Tracking the biodiversity ideal: The transfer and reception of ecological theories and practices between the United States and India, 1974--1997 .

摘要

In this dissertation I discuss the emergence of conservation-oriented ecology in the U.S. in the post-World War II period, and the history of the transmission and reception of the theories and practices of this science to India. Ecology includes a wide range of agendas and foci; I limit my project to the branch of ecology and those ecologists concerned with applied ecology for the purposes of understanding the natural world, and also "saving" it. This branch of ecology was eventually codified as "conservation biology" in 1986. The goal of conservation biology is most simply the long-term preservation of entire functioning ecosystems, with as complete a set of "natural" species (excluding humans) as possible. I refer to this goal as the "biodiversity ideal." The biodiversity ideal is often understood in the U.S. as an unqualified good, but, as illustrated in my work, the conservation of nature throughout the world is a complex process.; For my dissertation I have studied the introduction and development of the biodiversity ideal within India, and attempted to trace the links and connections between Indian ecology and U.S. ecology. I have approached this through constructing a history of conservation-oriented ecology in India, the context in which it has arisen, the personal stories and motivations of the U.S. and Indian actors, and the institutional structures and strictures in which they have operated. In attempting to do this I have, in India and in the United States, combined work with ecologists in the field; interviews with ecologists, environmentalists, and government officials; work in archives at several different NGOs, scientific institutions, and government offices; and a review of the relevant scientific literature. My project ultimately lies at the junction of environmental history, the history of science, and the history of international relations.; While the U.S. has been hugely influential in the development of Indian institutions and policies, models of cultural imperialism do not do justice to the more complex histories of Indian environmental policies. Similarly, models of border-less globalization underplay the real power differentials between ecology in India and in the United States.