Forest produce

About: Forest produce is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 137 publications have been published within this topic receiving 891 citations.

Conservation and use of wildlife in the modern world

Abstract: Hundreds of millions of people are still heavily dependent on ‘bush foods’ for subsistence but are no longer using them sustainably. In the Indian subcontinent people now live at an average density of 236 people per km2, more than a thousand times the density of those in rural Amazonia. The remaining forest habitats of India are constantly subjected to a virtual scouring by livestock and people in search of ‘minor forest produce’ (Dang 1991; Panwar 1992). The situation is similar in some other parts of Asia and in parts of Africa.

Implementing the Forest Rights Act: Lack of political will?

Abstract: Historically, usage of and access to forest resources by India’s Adivasi community and other forest dwellers have been considered encroachment and their efforts to acquire forest land have been used as evidence of their anti-development attitude. Government policy has continued to deny them legal rights to use, manage and conserve forest resources and to hold forest lands that they have been residing on and cultivating. In 2006, the passage of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dweller’s (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act (hereafter FRA) tried to make amends by recognizing the customary rights of forest dwellers, including the right over common areas and the right to manage and sell forest produce. However, the overall implementation of FRA still suffers from inadequate community awareness; conflicting legislation; the lack of a dedicated structure for implementation and devoted staff; administrative roadblocks to smooth processing of claims; and a governance deficit.

Management of Social Forestry in Maharashtra

Abstract: Maharashtra has a forest area of 63,920 sq km which is 2076 per cent of its geographical area Such a large area of forest in the third biggest State in the country is, however, able to supply only a part of the forest produce required by the industries and the public in the State The remaining part is met through imports from the other States With the rapid industrialization of the supplier States and the depletion of forests even in those States, their supplies to Maharashtra have begun to wane

Extraction of timber and nontimber forest produce of Southwest Bengal: ecology versus economy

Abstract: Timber and nontimber forest resources are significant sources of livelihoods for forest fringe communities worldwide. We have chosen two districts of Southwest Bengal under Joint Forest Management (JFM) in order to analyze the quantification of forest resources, revenues earned by the government, income of the forest village dwellers from JFM activities, and prediction of possible ecological impacts of such resource extraction. We used nonparametric tests to analyze the secondary data collected from state forest reports. Primary data on nontimber forest produces (NTFPs) was collected from the field by using quadrat method and interviewing locals. Among the NTFPs, leaves were the most harvested plant part followed by seeds, fruits, and flowers. Maximum revenues from NTFPs were earned at Jhargram, whereas Medinipur and Rupnarayan were highest in timber returns and area felled for timber yield. There was a statistically significant increment in share per capita from JFM activities along the observed timescale. We recommend revival of tribal cooperatives, monitoring of existing harvesting techniques, generation of alternative livelihoods by self-help groups, stringent patrolling for prevention of illegal theft of forest resources, and allocation of a substantial time-period for natural regeneration of forests.