John Studley - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by John Studley

Cultural and Spiritual Significance of Nature in Protected Areas: Governance, Management and Policy edited by Verschuuren B and Brown S Abingdon Routledge, 2018

Many of the world’s sacred natural sites are located in territories inhabited by indigenousanimis... more Many of the world’s sacred natural sites are located in territories inhabited by indigenousanimistic people and are characterised by spiritual governance, spiritual agency, andbiodiversity. Although the significance of indigenous sacred natural sites is beingrecognised by ‘conservationists’ as biodiverse refugia, the importance of spiritualgovernance is not well understood. Through attachment; engagement; and social,cultural, and ritual behaviour, indigenous sacred natural sites reflect the physical,biological, spiritual, and cultural character of everyday lives. Typically, the owners andcustodians are numina, who place behavioural demands on humankind in return ofprotection, governance, and blessing. Based on research in southwest China, the aim ofthis chapter is to provide evidence on the importance of spiritual governance as aprerequisite for protecting the biocultural integrity of many of the world’s indigenoussacred natural sites. The chapter concludes with a polycentric legal framework for spiritualgovernance and examines the implications for the management and governance ofprotected and conserved areas.

Indigenous Sacred Natural Sites and Spiritual Governance, 2018

Box 1 Values, morals and ethics Box 2 The new endogenous paradigm Box 3 ERA in practice Box 4 The... more Box 1 Values, morals and ethics Box 2 The new endogenous paradigm Box 3 ERA in practice Box 4 The adoption of new cultures Box 5 Approaches to bridging and knowledge equity Box 6 The non-Khamba peoples of Eastern Kham Box 7 Genetics, ethnic background, language and Khamba/Qiangic migration

Indigenous Sacred Natural Sites and Spiritual Governance, 2018

ABSTRACT 1.01 Introduction For much of the last century mainstream forestry had an industrial foc... more ABSTRACT 1.01 Introduction For much of the last century mainstream forestry had an industrial focus [and was not able to "see the wood for the trees"], and since 1992 it has begun to have an environmental focus. This, however, has often been at the expense of the local people, who have been regarded as the problem rather than the solution. In spite of China's long history of largely sustainable NTFP use and experience with indigenous "agro-forestry systems" these traditions continue to be viewed as "backward" and modern forestry appears hesitant to build on them or accommodate their practitioners. It is likely that NTFP demand will remain of significant importance to Yunnan's rural population for some time to come, and that forestry needs to adopt a multi functional role that addresses the environment, tourism, and the forest-related welfare of the local people Although some provision is made in Yunnan's Forest Policy for NTFP and Agro-Forestry, the regulations are often ambiguous and local forest departments lack a clear mandate for either protection or enhancement. The nature reserve regulations appear to ban all NTFP/Agro-Forestry activity (reg 10) and make provision for it, (reg 16). Some local forest departments have prevented the planting of agro-forestry species in upland conversion schemes, insisting on forest species. Over the last 10 years, the commercial development of NWFP resources has been given high priority in China. The area devoted to NWFP production now totals 14 million hectares and will increase at an annual planting rate of more than 600,000 hectares. In 1990, the output of main non-wood forest products such as chestnut, red jujube, walnut, tea oil, almond, hawthorn and ginkgo, topped all previous records. According to the preliminary estimate, the output value of NWFPs exceeded 4 billion yuan, accounting for one-fourth of the total output value of forestry in the country. Foreign exchange earnings from the sale of NWFPs reached US$340 million. NWFPs constitute a large proportion of total exports of forest products in China, and they have become essential means of livelihood for the people.

The gzhi bdag cult is a pivotal element of the animistic cultural pole that ... more The gzhi bdag cult is a pivotal element of the animistic cultural pole that is commonly found among lay Tibetic and Qiangic speaking communities in the Hengduan Mountain region. gzhi bdag is Tibetan for a male numina or genius loci who typically inhabits the middle slopes of mountains which are ritually protected/nurtured by local lay people and are, in the language of conservationists, Sacred Natural Sites (SNS). The cult has its origins in Neolithic steppe culture and has had to be discursively regenerated in the face of Bonicisation, Buddhicisation, Communism, the Cultural Revolution, religious revival, and currently ecological migration and an extractivist worldview. In spite of threats the cult has largely been resilient enough to re-invent itself within the discursive space provided by mainstream society as a platform for eco-spiritual activism which results in the ritual ...

