When Nature Becomes Disenchanted: The Role of Ideational Change in Models of Environmental Degradation

Lisa D. Pearce, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Shradha Shrestha, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Taylor Hargrove, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

In order to extend existing models of anthropogenic influence on the natural environment, we test whether the narratives of village farmers in the Chitwan Valley of Nepal map onto the commonly used I = P×A×T formula of Erlich and Erlich (1991). Further we explore how the inclusion of cultural or ideational forces could be used to enhance this conceptual model. Our findings and conclusions come from the analysis of transcripts from 12 focus groups conducted with 30-60 year old farmers (both men and women) who live in the Chitwan Valley of Nepal. In addition to building and revising theory around human influence on the environment, this paper informs policy by modeling how local culture and ideational forces can be considered in the tailoring of programs designed to minimize environmental degradation.