Marginlands

I like to read books about our environment to understand how it is taken for granted, sometimes in the name of development, sometimes due to greed, and sometimes because of plain stupidity. There are many “developmental” projects by various governments across the world that do little to develop anything; instead, they damage entire ecological systems and invite environmental disasters. I have witnessed many such projects in the ecologically sensitive Himalayan region of India, especially Uttarakhand — be it all-weather roads, dams, or the rampant construction of hotels and apartments. These projects are carried out despite experts warning us about their dangers, and we have already seen the outcomes in the form of flash floods, landslides, road cave-ins, and collapsing bridges. So, when I came across Marginlands in the library while browsing for my next read, I decided to pick it up to know more about what the author had to say.

Marginlands covers the vast expanse of India and shows readers how we are losing our landscapes because of our continued disregard for nature. What is deeply ironic is that the people who suffer the most are often the ones who understand these landscapes best and are trying to protect them. The author repeatedly shows that local knowledge is one of the best resources available before starting any project, but that knowledge is rarely respected or taken seriously.

The book takes us to the Thar Desert, a region that receives very little rainfall compared to many other parts of the country. Yet the people of the desert know how to use scarce water with great care. They have their own mechanisms to collect water, draw water, and use it wisely. It was interesting to learn about the different kinds of water sources that desert communities rely on. Unfortunately, mining in the desert is destroying these water sources and turning the areas around them into dust bowls.

Rivers, often considered the lifeline of a country, are also being polluted as industrial and sewage waste is dumped into them. The author tracks the Ganga in Bihar and West Bengal and brings us the stories of people who live near the river and depend on it for their livelihoods. She shows how climate change is affecting not only their work, but also their homes, as the river changes course and takes away parts of the land every year.

Various development projects, carried out without careful scientific studies or proper cost-benefit analysis, are also making rivers more unpredictable every year. The impact of these projects is felt most heavily by people whose livelihoods depend on the river, especially fishermen. Fish are becoming scarce, and there is always the fear of losing one’s home when the river takes away another part of the land.

Arati then takes the reader to coastal Kerala, the cold desert of Ladakh in the Himalayas, and the deep forests of Arunachal Pradesh. The central theme remains the same everywhere: climate change and its impact on people, animals, and fragile landscapes. Whether it is the tiger-widows of the Sundarbans, the threat of wild dogs in Ladakh, or the fishers of Kerala, everyone is affected in some way. The book repeatedly stresses the need to work with local people while formulating “development” plans, and to use their knowledge to find solutions that help everyone.

The author also draws attention to how city life is becoming increasingly devoid of nature, which was not the case thirty or forty years ago. The greenery in our cities is slowly being replaced by cosmetic gardens maintained with pesticides, which kill or drive away insects and other small creatures that are part of ecological diversity. We hardly see the bees, ants, and other insects that were common in our childhood, and that is not a good sign.

While reading, I came across many facts I was not aware of, apart from the names of birds, insects, and flora that the author captures. I found the information about beri, rejwani pani, and patali kuan especially interesting. I also never knew that out of nearly 700 types of bees, only about five are social bees, meaning they live in hives and produce honey. The rest are solitary. They do not have a queen bee or a hive, and they live independently.

The book is a treasure trove of knowledge and information, but it is also painful to read because so many places and landscapes are slowly vanishing. Some of the places we see and know today may not exist in the future, at least not in the same way. What makes it even more frustrating is that some of this damage can be stopped, or at least delayed, if proper studies are done and experts and local people are consulted before approving and executing “development” projects.