Indigenous Sacred Natural Sites and Spiritual Governance, 2018

Parks, 2018

The recognition that 'other-than-human' persons can be legal subjects has previously been adopted... more The recognition that 'other-than-human' persons can be legal subjects has previously been adopted in forms of customary law but has been denied in most modern jurisdictions until recently. The legal concept of juristic personhood is rooted in jus gentium of Imperial Rome, which was also the basis of 'public trusts'. Juristic personhood has been expanded in some jurisdictions to include other 'legal subjects' with specific rights and obligations. Judges in India, for example, have recognised enspirited idols as having legal status with the same legal rights as human beings ever since the nineteenth century. Recently, several additional jurisdictions have recognised certain spiritual-natural entities as legal persons, making sacred rivers and mountains 'juristic persons'. In this article we review a number of recent cases from around the world that highlight this evolution of jurisprudence over time. The legal regime of juristic personhood may be an effective tactic for safeguarding enspirited sacred natural sites, because it conceptually resonates with the animistic world-view and relational ontologies of many Indigenous peoples. Further study (and litigation) is required for such an approach to become widely recognised, but it could become an effective tool for conservation of nature within community-conserved areas and protected areas.

Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, 2018

Little was known, until recently, about the widespread recovery of biodiversity that has taken pl... more Little was known, until recently, about the widespread recovery of biodiversity that has taken place in Sacred Natural Sites (SNS) on the Tibetan Plateau since the revival of religious practices in 1978 and the felling ban in 1998. Research within the last 20 years has concluded that there is greater biodiversity in many SNS than in adjacent lands and there has been a recovery of ritual protection practice. The author critiques the most widely quoted research papers and contrasts them with research predicated on participatory research among Tibetan lay people. Many of the findings and conclusions from the most widely quoted research papers have focussed on the metrics of biodiversity and interviews in Tibetan Buddhist and Bon institutions. This appears to result in a biased interpretation of environmental protection and biodiversity recovery. As a result, lay participation in the ritual protection of SNS is sub-optimized in conservation planning and most village-designated SNS are not being recognized internationally.

Indigenous Sacred Natural Sites and Spiritual Governance, 2018

Since time immemorial, indigenous people have engaged in legal relationships with other-than-huma... more Since time immemorial, indigenous people have engaged in legal relationships with other-than-human persons. These relationships are exemplified in enspirited sacred natural sites, which are owned and governed by numina spirits that can potentially place legal demands on humankind in return for protection and blessing. Although conservationists recognise the biodiverse significance of most sacred natural sites, the role of spiritual agency by other-than-human persons is not well understood. Consequently, sacred natural sites typically lack legal status and IUCN-designated protection. More recent ecocentric and posthuman worldviews and polycentric legal frameworks have allowed courts and legislatures to grant 'rights' to nature and 'juristic personhood' and standing to biophysical entities. This book examines the indigenous literature and recent legal cases as a pretext for granting juristic personhood to enspirited sacred natural sites. The author draws on two decades of his research among Tibetans in Kham (southwest China), to provide a detailed case study. It is argued that juristic personhood is contingent upon the presence and agency of a resident numina and that recognition should be given to their role in spiritual governance over their jurisdiction. The book concludes by recommending that advocacy organisations help indigenous people with test cases to secure standing for threatened sacred natural sites (SNS) and calls upon IUCN, UNESCO (MAB and WHS), ASEAN Heritage and EuroNatura to retrospectively re-designate their properties, reserves, parks and initiatives so that SNS and spiritual governance are fully recognised and embraced. It will be of great interest to advanced students and researchers in environmental law, nature conservation, religion and anthropology. John Studley is an Independent Ethno-forestry Researcher and consultant,

Cultural and Spiritual Significance of Nature in Protected Areas: Governance, Management and Policy edited by Verschuuren B and Brown S Abingdon Routledge, 2018

