Ecology,ecological poverty and sustainable development in Central Himalayan region of India

The people inhabiting the mountains of the Central Himalayan region of India are heavily dependent on their immediate natural resources for their survival. However, this resource-poor mountain ecosystem is gradually becoming unable to provide a minimum standard of living to its continually growing population. In this ecosystem, human population is doubling every 27–30 years, against the declining resource base, particularly forests. Forest are disappearing both quantitatively and qualitatively. Against the requirement of 18 ha of forest land to maintain production in 1 ha of cultivated land, the ratio of forests to cultivated land is only 1.33: 1. The present production from grasslands supports 8 units of livestock, against the ideal 2 units, and the gap between the demand and deficit of fodder is more than 5-fold. Loss of vegetative cover is resulting in drying up of water resources, compelling the women to walk longer distances to collect water. This ecological deterioration, apart from human growth and interference, is compounded by mountain specificities such as inaccessibility, fragility, marginality, diversity, niche and adaptability. The specificities manifest in isolation, distance, poor communication, limited mobility, etc., resulting in limited external linkages and replication of external experiences, and slow pace of development. They, therefore, restrict options for economic growth, effecting poverty and affecting the quality of life of the people of the region. Poverty, in this mountain ecosystem cannot be understood and assessed independent of ecological wealth and would better be termed as ecological poverty. The development efforts to be effective in alleviating poverty here, should take into account mountain specificities and incorporate options which have larger human dimensions, such as mechanisms for population control, socio-economic and cultural conditioning, indigenous knowledge systems of the local people and simple technologies that are already in practice or have potential and are based on least external inputs.     

Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Practice for Edible Wild Plants: Biodiversity Use by the Rarámuri,in the Sirerra Tarahumara,Mexico

The Rarámuri who live in the Sierra Tarahumara of Chihuahua State, Mexico have developed local knowledge and harvesting strategies for edible wild plants that have the effect of conserving the biodiversity of their forest ecosystem. This paper presents the results of ethnobotanical research undertaken in the community of Basìhuare in the Sierra Tarahumara, to provide details on some practical aspects of the Raráamuri worldview regarding interconnections between people and their environment. This traditional philosophy forms the basis for the use of edible wild plants and the harvesting strategies practiced in Basìhuare, such as selective harvesting, environmental modification and domestication. These activities provide the opportunity for harvesters to monitor the landscape and the plant resources that occur on the land, as well as present a setting for the communication and exchange of traditional ecological knowledge. However, Rarámuri harvesting practices are under stress because of increased external pressures from commercial timber extraction and other development. We discuss the state of traditional ecological knowledge and its transmission in the context of development activities in the region. The key to sustainability in the Sierra Tarahumara may be the maintenance of traditional management practices for edible wild plants, and other nontimber forest products, that lead to the conservation of biodiversity by creating patchiness and renewing the plant cover on the land.     

Integrating local knowledge with science and technology in management of soil,water and nutrients: implications for management of natural capital for sustainable rural livelihoods

Harnessing local knowledge and practices for sustainable management of soil, water and nutrients is important for sustainable development. This work aims to understand soil productivity in traditional open-ridging practices and integrate scientific ideas and technologies into traditional practices for enhancing management of soil productivity. Participatory assessments, household surveys, field experiments, observations and analyses of outcomes were used. Participatory assessments revealed declining natural soil fertility and maize productivity over time, a concern reiterated by 82.5% of respondents. Evaluation of ridge tillage practices showed that bean yields were significantly (p?<?0.05) higher by 19–35% in traditional open ridges and increased by 23–38% when ties were integrated. Integration of fertilizers resulted in significantly (p?<?0.05) higher subsequent maize yields in tied ridges than in traditional open ridge and flat cultivation practices. Improved integrated tillage practices resulted in increased soil and water conservation, soil fertility and crop tolerance to prolonged no-rainfall spells. National development policies should create enabling environments for smallholder farmers to integrate modern knowledge and technologies with their traditional knowledge and practices in land management for high and sustained quality of natural capital for secure and sustainable livelihoods.     

