Nature Conservation as a Process of Glocalization: A Case from Taiwan’s Indigenous Environmental Movement

• In Event: Global Concern, Local Solutions: Community, Development, and Eco-politics in East Asia

Abstract

This paper takes an indigenous perspective, arguing that indigenous activists in Taiwan engage the global concept of nature conservation and transform its meaning for the purpose of constructing their cultural identity in the local context. The issue concerns a case study, the establishment of a national park called “Maqaw” that is to be co-managed by Taiwanese and indigenous people. I draw on over 10 years of participatory action research to reflect upon the meaning of glocalization and the power of resistance by the Tayal (Atayal) people, the third largest indigenous tribe in Taiwan.
This paper is divided into three parts. First, it describes how nature conservation, such as establishing national parks as a global concern, was incorporated into the government’s policy making in the 1980s. Second, I analyze the conflict between nature conservationists and indigenous hunters in terms of their different understandings of the meaning of “nature.” Third, I explore the discourse of indigenous activists to present an alternative understanding about nature conservation that also strengthens the people’s cultural identity. The paper concludes by reversing a popular environmentalist motto, “think globally, act locally,” to “think locally, act globally” in the context of Taiwan’s indigenous movement, thereby examining the meaning of glocalization itself.

Author

• Yih-ren Lin, Taipei Medical University