Geografie del sacro e salvaguardia ambientale. Un’applicazione dell’ecologia di genere alle comunità etniche della frontiera Sino-Tibetana

Abstract

In this paper, the environmental tensions brought about by economic integration and increased state’s encroachment over the ecologically fragile communities of the Himalayan Plateau are examined through the lens of Kham Tibetan and Mosuo minorities of northwestern Yunnan. Special attention is paid to folk beliefs and worship patterns that shape perceptions, understandings and representations of the natural environment, as well as to the role played by indigenous women in preserving biodiversity. By so doing, the paper sheds light on the gendered nuances of resource utilization, management and allocation in upland forest ecosystems where man’s relation to nature is put in balance by a combination of religiously motivated taboos, non-hierarchical social arrangements, eco-sustainable solutions and relatively high levels of gender equality.