Historical evidence of climatic variability and changes,and its effect on high-altitude regions: insights from Rara and Langtang,Nepal

ABSTRACT

Climatic variability and its effects have been experienced in the high-altitude regions of Nepal for some considerable time. Most of the studies on local people’s perception available so far in Nepal on climate include with respect to weather changes, and almost none have been verified with satellite imagery. This study thus attempts to combine meteorological and satellite imagery for comparing local people’s perception so that a more robust validation can be established. Both qualitative (transect walk, key informant interview, focus group discussion and institutional visit) and quantitative (meteorological and satellite image) data and techniques were employed. Local people from Rara and Langtang in Nepal shared their observations and perceptions on the changing climate for the last three decades and the effects on them and their local microclimate. Apart from temperature, rainfall and snowfall anomalies, locals observed changes in the water sources and increasing drought along with alteration in the phenology of tree and agricultural crops as well as vegetation range migration. Satellite image analysis also confirms a change in snow cover as notified by the local people. This study shows that local people’s knowledge could be considered as a complement to the observed scientific evidences of climate change science and their perceptions can be used reliably where scientific data are lacking. Finally, perceived climatic risks, current gaps and future opportunities are discussed and some recommendations are suggested.     

西部山地小城镇经济模式生态化问题

当前西部山地区域小城镇经济基础普遍薄弱,并且随着城镇化的进一步加快,以及人们急于摆脱贫困所采取的非生态化行为愈演愈烈,山地生态环境系统所承受的压力日益加剧,因此当前在西部山地小城镇正面临着经济发展与生态环境系统维护的双重挑战。通过分析西部山地小城镇发展的基本现实,指出经济模式与生态环境系统相互协调的重要意义,并阐述了小城镇经济模式选择所应具有的生态化思维。在此基础上,提出了实现西部山地小城镇经济模式生态化的对策,应致力于转变传统的乡村工业发展模式、推进产业结构的调整和以现代产业化方式发展生态农业。     

Traditional Plant Harvesting in Contemporary Fragmented and Urban Landscapes

Abstract: Ecosystem fragmentation and destruction can lead to restrictive administration policies on traditional harvesting by indigenous peoples from remaining ecosystem tracts. In New Zealand, concerns about endangered species and governmental policies that focus on species and ecosystem preservation have resulted in severely curtailed traditional harvesting rights. Although provision has been made for limited gathering of traditional plants from government‐administered conservation lands, it is unclear how much harvesting is undertaken on these lands and elsewhere and what this harvest might consist of. We interviewed seven expert Maori elders from the Waikato, New Zealand, to identify plant species they currently harvested and from where. We compared these data with the data we collected on permits issued for plant collecting on conservation lands in the same region. We sought to gain information on indigenous plant harvesting to determine the extent of permitted harvesting from conservation lands in the Waikato and to identify issues that might affect plant harvesting and management. Elders identified 58 species they harvest regularly or consider culturally important; over 50% of these species are harvested for medicinal use. Permit data from 1996 to 2006 indicated no apparent relationship between species of reported cultural significance and the number of permits issued for each of these species. Currently, few plant species are harvested from conservation lands, although some unofficial harvesting occurs. Elders instead reported that medicinal plants are frequently collected from urban and other public areas. They reported that plant species used for dyeing, carving, and weaving are difficult to access. Elders also discussed concerns such as spraying of roadsides, which resulted in the death of medicinal species, and use of commercial hybrids in urban planning. Local government may have an increasingly important role in supporting native traditions through urban planning, which takes account of cultural harvesting needs while potentially reducing future harvesting pressure on conservation lands. We suggest that active participation by the Māori community in the development and management of urban harvesting resources will result in positive outcomes.     

Conservation in a Region of Political Instability: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda

Abstract: Bwindi Impenetrable is the most important forest in Uganda for conservation of biodiversity. It contains over half the world's mountain gorillas. It is surrounded by densely populated agricultural land and lies within a region of political instability. Gazetted as a forest reserve in 1932, little forest now remains outside its boundaries. Transformation of nearby communal swampland to farmland, much owned by a few individuals, shows the probable fate of Bwindi if it had not been declared a protected area. Widespread illegal logging and other activities were among reasons why the status of the forest was raised to national park in 1991. This resulted in local resentment, fed by inadequate consultation and concern about the local people's loss of access to resources. Fires were set in the forest and threats made against the gorillas. Three schemes to provide benefits from the existence of the forest to communities and involve them in park management were then instituted: agreements allowing controlled harvesting of resources in the park, receipt of some revenue from tourism, and establishment of a trust fund partly for community development. Tension between people and park has been reduced. This case demonstrates the importance of protected areas and community involvement in such circumstances. Community support is especially critical, as here, when resources available to park managers are limited and political instability endemic.     

