Camera traps, drones and sound recording equipment have been instrumental in conservation science, providing essential evidence in the protection of wildlife and ecosystems.
However, researchers from the University of Cambridge investigating a forest in northern India, have discovered that the conservation technologies are being deliberately misused by both local governments and male villagers to keep tabs on women.
Cambridge researcher Dr Trishant Simlai spent 14 months interviewing 270 locals living around the Corbett Tiger Reserve national park in the state of Uttarakhand, including many women from nearby villages.
In his report, published yesterday November 25 2024 in the journal Environment and Planning F, he revealed how forest rangers deliberately fly drones over local women to intimidate them out of the forest where they go together to collect natural resources, which they are legally allowed to do.
Women’s rights and safety are a severe ongoing issue in India, and according to Cambridge University, domestic violence and alcoholism are widespread issues in the rural area. The women Dr Simlai interviewed said that they found sanctuary within the forest, away from male-dominated villages.
One woman he interviewed said: “The forest is where we feel free, in the forest nobody is watching us, and we can be carefree.”
“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 Dr Simlai.
The woman also explained that they feel so uncomfortable about the surveillance that they have stopped singing and talking to each other while in the forest, making them far more vulnerable to surprise attacks from tigers, elephants and other animals.
One woman interviewed has since been killed by a tiger.
Dr. Simlai said: “Nobody could have realized 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.”
Professor Chris Sandbrook, Director of the University of Cambridge’s Masters in Conservation Leadership program, who was also involved in the report said:
“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.”
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