys could provide the information they need instead.
RK Mishra, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Wildlife said, "A study on surveillance technologies in Corbett Tiger Reserve, conducted on August 19, 2019, revealed that women in nearby villages, who once sought refuge in the forest, now feel watched and speak more quietly due to the presence of camera traps. But to clarify, these cameras are installed as part of a mandate to monitor tiger populations and prevent illegal activities."
"These are crucial for conservation efforts. We respect the privacy of our villagers, and our intention is not to interfere with it," Mishra added.
Addressing concerns about privacy, Mishra said, "We have utmost respect for our villagers. We have taken this issue seriously and have already initiated an investigation into the matter."
Mishra expressed commitment to involve local villagers in the investigation process, ensuring transparency and cooperation. "We will work closely with the community to address any concerns and make sure that their privacy is respected," Mishra said.
He added, "The report does not suggest any misuse of the cameras for invading the privacy of the villagers. A probe has been initiated and the researchers will also be questioned. "
'Intimidation and deliberate humiliation'
The women living near India’s Corbett Tiger Reserve use the forest daily in ways that are central to their lives: from gathering firewood and herbs to sharing life’s difficulties through traditional songs.
Domestic violence and alcoholism are widespread problems in this rural region and many women spend long hours in forest spaces to escape difficult home situations. "Women feel free in the forest. They don’t have to tolerate the prying eyes of their father in law’s and suffer the taunts and violence of their husbands," said another local resident woman.
When there are cameras in the forest, I feel like I am doing something wrong or stealing something from the forest, even when I am picking up dried and dead firewood(sukhi lakdi), said a woman interviewee.
The new technologies, deployed under the guise of wildlife monitoring projects, are being used to intimidate and exert power over them - by monitoring them too, Simlai quoted the women as saying.
The harassment
"A photograph of a woman going to the toilet in the forest – captured on a camera trap supposedly for wildlife monitoring - was circulated on local Facebook and WhatsApp groups as a means of deliberate harassment," said Simlai.
After this incident, the villagers broke and set fire to every camera trap they could find. A daughter of our village was humiliated in such a brazen way, a villager said.
Women from this village mainly go to the forest for ‘galat kaam’ (wrong kind of things) rather than for firewood or grass, they are very cunning, said an upper caste forest guard when interviewed.
The forest administration of CTR have a long-standing conflict with our village, we are poor and have little political power, they would never have done this if the woman was not from a marginalised caste group. (Local social rights activist, Interview no. 63)
We cannot walk in front of the cameras or sit in the area with our Kurtis above our knees, we are afraid that we might get photographed or recorded in a wrong way, one of the women said.
Why 'Quiet' is dangerous
"I discovered that local women form strong bonds while working together in the forest, and they sing while collecting firewood to deter attacks by elephants and tigers. When they see camera traps they feel inhibited because they don’t know who’s watching or listening to them – and as a result they behave differently - often being much quieter, which puts them in danger," Simlai added.
"Accidents happen when tigers get surprised by our presence, we sing loudly before entering the forest and while collecting firewood, to let them know that we are here," said a local resident woman quoted in the study.
These women taunt us regularly through their songs, the other day while on a patrol we came across these women who were initially singing a Nyauli(devotional song), as soon as they saw me, they started singing a parody on us forest guards, claimed another forest guard.
In places like northern India, the identity of local women is closely linked to their daily activities and social roles within the forest, the study said, adding that understanding the various ways local women use forests is vital for effective forest management strategies.
