Community participation towards ecotourism initiative in Binsar Wildlife sanctuary, India

Conference paper presented at the 1st African Conference on Sustainable Tourism in Strathmore University, Kenya.The community based ecotourism destination of Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the temperate broadleaved forest of the Middle Himalayas, the hill state of Uttarakhand, India. Ecotourism concept has been accepted by the governments of mountain states of India for its potential to provide livelihood opportunities in remote forest areas where otherwise industrial development has limited scope. The contribution of local communities in various ecotourism products – guided nature treks, birdwatching, Himalayan view and home-stays encourages their local guardianship for existing natural resources as heritage. The paper follows the premise that successful community based ecotourism initiatives in Binsar WLS are supported by the partnerships of communities with government, non-government and private sector like the Village Ways Company, forming crucial ecotourism stakeholders. More than a decade has passed since village level community based ecotourism began within and outside Binsar WLS. This study reviews and analyses its experiences in such six villages within the sanctuary. Analysis reveals that direct involvement of local community in day to day management and planning activities not only improves their skills and abilities but also assists in policy and decision making process, adding incentive to conserve its biodiverse rich Himalayan Landscape. Participating communities of Binsar enjoy decentralized system of power and responsibilities by active involvement in ecotourism product designing, developing benefits sharing model, identifying groups and establishing linkages with multi stakeholders. The study concludes that equitable benefit sharing, good governance, positive international relations and policy implementation are necessary in determining the overall practicality and sustainability of the ecotourism enterprise

Presence and effectiveness of material benefit provisions under Joint Forest Management in India: the cases of World Bank-aided Village Forest Committees in Madhya Pradesh

Provision of material benefits by external agencies has been widely adopted in developing countries’ forest management, although their effectiveness in improving local livelihoods and conservation has been controversial. We provide empirical evidence of the presence and effectiveness of material benefit provisions under Joint Forest Management (JFM) in a forest division of Madhya Pradesh State, India. We conducted an extensive survey of 18 World Bank-aided Village Forest Committees (VFCs) and case studies of two committees, one tribal and one non-tribal. Material benefit provisions by the forest department were the most predominant type of economic activity. Provisions were dispensed in a top-down manner lacking communication and facilitation, and consequently were not sufficiently effective in improving local livelihoods and conservation, especially in tribal communities. The policy implications we derived are; the provision of material benefits should be properly explained to beneficiaries for them to be effective as conservation incentives; technical assistance for the maintenance of the dispensed materials should be provided by village development specialists; and collective forest-based activities should be gradually promoted so that beneficiaries gain a sense of ownership for forest resources and programs. These improvements should be implemented with particular attention to disadvantaged or marginalized populations

Sustainable forest management beyond the timber-oriented status quo : transitioning to co-production of timber and non-wood forest products—a global perspective

PURPOSE OF REVIEW : This review provides perspectives and insights of forest researchers from four continents representing a range of geo-regions, with examples from diverse and dynamic use of forest products that are undervalued and often misrepresented. A comprehensive discussion of the subject provides special attention to property, tenancy, public goods and access rights to nonwood forest products (NWFP), seen as forest ecosystem services in a framework for forest management decisions. The overall purpose is to provide a logical argument for transitioning to sustainable management of forests for timber and NWFP. RECENT FINDINGS : Multifunctional ecosystem-based approaches are transforming our understanding of forests. The prevailing economic relevance of NWFP for trade and sustenance requires their operative integration into forest management. Integration of NWFP will shift a traditional timber-oriented management paradigm towards an inclusive ecosystem forest management approach. We show that the impact of NWFP resources on livelihoods provides multiple benefits to all sectors of global society. Policy and property rights affect the availability and sustainability of the resource, while regulations, restrictions and prohibitions target the sustainable harvest of NWFP under growing demand. Official reporting of production volumes of NWFP is sparse, erratic or inaccurate due to a complex system that is opaque and with inadequately understood value chains, yet research is underway to better understand all NWFP sectors. SUMMARY : A shift from command-and-control forest management to broader governance schemes is observed, yet despite a growing awareness of their importance, NWFP and their potential for a bio-based economy require more research. A conceptual framework for transitioning to sustainable co-production management of timber and NWFP is presented. Such a transition is needed to ensure long-term forest security, health and resilience.Open Access funding provided by Projekt DEAL. The authors thank the European Commission for support of their research by the past European FP7 project StarTree, grant agreement 311919, the COSTAction FP1203 on NWFPs, as well as the ongoing H2020 Thematic network INCREDIBLE, grant agreement 774632. The BMBF funded SPACES2 project ASAP, grant agreement 01LL1803A, and National Key R&D Program of China grant agreement 2017YFD0600600.https://www.springer.com/journal/40725am2020Plant Production and Soil Scienc

