CO-EDITOR
JOHN KNIGHT ON WILDLIFE TRADE
By ELZELINE V.D. HOEK
Dr John Knight was an individual research fellow at the International Institute for Asian Studies for three years ('96'99). He is now Lecturer in Social Anthropology at Queen's University of Belfast. During his time at the IIAS he studied Japanese forestry from a social anthropological perspective. He also convened conference panels on the theme of wildlife. His last project at the IIAS was putting together the thematic issue on 'Wildlife Trade in Asia' for this Newsletter. In a short interview John Knight was asked after his motives.John Knight studied Politics for his BA and Anthropology for his MSc. From 1987 to 1989 he studied the influence of return migration in the remote mountain area of Hongu on the Kii Peninsula, Southeastern Japan. Though the lives of the local people were intricately interwoven with the forest around the village, it was only after his PhD that Knight pursued an interest in the forest. 'It was a natural progression for me to see that villages are islands of space that are wrapped in forests. Also I was influenced by the trend in anthropology of looking at local knowledge.'
Since 1992 Knight has studied forestry and the relationship between the village and the forest. This in turn has led him to the study of the relationship between people and forest animals. Currently he is fascinated by the idea of consumption and vitality, of the necessity to take the life of animals to boost one's own life. 'Human existence is essentially predatory, though we do not like to think of it as such. But there is the ethical question of whether or not it is morally just to exploit animals.' Continuing this line of thought Knight is teaching a course on human-animal relations at Queen's University in Belfast this term.
Since 1994 up to the present John Knight has conducted fieldwork in Japan almost every winter, in the hunting season. In addition to hunting, he focuses on the problem of wildlife crop-raiding and other dangerous animals. The local view of the forest is therefore largely a negative view: 'The villagers see the forest as a threat and they seem to have a mere practical interest in wildlife pests; to learn how to protect their crops, and about fencing and trapping.'
The villagers like to see themselves apart from the forest, as interaction with the forest is considered a sign of backwardness. Moreover the villages have become seriously depopulated as cities attract the younger people. Japan's successful animation and tourism industries create a 'disneyesque' view of animals. The younger people bring back this perception to their villages and this in turn contributes to an estrangement from the real wildlife and the real forest.
'There is some tension with the national level where there is a growing concern to protect the remaining natural forest,' Knight continued. Wildlife trade, deforestation, and the replacing of natural forests by artificial woods have depleted wildlife. It is increasingly considered necessary to document local knowledge and conserve the remaining wildlife before it disappears as part of the national heritage.
The East Asian demand for wildlife products is one of the main pressures on North American and Asian wildlife. Snakes, bear gall, and monkey parts are consumed for their medicinal and vitalizing qualities. It is recognized that the demand for these wildlife products is unsustainable and that is why there is a trend towards synthesizing these products. East Asians, however, generally see these substitutes as inferior: farmed bear gall is not the 'real' bear gall that can only be found in the natural forest.
John Knight does not condemn wildlife trade completely. As an anthropologist he accepts that people exploit animals. On the other hand, Knight feels that the scale of the trade should be restricted to preserve certain natural environments and wildlife species. Wildlife harvesting should be limited and carried out on a sustainable basis. For this it is essential to have local backing for conservation objectives, not just at the national level.
Knight supports conservation objectives, but these should be reconciled to cultural understanding. He hopes that 'one of the effects of this Newsletter will be to emphasize the cultural dimension of the wildlife trade, not as a means of excusing over-exploitation, but in order to contribute to policies which more effectively control it at the local level.'