**3.1 Ecofeminism: Women/nature nexus**

Ecofeminism is an environmentalist version of feminism. Although a heterogeneous front in itself, ecofeminists are united by a common bond celebrating the *conceptual links* between domination of nature and the domination of women (Moyer 2001). Buhr and Reiter (2002) outlined three of these conceptual links between women and nature such as (i) historical connections (the effects of the Enlightenment and the death of nature; (ii) metaphorical connections (same value dualisms operate to subjugate women and nature); and (iii) epistemological connections (challenges reason and rationality, ways of knowing).

It is within the purview of the third mode of conceptual connection that ecofeminism launched its most radical claim in relation to biodiversity and women. Quoting Rocheleau (1995: 14) Martine and Villarreal (1997) contextualized the link:

<sup>6</sup> I define s*ignature meaning* here as the intended definition of biodiversity as conceived by those who coined the term, that is, by the group of American conservation biologists, who introduced the term in the 1986 Washington conference. Its signature meaning then was related to the promotion of nature conservation and to make people aware of the dangers of species extinction (Nieminen 2001).

Biopolitics: Biodiversity as Discourse of Claims 9

single, well-defined entity, but rather a broad rubric used to group a variety of voices, notably Northern environmentalism or Southern indigenous groups. But more than just a movement with alternative set of political and economic action plans vis-à-vis resource management and utilization, IEMs offer different ways of understanding biodiversity especially through their epistemologies of nature as rooted in traditional ecological interactions guided by ways of knowing based on intimate co-existence with nature.7

*"There are many aspects to indigenous peoples' claim and interests in the natural environment and biological diversity. Indigenous peoples seek recognition and protection of their distinct rights in knowledge of, and practices relating to the management, use and conservation of biological diversity. They also seek introduction of measures to prevent exploitation of their knowledge, and compensation of financial benefits from the use of their knowledge, innovations* 

Clearly, the biodiversity discourse of Indigenous Peoples serves a variety of interests. These multiple interests challenged, first and foremost, the positivist discourse of science that puts premium on objective, and most often, economic features and benefits of biological diversity. IEMs' position transcends this purely utilitarian and opportunistic stance in favor of the spiritual and uniquely cosmovisional nature of human / nature relationship- a relationship that contextually reconfigures the pluriform hybrids of people and their environments. IPs conception of the integrity of the cultural and natural served as a

powerful paradigm in creating ecologically sustainable ways of life (Erasga in press).

development" agenda. In her analysis of this agenda Hernandez noted (1995: 38):

taxonomic approach operating at a different level of abstraction.

Quite similar in their agenda regarding the political economy of biodiversity, the memberstates of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN)8 have finally launched a new wave of national and regional security discourse that assigns a strategic dimension to nature and the resources it contained.9 This security discourse is inspired by the Association's "joint endeavors" on sustainable development broadly articulated in its collective "security and

*"To be sustainable, development in its economic dimension, must be sensitive to its excessive demands on both natural and human resources as well as its negative impact on the physical* 

7 Two excellent works can be mentioned: One is Escobar's (1999) documentation of the struggle of the *Proceso Comunidades Negras* or PCN (Process of Black Communities)-- a network of more than 140 local black and indigenous communities in the Colombian Pacific region. His analytical frame is called cultural politics. The framework suggests that cultural practices are the measure of defense of both nature and culture epitomized by their very notion of biodiversity as "*territory plus culture*." Another is Martha Johnson's (1992) edited book entitled *Lore: Capturing Traditional Environmental Knowledge -*  where she documented the convergence and divergence of western science and *traditional environmental knowledge* (TEK) in different cultural contexts including Canada. The documentation aims to provide evidence that TEK is not necessarily inferior to science. Rather, it may present an analytical and

8 Compose of the Philippines, Viet Nam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Singapore,

9 Development is broadly defined but includes the ecological, social, economic and political dimension.

Warren (1992:3) stressed:

*and practices."* 

*environment.* 

Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar.

**3.3 Third world: Resource is security** 

*"… a particularly interesting discussion arises concerning the conservation of biodiversity. It is generally agreed that the knowledge, skills and practices needed for the conservation and development of plant genetic resources is critical for the preservation of biodiversity, which is linked with sustainability (FAO 1996; Bunning and Hill 1996). Such knowledge, skills and practices tend to differ along gender lines. Some authors sustain that women's knowledge is at the core of sustainability: "As the bearers of knowledge and the practitioners of the science of survival women contribute to and have a major stake in protecting the biological basis of all our future lives and livelihoods."* 

*"While men have generally engaged in cash crop cultivation (usually mono crops) throughout the Third World, women are more likely to be in charge of subsistence crops, which they cultivate in home gardens, a farming system that contains high levels of biodiversity. In Thailand, home gardens managed by women were found to contain 29% of non-domesticated species (Moreno-Black et al., cited in Bunning and Hill 1996). In the Andean region, women were found to plant diverse potato seeds according to their traditional knowledge, in order to combine the desirable attributes of frost resistance, nutritional value, taste, quick cooking time and resistance to blight, while their husbands followed the mostly male extensionists advice to plant only one species (Rea, as cited in Bunning and Hill 1996).* 

Extending these lines of argument, ecofeminism declared that since women are *custodian* of a wealth of cultural information about diverse species of plants and animals, any attempts to undermine biodiversity are tantamount to downplaying the epistemological investments of women in the conservation and management of biological diversity (Erasga 2011; *see* Shiva 1993). Concomitantly, any attempts to appropriate, say through biotechnology, or alter that state of affair (i.e. monoculture regime), are considered subversion of that special bond between women and biodiversity (Zweifel 2000).
