Perspectives on the Pastoral Landscape

Combining Remote Sensing Observations and Pastoralist Perceptions in Southern Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

This article explores how land cover change studies could be advanced through a methodology that integrates remote sensing (RS) observations and perceptions from the ground. This is done through a case study in southern Tamil Nadu, India where changes in the pastoral landscape are investigated from two perspectives: from space through satellite images and from the ground through interviews and participatory mapping. RS results provide valuable insights about large-scale changes in the landscape, which could not have been captured through interviews. Grasslands, an important source of livestock feed, have decreased while agricultural land and built-up land has increased between the years 1992 and 2014. The qualitative data generated a deeper understanding of land cover change dynamics and revealed the complexity of pastoralist livelihoods where shrinking pastures is perceived as one of many challenges. Combining the two data types and analysing the gaps between them indicates that pastoralists are referring to the loss of relatively small but significant grazing lands. Such changes are not within the domain of detectable changes, which indicates that policy intended to improve pastoralist conditions based entirely on RS would most likely fail. This risk could be minimized by integrating qualitative data to the RS analysis.