＜Explanatory Article＞

Unravelling changes in people-ecosystem relationships under Mongolian pastoralism landscape with historical TV program images

Ayumi KOTANI^*1, NAGAI Shin^*2*3, and Chifuyu KATSUMATA^*2

^*1Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Furocho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8601, Japan
^*2Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 3173-25 Showa-machi, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0001, Japan
^*3River Basin Research Center, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu 501-1193, Japan

Abstract

This study investigated the information on the relationship between people and the ecosystem and the problem raised in their conflicts, which are detectable in video materials. We traced the time series of the nomadic landscape shown in Japanese TV programs featuring Mongolia from the 1980s to the 2000s, which faced changes in the social system and natural disasters. Such video materials inevitably have biases due to production intentions and social-historical backgrounds. At the same time, along with a multi-dimensional and large amount of information, it can be interpreted ambiguously beyond the creator's intent. Intending to fill the gaps left in existing studies based on field surveys and statistical analysis, we explored the pros and cons of video materials for evaluating the dynamics of watershed landscapes under environmental and social changes.

Key Words : human-nature interaction, image archive, Mongolia, pastoralism, TV program

(Received January 20, 2023. Accepted August 5, 2023)