Nature, Society and Beyond: Isolation and Flux

This is the first episode in the three part series of Nature, Society and Beyond. Isolation from mainland Asia has allowed nature and people of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to evolve into species and cultures found nowhere else on the planet. Yet, there has always been and continues to be a flux of people and nature from South-Asia, impacting the island chain, in significant ways. Guests Manish, Madhuri and Shiba introduce these island ecosystems to mainland Indian listeners.

About the speakers:

Manish Chandi is an anthropologist who has spent the last 25 years in the Islands: besides studying local people and their relationships with nature, Manish has, along the way, restored rainforests, helped with tsunami relief efforts and surveyed crocodiles and turtles.

Madhuri Ramesh is a political ecologist who studies nature-society relations in the Andaman Islands and the consequences of these negotiations for nature conservation and sustainability.

Shiba Desor is a social scientist who worked with the Karen community to set up the Andaman Karen Crafts initiative, a cooperative to promote cultural continuity and environmental conservation through weaving, artisanal crafts, tree nurseries and a local-cuisine restaurant.