Engaging local communities in social learning for inclusive management of native fruit trees in the Central Western Ghats, India

Participatory research and the social learning it supports are increasingly being used to improve forest management. Yet, the participation of women and other marginalized groups is often limited in these processes. This is a serious shortcoming, not only due to concerns for gender and social equity, but also because socially excluded, forest-dependent groups hold specific ecological knowledge, skills and interests that influence prospects for sustainable forest management. Carried out in India’s Central Western Ghats, this study explores the potential participatory research holds for engaging communities in a socially inclusive learning process that can support forest management. Participatory tools – resource mapping, Four Cell Analysis, seasonal fruit calendar, and seasonal activity – were used to elicit information on native fruit tree diversity, phenology, agronomy, uses and marketing. We discuss the benefits of this research set-up which promoted interactions among individuals from different groups, who came to experience a common group identity. The notion of contact zones – where different cultures or groups meet and engage with each other in ways that can reduce conflicts or redress asymmetrical power relations – guides our analysis. We demonstrate that the contact zone created through research process facilitated multi-directional information sharing and supported collective actions for forest management

Tropical fruit tree diversity: good practices for in situ and on-farm conservation

Farmers have developed a range of agricultural practices to sustainably use and maintain a wide diversity of crop species in many parts of the world. This book documents good practices innovated by farmers and collects key reviews on good practices from global experts, not only from the case study countries but also from Brazil, China and other parts of Asia and Latin America

Key concepts

This chapter provides defintions on some key terms addressed by the book "Tropical fruit tree diversity: good practices for in-situ and on-farm conservation" (Sthapit et al. (eds.)). It is important to understand the wider context in which such practices take place, as some of them are relatively new concepts. Some well-accepted concepts are also included for clarity with respect to tropical fruit trees