The Great Himalayan National Park in India is among the most dramatic landscapes on Earth. Count the layers in a single panoramic photo of the park and you might see mountains, glaciers, old-growth forests, and alpine meadows.

But National Parks are defined by two things: first, an abundance of wildlife and majestic landscapes; and second, no permanent human presence.

So, before anybody was ever invited to visit the park, authorities first told about 15,000 local people to stay out.

This episode is the first of two stories reported by freelance journalist Yardain Amron.  In this tale, he explores the strategies of conservation at work in India’s Tirthan Valley, and what it took to create The Great Himalayan National Park over the course of two decades. What does it mean to “protect” the natural world? Who is doing the protecting, and who should it be protected from?

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LINKS

To learn more about this approach to conservation, check out our episode on the origins of Yellowstone National Park, “Fortress Conservation.”

Dorceta Taylor, “The Rise of the American Conservation Movement.”

Bram Buscher and Robert Fletcher, “The Conservation Revolution.”

CREDITS

Host: Justine Paradis

Reported and produced by Yardain Amron

Edited by Taylor Quimby, with help from Justine Paradis

Executive Producer: Rebecca Lavoie

Mixed by Yardain Amron and Taylor Quimby

Additional Editing: Felix Poon and Jessica Hunt

Translation: Vibha Kumar

Special thanks to Guman Singh and Tony Gaston.

Theme: Breakmaster Cylinder

Additional Music by Blue Dot Sessions