Livelihood gains and ecological costs of NTFP dependence: assessing the roles of dependence, ecological knowledge and market structure in three contrasting human and ecological settings in south India

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) constitute the single largest determinant of livelihoods for scores of forest fringe communities and poor people in the tropics. In India over 50 million people are believed to be directly dependent upon NTFPs for their subsistence. However, such human dependence on NTFPs for livelihood gains (win) has most frequently been at a certain ecological cost (lose). If livelihoods are to be maintained, the existing ‘win-lose’ settings have to be steered to a ‘win-win’ mode, otherwise, there could be severe erosion of the biological resources and loss of livelihoods (‘lose-lose’). Examining the dependence of forest fringe communities on NTFPs at three sites in south India with contrasting human and ecological settings, three key factors (extent of dependence on NTFPs, indigenous ecological knowledge and market organization) are likely to constrain reaching the win-win situation. How these factors shape the ecological cost of harvesting NTFPs at the three sites is examined. Within the parameter space of these factors, it is possible to predict outcomes and associations that will conform to win-win or win-lose situations. Empirical data derived from the three study sites demonstrate the causality of the observed associations. The key for long-term livelihood gains lies in reducing the ecological cost. Certain interventions and recommendations that could optimize the balance between livelihood gains and ecological cost are proposed

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Not AvailableThis study aims to document the long line resources and the variation in gear used for long line fishing off the Visakhapatnam coast. The study was conducted among a sample of 193 long line units and 19 commercial fishing voyages involved in long line fishing of Visakhapatnam and Kakinada fishing harbours. Field survey method was adopted for data collection. Based on species landed, the catch was grouped into five categories viz., yellow fin tuna (Thunnus albacares), skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis), sharks (Carcharhinus sp.), Marlin (Makaira indica) and sword fish (Xiphias gladius). Yellow fin tuna dominated the catch contributing to 46.5% of the total catch. Marlins dominated the catches among species other than tuna by sharing 43.7% of the total catch, followed by sharks (32.5 %). Skipjack tuna contributed about 14.3% and Sword fish about 9.52% of the total catch.The details about the species landed with their hooking rates and the gear used are described.Not Availabl

Impact of the invasive plant, Lantana camara, on bird assemblages at Male Mahadeshwara Reserve Forest, South India

Lantana camara is an invasive species that is widespread in India. Using birds as an indicator taxon, we investigated whether Lantana invasion was correlated with changes in ecosystem health of the moist and dry deciduous forests at the Male Madeshwara Hills, Karnataka. We studied Lantana at four densities, low, medium, and high, and a no-Lantana control. Bird species diversity, species richness, and abundance were lower at high densities of Lantana in both forest types. Evenness increased with increase in Lantana density. To better understand the observed changes in bird community composition; we segregated birds into 2 guild types: microhabitat guilds and foraging guilds. An increase in Lantana density vas correlated with a decline in canopy birds (of the canopy microhabitat guilds) and insectivores (of the insectivore foraging guilds). Our results suggest that Lantana affects the structure of the bird community by decreasing diversity, and that Lantana affects certain guilds more than others

Anthropogenic pressures in tropical forest ecosystem in Western Ghats, India: are they sustainable?

Several million of humans still thrive in the forest of tropics and use resources therein for their livelihood. It is believed that their harvesting patterns could represent a good model for sustainable use of forest resources. This paper reports the impact of Soligas indigenous community on the structure and composition of the forest ecosystem using indicator species birds, butterflies (kremen, 1992, 1994) and vegetation of a wildlife sanctuary in South India. The impact of disturbance did not show any discernible pattern for birds and butterfly diversity. However, within scrub jungle and dry deciduous forest, less disturbed sites showed high diversity for butterflies. The study suggests that the pattern of resource use by Soligas affects the forest in and arround their settlements and the impact decreases with the distance from the settlements. (YS