The Importance of Taboos and Social Norms to Conservation in Madagascar

Abstract:  Informal institutions governing the use of wild species are present in many societies. A system of prohibitions known as fady is central to Malagasy culture. We examined whether fady that relate to the use of natural resources in the eastern rainforests of Madagascar play an important conservation role. Prohibitions ranged from strict taboos in which a species or area was forbidden by the ancestors to social norms that concerned acceptable behavior when harvesting wild species. Strict taboos offered real protection to threatened species, such as the lemur Propithecus edwardsi and the carnivore Cryptoprocta ferox . Taboos also reduced pressure on some economically important endemic species by preventing their sale or limiting the harvest season. Despite their value for conservation, the taboos did not appear to originate from attempts to sustainably manage resources. Nevertheless, social norms, in which the sanction was social disapproval rather than supernatural retribution, encouraged sustainable harvesting practices for tenrecs ( Tenrec ecudatus ) and pandans ( Pandanus spp.). Unfortunately, the social norms concerning methods of harvesting pandans appeared to be breaking down in villages surrounding Ranomafana National Park, and we suggest that the imposition of external conservation rules is weakening traditional management. Informal institutions are important to conservation because they suggest ways of improving cultural understanding and conservation communication. Food taboos influence societal preferences, which affect the wider demand for a species. Most important, where capacity to enforce external conservation rules is limited, informal institutions may provide the only effective regulations. Informal institutions should receive greater attention from conservation biologists so that local people's conservation roles can be acknowledged fairly and so that potential synergies with conservation objectives can be realized.     

Community-scale analysis of the farmland abandonment occurrence process in the mountain region of Ladakh,India

Farmland abandonment has been a significant issue in mountain regions. Thus, many studies have attempted to uncover its driving factors. Most existing studies take a large- or meso-scale view of mountain regions, and there are a few studies that provide community-level analysis. Therefore, it is unclear how ecological and sociopolitical factors are actually combined to influence farmland abandonment at a community level. Thus, we conducted a field survey in the mountain village of Ladakh, northern India, beginning in 2009 and tried to understand the farmland abandonment occurrence process from the viewpoint of traditional altitudinal models of land use. Using data collected during the survey, a relationship between altitude and farmland abandonment was established. However, this relationship was complex, combining traditional forms of land use system in the village. The altitudinal model of land use was very common in mountain regions; thus, discussions of current land use issues should be based on an understanding of such traditional altitudinal systems.     

REDD+ and forest tenure security: concerns in Nepal’s community forestry

As one of the dominant large-scale mechanisms proposed to combat climate change, biodiversity loss, and rural poverty, REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) has added further complexity to the challenging governance of rights and resources in global forests. As REDD+ is commodifying carbon, concerns emerge about how carbon ownership and its rights can be accommodated into the existing framework that governs local forest resource rights. The Nepalese government has formally entered into REDD+ policy preparations, but it lacks clear legal provisions regarding key forest tenure rights such as carbon ownership, benefit sharing, and the political participation of community forest user groups from national to local. As a result, Nepal’s policy process points toward performance-based carbon forestry in a way that may undermine and weaken existing community tenure rights and forest tenure security.

This paper discusses Nepal’s potential impacts of new REDD+ and carbon ownership arrangements on forest tenure security and community-based forest governance. In a threefold methodological approach, the paper presents three scenarios for a REDD+-oriented tenure reform within the existing framework and assesses their concerns through in-depth qualitative interviews with key stakeholders, representatives, and advocates of Nepal’s community forestry system, complemented by a review of government documents and academic literature of REDD+ lessons so far. The analysis identifies critical concerns for forest tenure security, state-community power relationships, and effective local institutions of the commons, and suggests that Nepal’s REDD+ process is taking place at a particularly consequential time for structural changes of the forest governance framework.     

Do water saving technologies save water? Empirical evidence from North China

This paper describes the extent of water saving technologies usage and evaluates their impacts on water use, water productivity, total irrigated sown area and crop mix in North China. A set of panel data collected at the househol.d and plot levels is used in empirical analysis. Water saving technologies are categorized into traditional technologies, household-based technologies and community-based technologies. By 2007, traditional technologies and household-based technologies are used in almost all sample villages. However, the shares of sown area on which water saving technologies are used are still fairly low. Econometric analysis using plot level fixed effects show that using water saving technologies can reduce crop water use and improve the productivity of water. The positive effects are generated mainly through the use of household-based or community-based technologies. The use of water saving technologies does not have statistically significant impacts on total irrigated sown area and crop mix.     

