cultural transformation and ecological sustainability among the dai people in xishuangbanna
A typical landscape: rice paddies in the valley, rubber on the hillsides.
A conservation biologist by training, I first arrived in Xishuangbanna because of my interest in the ecological value of sacred groves called “holy hills,” fragments of old-growth rainforest that remain protected by indigenous Dai people despite rapid deforestation due to the proliferation of rubber plantations. The Dai protect holy hills because they believe their gods…
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