ABSTRACT
In India the control of forests and resources vested with the state and local communities has been marginalized either through displacement or by curtailing access to resources. Indigenous communities that have historical ties to landscapes are beginning to assert their rights over the management and use of forest landscapes. Mapping sacred natural sites within Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary (BRTWS) is one such attempt to show Soliga cultural presence. This evidence is being used by Soligas to gain cultural access rights to sacred natural sites as well as forest management rights within Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary under the Recognition of Forest Rights Act (RFRA, 2006, https://forestrights.nic.in/doc/Act.pdf). We highlight the ecological and cultural disengagement of the Soligas from the landscape, a phenomenon largely driven by policies and actions of the forest bureaucracy. We then show that collaborative mapping of sacred sites attempts to re-establish links and historical rights over the landscape. The mapping process is as much a cultural initiative as an ecological one.