Shrinkage induced flow and Free surface evolution during solidification of pure metal

A numerical model is developed to study Shrinkage induced convection and free surface evolution caused by the density difference between the solid and liquid phases during the solidification of pure aluminium. For the analysis, a 2–D rectangular cavity field with aluminium melt undergoing solidification process is considered. Conservation of mass, momentum, and energy are formulated based on volume averaging technique and are solved using the SIMPLER algorithm. The free surface evolution is captured using the Volume of fluid (VOF) method. The proposed model focuses on predicting macro–scale shrinkage induced surface defects during the solidification process

The potential of certification for conservation and management of wild MAP resources

Medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) are an integral part of our biodiversity. In majority of MAP rich countries, wild collection practices are the livelihood options for a large number of rural peoples and MAPs play a significant role in socio-economic development of their communities. Recent concern over the alarming situation of the status of wild MAP resources, raw material quality, as well as social exploitation of rural communities, leads to the idea of certification for MAP resource conservation and management. On one hand, while MAP certification addresses environmental, social and economic perspectives of MAP resources, on the other hand, it ensures multi-stakeholder participation in improvement of the MAP sector. This paper presents an overview of MAP certification encompassing its different parameters, current scenario (Indian background), implementation strategies as well as stakeholders’ role in MAP conservation. It also highlights Indian initiatives in this direction

Modeling of dendrite growth in undercooled solution sodium acetate trihydrate

The sodium acetate trihydrate is commonly used as energy storage phase change material in heating pads for body or hand warmer in cold climates. The undercooled melt of sodium acetate trihydrate kept at room temperature results in an exothermic reaction when solidification seed is nucleated. In presentwork, modeling of denritic growth in an undercooled solution of sodium acetate trihydrate has been carried out. The enthalpy method has been used to compute solid-liquid interface growing in undercooled melt. The interface temperature, concentration and grain growth have been modeled considering curvatureeffect and solutal undercooling. A 2-D computational grid of square control volumes has been used and discreatized governing equations were solved explicitly. The crystal anisotropy was imposed explicitly. The results are validated using experimental data

Ecological determinants of occupancy and abundance of chinkara (Gazella bennettii) in Yadahalli Wildlife Sanctuary, Karnataka, India

Chinkara (Gazella bennettii), the Indian gazelle, is a widespread antelope in the arid and semi-arid regions of the Indian subcontinent; however, the species has been relatively unexplored to the south of its distribution range. In 2016, with indefinite evidence of chinkara presence in Yadahalli Reserved Forest, Karnataka, India, the Forest Department notified the area as a Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS). We conducted a study to explore their possible existence and population status at Yadahalli WLS using a novel approach. We laid 2 sq. km grid cells in the Yadahalli WLS and divided it into four replicated sub-grids using GPS. We walked the grid cells and recorded the chinkara midden and deployed camera traps for direct detection and individual identity. We recorded site covariates, i.e. tree density, tree diversity, basal area, food tree density, cattle dung, goat and sheep droppings and distance from the boundary, and detection covariates, i.e. trail length. We performed occupancy modelling based on midden recordings using PRESENCE ver. 5.3. Through the effort of 62 grids with four spatial replicates, the detection probability of chinkara was found to be 0.68 +/- 0.03(SE), and the estimated averaged occupancy was 0.51 +/- 0.37(SE). The present study reveals a potential population of similar to 85 individuals in the Yadahalli WLS, which is the known southernmost population of the species in India. This study establishes the use of novel methods for monitoring of chinkara populations which will help in the development of a conservation action plan for the species and its habitat