landscapes and ecosystems of southern
China are still made by those who do not.Throughout this discussion I have tried to
shed light on the relationship between
social relations and the transformation of
nature. In the current phase of capitalist
development, nature is appropriated as
what Escobar (1996) calls “ecological capi-
tal;” in this context the value of rare fauna
and flora lies not so much in their useful-
ness as resources, but in
their symbolic value and
the wealth of their
genetic material. Nature
reserves become reposi-
tories of accumulated
capital, investments
deposited in carefully
circumscribed conserva-
tion territories from
which, it is believed, div-
idends can be reaped
over the long-term. It is
important to note, how-
ever, that the biosphere
reserve model on which
China’s national nature
reserve system is based,
is not structured in this
dualistic fashion, but
emphasises land use
zoning, a more integra-
tive approach to meeting
the subsistence and sus-
tainable commercial
needs of local people while maintaining an
array of conservation goals at various
scales. Along the same lines, studies of
large-scale landscape ecology and social
conditions in southern China, utilizing
remote sensing and GIS data, could be of
major benefit in the formation of policies for
land tenure equity, judicious game laws,
carnivore management strategies, and
addressing the subsistence and commercial
labour issues of rural people. These are all
critically important dimensions of the livingworld, and they will shape the nature of the
future in rural southern China. In summary,
the tiger has been shot, trapped, and
squeezed out of its final mountain haunts; if
it is to return, it will do so in a natural world
dramatically reconfigured by human design.
In recognizing this, and in knowing the
mythical dimensions of the tiger of the past,
the time has come for an international
effort to develop a socially just and environ-
mentally sound tiger reintroduction pro-
gramme in the wilds of southern China.References
Anderson, Jeremy; Hu, Defu; Su, Hualong; Lu, Jun; and
Marc Stallmans. 2004. Survey of Pre-Selected Sites in
China and Recommendation on a Pilot Reserve for the
Re-introduction of the Chinese Tiger. Report
Commissioned by Save China’s Tiger.
Caldwell, Harry. 1924. The Blue Tiger. New York and
Cincinnati: The Abington Press.
Coggins, Chris. 2003.The Tiger and the Pangolin: Nature,
Culture, and Conservation in China. Honolulu: The
University of Hawaii Press.
Escobar, Ardor. 1996. “Constructing Nature: Elements for a
Poststructural Political Ecology.” In Liberation Ecologies:
Environment, Development, Social Movements, edited by
Richard Peet and Michael Watts. London and New York:
Routledge.
Hammond, Charles E. 1991. “An Excursion in Tiger Lore.”
Asia Major. (4) 1: 87-100.
Harvey, David. 1998. “Marxism, Metaphors, and Ecological
Politics.” Monthly Review. Volume 49, Number 11.
Kitchener, Andrew C. 1999. “Tiger Distribution, Phenotypic
Variation, and Conservation Issues.” In Riding the Tiger:
Tiger Conservation in Human-Dominated Landscapes,
edited by John Seidensticker, Sarah Christie, and Peter
Jackson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lu, Houji, and Sheng Helin. 1986. “Distribution and Status
of the Chinese Tiger.” In Cats of the World: Biology,
Conservation, and Management, edited by Douglas S.
Miller and Daniel D. Everett. Reston: National Wildlife
Federation.
McNeely, Jeffrey, and Kenton R. Miller, editors.1984.History, cculture aand cconservation
Chris Coggins([email protected])
teaches Geography and Asian Studies at Simon’s
Rock College of Bard. His research interests
include rural community land use practices, politi-
cal ecology, nature conservation, the social con-
struction of nature, and environmental history.
His primary research is on China, where he is
now conducting a field survey of village sacred
forests in four culture regions. He is the author of
The Tiger and the Pangolin: Nature, Culture, and
Conservation in China.the ttiger hhas bbeen sshot,
trapped, aand ssqueezed
out oof iits ffinal mmoun-
tain hhaunts; iif iit iis tto
return, iit wwill ddo sso iin
a nnatural wworld ddra-
matically rreconfig-
ured bby hhuman
design. IIn rrecogniz-
ing tthis, aand iin
knowing tthe mmythical
dimensions oof tthe
tiger oof tthe ppast, tthe
time hhas ccome ffor aan
international eeffort tto
develop aa ssocially jjust
and eenvironmentally
sound ttiger rreintro-
duction pprogramme iin
the wwilds oof ssouthern
China.