Indigenous Sacred Natural Sites and Spiritual Governance, 2018

Parks, 2018

Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, 2018

Indigenous Sacred Natural Sites and Spiritual Governance, 2018

The recognition that " other-than-human " people are legal subjects has previously been recognise... more The recognition that " other-than-human " people are legal subjects has previously been recognised in forms of customary law but has been denied in most jurisdictions until recently. The Romans introduced jus gentium the basis of " public trusts " and of " juristic persons ". Public trusts hold that the sea, the sea shore, the air and running water is common to everyone. Juristic personhood has been expanded in some jurisdictions to include other 'legal subjects' with specific rights and obligations. Since 1925 Colonial Judges in India have recognized enspirited idols had legal status and idols and deities were declared as " juristic persons " with the same legal rights as human beings. Recently several jurisdictions have recognised natural entities as legal persons. Pachamama has been recognized as a " juristic person " and "rights of nature" have been granted in Latin America. The Spanish Parliament has given human rights to apes, while in New Zealand, India and Colombia rivers have been recognized as " juristic persons ". The consequences, benefits and drawbacks, of juristic personhood of Sacred Natural Sites and protected areas are discussed with reference to spiritual governance. Further study is required for such an approach to become widely recognized and used as a tool for conservation within SNS and protected areas.

It has been estimated that about 25% of the Tibetan Plateau is composed of " Spiritscapes " or ve... more It has been estimated that about 25% of the Tibetan Plateau is composed of " Spiritscapes " or vernacular sacred natural sites (VSNS) that are the abodes of numina (or gzhi bdag). The lay beliefs that support spiritscapes have their origins in Neolithic animistic steppe cultural and the gzhi bdag cults have been a defining cultural feature of Tibetan lay society. The terrestrial abodes or domains of the gzhi bdag in the upper slopes of most mountains are exemplars of " biodiversity " due to cultic behaviour that mimics explicit " environmental protection ". The animistic beliefs that support the protection of gzhi bdag domains have, however, been discursively re-engineered by Bon, Tibetan Buddhism, the Cultural Revolution, modernity, tourism and formal education but remain extant as a unique cultural trajectory in most villages to this today. Little was known, until recently, about the widespread recovery of biodiversity that has taken place in spiritscapes/VSNS in SW China since the revival of religious practices (and the spontaneous recovery of folk beliefs) from 1978 and the felling ban in 1998. Research within the last 10 years has concluded that on the basis of the " metrics of biodiversity " that there is greater biodiversity in many spiritscapes than in adjacent lands and there has been a recovery of biodiversity and practices within the last 20 years.

• Tibetan animistic/shamanistic beliefs have been subject to both Bonicisation and Buddhicisation... more • Tibetan animistic/shamanistic beliefs have been subject to both Bonicisation and Buddhicisation • Bon has also been subject to Buddhicisation • Both Tonpa Shenrab and Guru Rinpoche mythically "subdued" the local "mundane" gods (yul lha and gzhi bdag) in order to gain legitimacy (this also suggests that mountain gods pre-dated Bon and TB) On the basis of ancient Bon scholarship (not TB) we can conclude the following with some level of certainty. The "ancient" bon are known as yungdrung 1 bon because of the importance of the sauvistika in their world-view. The sauvistika is a counterclockwise cursive swastika and symbolises the moon, the feminine, the earth, and gnostic wisdom. On the basis of the Vedas it is also associated with Kali Bon beliefs are thought to have originated in Tazig (aka Sogdiana) and were introduced into Western Tibet by Tonpa Shenrab somewhere between the 11th and 7th century BC. Tonpa Shenrab also appears to be a devotee of Mitra 2 (aka Mithras) as we read (Edgar 1932) of a "mitras jewel" of compassion on his head and he spoke of the "distant valley of Olmo 3 " where the faithful will return. The bon mantra is "om matri muyi sale 'du" and on the basis of the sauvistika koras (circumambulation) and prayer wheel rotation is always counterclockwise In conclusion given that yungdrung bon beliefs appear to focus on the moon, the feminine, Mithraism, and gnostic progress it does not appear to have much in common with the animistic "mountain gods". Notes 1 yungdrung (or g.yung drung) refers to a sauvastika as a symbol of eternity and well-being 2 Mithra is the Zoroastrian angelic Divinity (yazata) of Covenant and Oath. In addition to being the Divinity of Contracts, Mithra is also a judicial figure, an all-seeing Protector of Truth, and the Guardian of Cattle, the Harvest and of The Waters. 3 Olmo Lung-ring is said to be part of a larger geographical region to the northwest of Tibet called Tazig which scholars identify with Iran (where in ancient times Avestan and Sogdian were spoken). It would appear that the Olmolungring is a non-dualist realm (on the basis of a