Cultural Influence
Developers are often ignorant of the minority groups that occupy rural areas, and the importance of the land to their cultural heritage. In areas such as South America and the Indies, deforestation corporations destroy hundreds of acres of land that belongs to native peoples. Often, these groups have occupied certain regions of the forests for thousands of years, and it is completely unjust to rip them from their homes, and the homes of their ancestors before them. Cultural traditions often revolve around their environment and location, which development entirely annihilates.
This is the case for the indigenous Adivasi people of western India, who've occupied the Narmada Valley for hundreds of years. The construction of the Sardar Sarovar dam, a project beginning in 1979 and sponsored by the World Bank, removed nearly 200,000 people from their homes along the river in the Narmada Valley. The government relocated the Adivasi people to areas with insufficient soil for agriculture, fewer resources, unsanitary water, and no ties to their cultural heritage. Some even refused to go; one tribal family's attachment to the land was so strong that they chose to stay and drown at the dam rather than leave. Before the construction, Adivasis had a strong connection to the nature in their valley; they were peaceful, utilized the resources with respect, and based their religion off of their natural surroundings. This was all taken from them when developers failed to consider the perspective of the Adivasis. The Adivasi people never had any relationship or connection with the outside world, remaining content in their community, and do not understand what they had done to provoke such inconsideration.
This slideshow depicts the lifestyle of the Adivasi people in the Narmada Valley before relocation. The last three photos show their resettlement camps.