TThe Shompen tribal people of Great

Nicobar Island are today at a crossroads

of tradition and modernity. Occupying the

southernmost island (1045 sq. km. in

area) of the Andaman-Nicobar archipela-

go (ANI), more than a thousand kilome-

ters from mainland India and 150 kilome-

ters from Sumatra in Indonesia, the

Shompen are recognised by the Indian

government as a Scheduled Tribe and a

Primitive Tribal Group. The Shompen are

History, cculture aand cconservation

The SShompen oof GGreat NNicobar IIsland ((India)—

between ““development” aand ddisappearance

Suresh BBabu aand DDenys PP. LLeighton

Summary.The Shompen are an indigenous people of Great Nicobar Island, India, inhabiting a bios-
phere reserve. They number perhaps 250 individuals and face formidable social and environmental chal-
lenges. Encroachments by non-tribal people, invasive species and poaching are among factors leading to
habitat destruction, species loss and observable ecosystem disruption in the reserve and on the island.
The Indian government is committed to safeguarding the livelihoods and cultural identities of indigenous
peoples and to “developing” tribal societies in step with the rest of the nation. Officials, however, typically
see the “protection” of indigenous peoples and the preservation of natural environments as separate prob-
lems. They have paid some attention to the idea of community conservation, but a dilemma that appears
to arise in the case of the Shompen is how to enlist or elicit the participation in conservation of people
whose valuation of natural resources and the environment is “primitive” and non-monetary. This paper
provides an overview of the recent environmental history in connection with the human history of Great
Nicobar and examines policies and recommendations applying to protected environments and tribal popu-
lations in India. It adopts a social ecology approach, indicating how tribal and non-tribal populations on
Great Nicobar play different economic roles and
have different stakes in ecosystem services. The
paper argues that regulatory authorities, scien-
tists and other external observers must take
local knowledge systems more seriously. First,
our understanding of the island ecosystems can
be enriched through engagement with indige-
nous knowledge, as local people can provide
key insights into the dynamics of the environ-
ment they inhabit. Second, without understand-
ing how the local people value their environ-
ment it will be difficult to reach an agreement
on conservation objectives between them and
external parties.

Figure 1.Map of Great Nicobar Island showing the

tribal settlements and protected areas.