Managing Stand Structure as Part of Ecologically Sustainable Forest Management in Australian Mountain Ash Forests

Ecologically sustainable management of temperate forests is a complex task that involves balancing potentially conflicting land uses such as wood production and nature conservation. We argue that a variety of strategies implemented at different spatial scales is required for biodiversity conservation in temperate forests where wood production is permitted. This is a form of "risk-spreading;" if one option is ineffective for a given species, it may still be conserved as a result of the implementation of other approaches. At the largest scale, there is a clear need for reserves to protect representative samples of forest ecosystems. Within landscapes broadly designated for timber harvesting, intermediate-scale strategies such as the implementation of networks of streamside reserves and wildlife corridors are important for biodiversity conservation. At smaller spatial scales within harvested areas, critical habitat components for forest-dependent organisms like large old trees and logs must be provided. We focus on the importance of these fine-scale attributes for the conservation of biodiversity within logged forests using the mountain ash (  Eucalyptus regnans) forests of the Central Highlands of Victoria as a case study. Forest managers must develop silvicultural practices that maintain and perpetuate critical stand attributes essential for the conservation of forest-dependent organisms. To this end, a shift is required from the extensive use of clearfelling to the adoption of new silvicultural techniques that maintain more structurally complex multi-aged stands. The maintenance of key structural features should be used as a template to guide harvesting methods to ensure that production forests contribute to biodiversity conservation, not only in mountain ash forests, but also temperate wood production elsewhere around the world.     

温州市荒山资源开发利用研究

运用区域系统分析法,着重分析了温州市两种类型荒山资源开发利用的优势和劣势;通过土地适宜性评价,得出了该市荒山资源以宜林地为主的结论;提出了荒山资源开发利用的原则、模式和措施。     

The role of social media for sustainable development in mountain region tourism in Pakistan

This research letter focuses on tourist behavior and tourism business operators’ contributions to rural mountain region economic growth and sustainable development when using social media. Data were collected from 43 interviews from different tourism business operators, and a questionnaire survey of 576 tourists from the Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Drawing on development communication theory, the study reveals that there is a positive relationship between the tourists’ intentions and rural mountain region sustainable development. The study also reveals that most tourists are willing to pay more taxes when touring mountain regions. The real business outcomes from tourism business operators show that rural mountain region tourism creates better employment opportunities for the rural population. All tourists demonstrated the motivation to take part in rural mountain region sustainable development while touring rural locations. The study also offers policy implications.     

Demographic Evidence of Illegal Harvesting of an Endangered Asian Turtle

Harvesting pressure on Asian freshwater turtles is severe, and dramatic population declines of these turtles are being driven by unsustainable collection for food markets, pet trade, and traditional Chinese medicine. Populations of big‐headed turtle (Platysternon megacephalum) have declined substantially across its distribution, particularly in China, because of overcollection. To understand the effects of chronic harvesting pressure on big‐headed turtle populations, we examined the effects of illegal harvesting on the demography of populations in Hong Kong, where some populations still exist. We used mark‐recapture methods to compare demographic characteristics between sites with harvesting histories and one site in a fully protected area. Sites with a history of illegal turtle harvesting were characterized by the absence of large adults and skewed ratios of juveniles to adults, which may have negative implications for the long‐term viability of populations. These sites also had lower densities of adults and smaller adult body sizes than the protected site. Given that populations throughout most of the species’ range are heavily harvested and individuals are increasingly difficult to find in mainland China, the illegal collection of turtles from populations in Hong Kong may increase over time. Long‐term monitoring of populations is essential to track effects of illegal collection, and increased patrolling is needed to help control illegal harvesting of populations, particularly in national parks. Because few, if any, other completely protected populations remain in the region, our data on an unharvested population of big‐headed turtles serve as an important reference for assessing the negative consequences of harvesting on populations of stream turtles. Evidencia Demográfica de la Captura Ilegal de una Tortuga Asiática en Peligro     

Comparative aspects of mountain land resources management and sustainability: Case studies from India and Canada

India and Canada share a common heritage in natural resources management. Both have a colonial background, settlers and indigenous peoples; there is a history of management agencies with utilitarian attitudes, and a history of treating public lands as commodities for commerce rather than as resources for local livelihoods. This historical context guided the overall goal of this study, which was policy development for the sustainable use of mountain environments. Interviews, workshops and seminars were held with local people and resource management professionals in a comparative case study in two regions; the Kullu area in Himachal Pradesh, India and the Arrow Lakes area in British Columbia, Canada. The paper is organized around two main objectives of the work relating to the successes and failures of mountain environment resource management policies and the development of criteria for assessing and monitoring sustainability in mountain environments, in particular, criteria for examining relevant crosscultural dimensions of sustainable development in these environments. By way of conclusion the paper considers further ways in which traditional resource policy development and implementation is being challenged by changing values and priorities; ecosystems management with people; and co-management and public participation.     

