Significance of Forests in the Tribal Habitation of Jangalmahal Area in West Bengal (original) (raw)
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Symbiotic Relationship between Forest and Tribe: A Case Study of Santal Tribe of Jaypur Forest
For thousands of years, forest and indigenous populations have evolved in symbiosis. Forest plays an important role in enhancing livelihood requirements for rural community and in maintaining ecological balance. Over 53 million tribal people in India, about 60% of the rural communities directly rely on forest for their day-today requirement. The biocultural knowledge of these 'ecosystem people' has made them sustain their life through the ages. However, the ethnic minorities (STs) in rural India are characterized by geographic isolation as well as strong sense of socio-cultural exclusion. Their livelihood highly depends on utilizing timber as well as non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for various purposes, e.g. medicine, food, economic and other socio-religious purposes. However, it has gained importance in recent years in policy strategies of Government owing to its significance in life support substance to large number of forest dwelling communities. The Bankura district, situated in the western part of West Bengal, is actually the fag-end of the Chhotonagpur plateau and enriched with the wealth of forest (Recorded forest area of 21.53%, State Forest Report, 2006-07, Govt. of West Bengal) covering Jaypur, Vishnupur, Ranibandh, Taldangra block etc. The present study opts to explain an intimate man-nature relationship between forest resources and Santali livelihood of Jaypur block of the said district. It also throws light on traditional knowledge and cultural practices of this social group for conservation and preservation of forest resources.
Growth and expansion of the human civilization throughout the world has often been occurred at the expanse of the destruction of natural green cover. Destruction of virgin forest through human intervention is now became an important global environmental issue. 50% of world's original forests has been vanished by 2011, majority being in the last 50 years (FAO, 2011). The present study is an attempt to appraise the present status of forest resource base of Purulia District, West Bengal along with its spatio-temporal changes in distribution. The prime factors/causes of forest destruction, its consequences upon the tribal life and the probable management strategies for conservation have also been discussed in this context. Near about 12 percent geographical area of the District is under forest cover (State Forest Report, West Bengal, 2011-12) that provides the life supporting system of the tribal people. Recent degradation of forest resources now poses a severe threat to the existing biotic resources and tribal livelihood. RS and GIS techniques have been used to assess the current state and trend of the temporal change of the forest resource.
Karkatia village in Purulia district is a tribal dominated village in the forest fringe areas. Lack of agricultural land, unfertile soil, lack of irrigation and poor communication compel the local people to depend completely on the forest ecosystem for their daily needs. Collections and sell of different non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for domestic and commercial purposes are considered as important means of their livelihood. The tribal people seasonally collect various NTFPs to satisfy the needs for their food, fodder and also medicine. The present study tries to explore the importance of NTFPs on livelihood of the tribal people in the forest fringe areas. Continuous field survey and interview were done with a structured questionnaire for data collection. The nature and pattern of NTFP utilization by the tribal people for domestic and commercial uses have been estimated indirectly. Result reveals that firewood and Sal leaves are the most important NTFPs which contribute signific...
Forest Dependence: A Study at Jangal Mahal of west Bengal
2018
Paschim Medinipur, Bankura and Purulia of Indian state of West Bengal is popularly known as Jangal Mahal. Historically, the area is forest surrounded. Dispersed villages within the area depend significantly on forest for their living. In this study, on the basis of a sample survey, features of forest dependence of inhabitants has been tried to be identified. Moreover, considering incidence of qualitative degradation of forestry, efforts are also made here to focus on the nature and causes of change in surrounding forestry.
Forest management practices of the tribal people of Meghalaya, north-east India
Journal of Tropical Forest …, 2010
tiwari bK, tynsong h & lynser Mb. 2010. Forest management practices of the tribal people of Meghalaya, north-east india. The tribal communities of Meghalaya nurture forests in the vicinity of their habitations, near water sources, on steep slopes and other ecologically sensitive lands. Their forest conservation practices can be seen in sacred groves, village restricted forests, village supply forests, clan forests and other traditionally managed forests, which comprise about 90% of Meghalaya's total forest area. These forests are protected and managed by the tribal people through institutional arrangements developed to benefit the community as a whole. The classification, protection, regeneration and extraction procedures practised for management of these forests are among the best examples of traditional ecological knowledge. Often including a variety of water bodies, these forests are very rich in aquatic as well as terrestrial biodiversity, including innumerable species of medicinal plants, wild foods and other economically important plants and animals. This study documented and analysed the role played by these traditionally managed forests and associated knowledge in conservation of biodiversity in general and of medicinal plants in particular. The paper also highlights aspects of the traditional forest management systems of the local tribal people and their contributions to food security, health care and also perpetuation of forest-related knowledge.
