Negotiating the Panoptic Gaze: People, Power and Conservation Surveillance in the Corbett Tiger Reserve
View / Open Files
Authors
Simlai, Trishant
Advisors
Date
2021-11-15Awarding Institution
University of Cambridge
Qualification
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Type
Thesis
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Simlai, T. (2021). Negotiating the Panoptic Gaze: People, Power and Conservation Surveillance in the Corbett Tiger Reserve (Doctoral thesis). https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.84136
Abstract
In recent years, the use of new and existing surveillance technologies in the practice of conservation has increased rapidly. This includes the use of drones, camera traps, satellite, and thermal imagery for activities such as wildlife monitoring, anti-poaching, and law enforcement. In many respects surveillance is constitutive of modern society, especially in urban spaces (Lyon 1995) where its use has been widely discussed. In the conservation context, surveillance alters the demarcation of spaces between nature and people by intensifying territorialization (Adams 2017), and it has been suggested that it could impact the wellbeing of local stakeholders in various ways (Sandbrook 2015, Sandbrook et al 2018). However, the social and political implications of surveillance technologies in conservation and natural resource management remain an underexplored field of empirical inquiry.
Drawing from 13 months of ethnographic fieldwork in the Corbett Tiger Reserve, India, this thesis provides novel empirical material, that unpacks the social and political implications of conservation surveillance on local communities, conservation labour and on conservation governance. By situating my inquiry in the social and political history of the region, I argue that these technologies are used to establish multiple surveillance regimes resulting in the production of disciplined people and securitized conservation spaces. I also argue that the impacts of conservation surveillance are unequally experienced depending on intersections with often hidden dimensions of difference such as caste and gender. I further demonstrate that conservation surveillance exacerbates already prevalent social injustices and structural inequalities of gender, caste, and class discrimination, resulting in mistrust, harassment, and negative perceptions of local communities towards conservation practice. By engaging with the disciplines of surveillance, gender and labour studies, this thesis provides novel empirical evidence that corroborates, and adds to the previous, largely conceptual work done on this subject and has significant policy implications for conservation practice
Keywords
Conservation, Technologies, Surveillance, Society, Political Ecology, India
Sponsorship
Department of Geography, Selwyn College, Cambridge Trusts
Embargo Lift Date
2023-05-03
Identifiers
This record's DOI: https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.84136
Statistics
Total file downloads (since January 2020). For more information on metrics see the
IRUS guide.
Recommended or similar items
The current recommendation prototype on the Apollo Repository will be turned off on 03 February 2023. Although the pilot has been fruitful for both parties, the service provider IKVA is focusing on horizon scanning products and so the recommender service can no longer be supported. We recognise the importance of recommender services in supporting research discovery and are evaluating offerings from other service providers. If you would like to offer feedback on this decision please contact us on: support@repository.cam.ac.uk