REDD+ comes with money,not with development: an analysis of post-pilot project scenarios from the community forestry of Nepal Himalaya

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) attracts poor nations to keep their forest standing only to sequester carbon through monetary incentives. However, in countries like Nepal where forest is an integral part of social practices, communities need to keep using forests for making a living. Based on household survey, field interview, personal observation, and broad review of forestry legislations, this paper scrutinizes villagers’ experiences of changes in forest management after implementation of a REDD+ pilot project in nine Community Forestry Users Groups (CFUGs) of Nepal. Since REDD+ was not initiated by local communities but tacitly implemented by international NGOs, most villagers lacked knowledge about it and the associated benefits from the pilot project, thus fewer villagers were found to be motivated to participate in the pilot project. Consequently, it delinked villagers from their forest by implicitly tightening uses rules, which resulted in constraints to fetch forest products. In addition, REDD+ benefits were distributed to some poor households but not to all, which resulted to an antagonistic sentiment in the villages. Thus, a rigorous assessment of conditions and framework of REDD+ and an involvement of local community from the start without compromising in the uses of forest products is of the utmost importance before considering the REDD+ framework as an alternative or as similar to CFUG in Nepal. Alternatively, REDD+ can be a part or a development project under the CFUG’s framework, which could be socially as well as legally acceptable on the present situation.     

Rehabilitation of degraded community lands for sustainable development in Himalaya: a case study in Garhwal Himalaya,India

SUMMARY

An approach to the rehabilitation of degraded community lands built on people's perceptions and traditional knowledge was developed, implemented on a small scale (6 ha plot), and evaluated in terms of economic and ecological costs and benefits over a period of 5 years in a mid-altitude (1200 m) village of Garhwal Himalaya. Rehabilitation comprised establishment of water harvesting tanks, organic management of soil, agroforestry (native multipurpose trees t traditional crops), and decision making by the whole village community. Costs and benefits under irrigated and unirrigated conditions were compared. The total cost of establishing the irrigated agroforestry system was 1.23 fold that of the unirrigated one, whereas the total benefit was 2.09 fold. The average standing above-ground biomass of the 4-year-old plantation in the irrigated agroforestry system was 11.69 t/ha compared to 8.34 t/ha in the unirrigated system. Improvement in soil properties was more pronounced in the irrigated system than in the unirrigated one. Nutrient input, an input derived largely from forest biomass, in the unirrigated system was nearly 3 times higher than that in the irrigated system. It is concluded that, considering the local and national/regional/global interests in an integrated manner, agroforestry incorporating water management would be a more effective option for rehabilitating degraded community lands than the afforestation currently being attempted by the government in the mid-altitudes of Indian Himalaya.     

Status and trends in research and development projects in the mountains: A situational analysis in the Indian Himalaya

The mountains hold the key to global ecological and social stability by virtue of being centres of biological and cultural diversity and the storehouse for water and other resources. However, they are becoming unable to sustain the demands of the changing life style of the growing number of inhabitants as well as the population in the plains and, therefore, the resources are depleting rapidly. Inadequacy of research and development (R&D) projects undertaken in mountain ecosystems is, perhaps, a major factor that has not enabled us to evolve and introduce suitable interventions to replenish and restore the health of the degraded mountains. In this article, taking the Indian Himalayan region as a case study, an effort has been made to understand the adequacy and appropriateness of R&D projects in mountain ecosystems by analysing the research and development projects implemented in this region from 1985–86 to1998–99. The analysis revealed inadequacy in the number and budgets of R&D projects implemented in this mountain ecosystem as a whole as well as in specific subject areas; the number of R&D projects implemented during this period was only 5.28% of the total projects, with a fund allocation of 4.45% of the total R&D budget of India, which appears to be inadequate considering the geophysical and bio-social importance of the Himalaya. The finding suggests that national funding agencies of mountain nations need to increase the number of R&D projects in mountain regions as a priority, with the intention of developing scientific packages capable of restoring the degraded ecosystem of the mountains and ensuring their sustainable development.     

广东山地丘陵土壤的特性

广东山地丘陵面积约占总面积的70％,山地丘陵在广东经济发展中占有重要地位。本文根据长达5年的南方山区土壤资源考察及前人的研究成果,论述了广东山地丘陵土壤中有机质、全氮、颗粒组成、代换性能、矿质营养元素和土壤水分等的特点。建议根据山地土壤资源的优势和生态系统的脆弱性,实行保护性开发、建立良性人工生态系统,因地制宜,因土种植,合理施肥和实行人工灌溉等土壤水分的调控措施。