Socio-cultural and ethnobotanical value of a sacred forest, Thal Ke Dhar, central Himalaya
2005
The sacred groves/forests have in the recent years drawn the attention of the environmentalists due to their undisturbed conditions, which enable them to be repository of gene pools. Apart from environmental significance the sacred groves are also indicative of the phenomenon of ethnoenvironmental management. It is a social institution which permits management of biotic resources through people's participation. Unfortunately the social significance of the sacred groves has not been studied in depth and the environmental aspects are inevitably over emphasized. The present study deals with the traditional beliefs and social institutions surrounding the sacred forest-Thai Ke Dhar and makes an attempt to bring out the inherent environmental principles behind the conservation practices. In addition, the forest was assessed for its ethnobotanical value to the local herbalists and traditional folk medicine practitioners. Pragmatic approaches combining conservation and sustainable uses are considered as are traditional values that have preserved the sacred groves in the past. Integration of traditional values and protection mechanisms into the newly emerging cultural and religious contexts has been emphasized.
Forest Conservation and The Tribal: A Study In Manatu Village Under Ranchi District of Bihar
Journal of Human Ecology, 2003
It is the fact that only the various measures and legislation on forest in order to control the deforestation caused by human beings will not yield the desired results, until people’s sincere participation is there. And, when initiatives come from the local/concerned people themselves for participation, rather than from external forces/sources, the results are no doubt best. This study deals with mainly that how the tribal of Manatu village has been maintaining an excellent and exemplary task by protecting forest from their own and not due to any external factors, and thus contributing to a greater extent to conserve the forest and environment in the area.
Multiple usages of forest trees by the tribes of Kalahandi District, Orissa, India
International Journal of Biodiversity and Conservation, 2013
Forest trees are the integral part of human society. Forest trees provide both direct and indirect benefits to humans. The number of products provided by trees worldwide is extensive. The wood, bark, leaves, fruits, seeds and roots of trees yield food, fodder, shelter, medicine, fibre, resin, oils and other numerous products used for subsistence of people living in rural and tribal areas. There is a great international interest in the so-called multipurpose trees, but in practice, virtually all tree species can be used for more than one purpose. In some areas in India, the life and livelihood of the tribes depend on trees, as they provide all the commodities required by them in their day to day life. However, in recent days, there is rapid depletion of forest covers, which results in loss of these valuable trees, thereby affecting the livelihood and culture of the tribes. In this regard, the paper is an attempt to study, based on sustainable development strategy of forest resources, the ethnobotany on multiple uses of tree species by the tribes of Kalahandi District, Orissa, India. The study was carried out during 1998-1999, with four tribal groups named Gonda, Kandha, Kutia Kandha and Shabara, in four community development blocks of the district. The multiple uses of 40 tree species belonging to 22 families were documented. Medicinal and non-medicinal usages were recorded.
Forest as a Source of Livelihood for the Tribals of Kurung Kumey District, Arunachal Pradesh
Concept Publishing Company Pvt. Ltd., 2014
Tribals are of great interest and intense significance from forest perspective, as they inhabit for a very long period time over the same region. In the state of Arunachal Pradesh as a whole and Kurung Kumey district in particular, tribal communities reside in close touch with forest and thus, dependent on it. That is why, it’s a great significance to study their do’s and don’ts in order to propose better forest and environmental management interventions considering options for enhancing livelihoods of the tribal communities in Kurung Kumey district. In this study, three tribal communities of the district i.e., Nyishi, Bangru and Puroik have been purposively selected for questionnaire survey. Data has been taken into consideration from two vital viewpoint i.e., livelihood pattern and forest dependence, assuming that all tribes are dependent on forest resources for their livelihood. Through this study, it is found that Nyishi and Bangru tribes are economically better-off in terms of land ownership and income per capita respectively. Forestry practice provides little share in their total income though Nyishi tribe has the highest land per capita in forestry sector as well as in agricultural sector. On the other hand, Puroik tribe’s living standard is comparatively very low as their income and land per capita is low, and they are more dependent on forest. Bangru tribe keeps the comparative middle status in almost every sector. A variety of other social and environmental factors were also collected and thoroughly analysed which may be useful for further research in this region.