Wildlife in the backyard: contemplating on human-wildlife interactions by community radio in South India

Abstract

The escalating scale of human-wildlife interactions turning into conflicts, poses a critical socio-ecological concern in India, similar to many regions worldwide. In addressing the issue, many institutions have recognised media as a valuable stakeholder. The current scholarship connecting media and human-wildlife interactions predominantly deals with media representation of conflicts. Furthermore, the literature lacks research insights into how community media engage with human-wildlife interactions, even though such media has extensive experience of engaging with environmental matters in many parts of the world. Addressing this gap, the paper focuses on a community media case study from the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Radio Kotagiri, the case discussed in the paper, is a community radio station located in the Kotagiri town of the Nilgiris district in the state; which is part of an ecologically rich and vulnerable mountain range in the country. Utilising the qualitative data -collected during the more extensive ethnographic study conducted by the author, and publicly available media content of the radio-the paper examines the engagements of community media concerning human-wildlife interactions.

The analysis reveals the dimensions of efforts by community radio in pursuing conversations on coexistence at the grassroots level, and its contribution to magnifying the realities of ordinary people concerning human-wildlife interactions in the region. While the radio station builds on the existing interests of its parent organization and its resources regarding the subject, it aspires to be a platform capable of centering the socio-ecological matrix at work in narratives.