Our footprints on nature: Digging up archives

SHAURABH ANAND S VIGNESH

Our desire to understand the trajectories of nature and wildlife conservation in India led us to discover the intriguing archives of the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Societyand The Indian Forester. The archives of these two journals are more than 150 years old and trace the natural history of India. The wide array of articles in these journal archives covers the shifting trajectories of nature and wildlife in India. From meticulously describing the events of hunting and trapping tigers to moral concerns for the lives of fishes, sketches of papayas to common grass, sightings of new avian species to the modern menace of mosquitoes, and listings of poisonous snakes and honeybees, these archives encompass nuanced representation of diverse species and shifting human attitudes towards them. From these archives, we came to know that tigers used to be killed for a reward of Rs 30 because a few people in positions of power thought that there were too many tigers! The rich description of huntingthat once filled the archives has now given way to descriptions of eco- and nature-based tourism; how people dropped their rifles and began to shoot the majestic wild tiger with their cameras.

Nature inherently archives by itself the footprints of humans, who, in turn, naturally tend to archive nature. Not only ‘nature’ but also our ‘archives of nature’ are in dire need of conservation. We must begin to educate ourselves on the conservation of nature and the culture of archiving nature, which are two sides of the same coin. The importance of exploring archives of the natural world extends far beyond being referential material for quenching historical curiosity. These archives hold clues to better understanding and addressing uniquely regional challenges, such as human-wildlife conflict, zoonotic disease transmission, biological invasions and climate change scenarios. For instance, human-wildlife conflicts can be better contextualised through these archival records which reveal how expanding the frontiers of agriculture, energy and plantation constricted habitats and fragmented movement corridors of large-ranging animals, such as elephants and tigers.

Archives can aid identification of original movement corridors that must be secured to minimize detrimental human-wildlife interactions. Archives belonging to revenue, forest and health departments on past disease outbreaks can shed light on potential conditions that lead to the emergence of newer zoonotic diseases. Archival records of Banni Grasslands in Gujarat, maintained by pastoralist communities, provide baselines to combat desertification driven by invasive species like Prosopis juliflora.

We believe that long-term public engagement with these archives would culturally transform both the archive and the public. There is a need to connect the wealth of our archives of nature with our community life, such as public transportation, village fairs, and tourism repertoires. These archives can also be curated and integrated into the existing architecture of zoos, parks, and museums. As part of exploring nature in mundane lives and spectacular touristy engagements, people can be immersed in the deep histories of nature and wildlife.

Creating an interface for these archives intended for pedagogic purposes, as part of designing textbooks, curriculums, and smart classrooms, can have a long-term impact on our future generations. English language archives can be translated into multiple vernacular languages. Most importantly, these archives are fertile ground for computational exploration, such as linguistic processing using tools of Natural Language Processing (NLP), multi-media and augmented reality-based simulation, language-based game creation, and generating artificial intelligence-based virtual realities. 

All our archives of the natural world must be publicly accessible, playfully explorable and consumable. The archives of nature are living traces, fossils of our footprints, imminently demanding our renewed attention. They must be sensed as if they are textually embalmed animals and a herbarium of words – a doorway to a better understanding of both.

(Shaurabh Anand is faculty at Azim Premji University. S Vignesh is an independent researcher.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or the positions of the organisation they represent)