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Hurdles for conservation science in India
Get PDFIndia, one of the 17 megadiversity countries in the world, harbours a high level of biodiversity. This biodiversity is also unique: four of the 34 global hotspots of biodiversity, the Western Ghats, the Himalayas, the north-eastern India, south of Brahmaputra, along with Andaman Islands, and the Nicobar Islands, part of the Sundaland hotspot are located within the country. The biodiversity hotspots contain an unusually large proportion of endemic species as compared to other
parts of the world. Another unusual feature of the biodiversity hotspots is that all of them suffer a high rate of habitat degradation. The megadiversity countries
and the biodiversity hotspots in particular, can make remarkably unique contributions to science. Equally important, the rapid degradation of habitats in the
hotspots makes it imperative that science be pursued vigorously in these habitats so that we can devise adequate measures to curtail rapidly diminishing biodiversity and protect unique biotas from the onslaught
of humanity
Breeding systems and pollination modes of understorey shrubs in a medium elevation wet evergreen forest, southern Western Ghats, India
Get PDFThis study on the reproductive biology and pollination
modes of 22 species of understorey shrubs in 11 families
was conducted in a medium elevation wet evergreen forest in the southern Western Ghats of India from 1994 to 1997. We evaluated whether this assemblage was predominantly outcrossing as in other tropical forests, and whether mating systems are related to pollination mode. We assessed whether species were hermaphrodites, dioecious or monecious. We assessed the breeding systems of each species with hand self pollinations. About 55% of the species produced small white and inconspicuous flowers. The majority of the flowers opened at dawn and was visited by diurnal pollinators. The proportion of dioecious and monoecious species was lower than for other tropical forests. Among the hermaphrodites, the majority had mixed mating systems. Therefore the overall levels of obligate outcrossers (37%) were low compared with other
tropical forests. We recognized 7 pollination modes: social bees, solitary bees, diverse insects, flies, sunbird, sphingid moth and Xylocopa sp. Among these the social bees, flies and diverse insects visited more species than the other groups. Species pollinated by flies and diverse insects tended to be significantly more outcrossing than those pollinated by bees and other solitary pollinators
Globally Dispersed Local Challenges in Conservation Biology
No full textContemporary challenges in conservation biology seem
more formidable than 20 years ago, when the founding
of the journal Conservation Biology more or less coincided with the emergence of conservation biology as
a distinct scientific discipline. Several years ago, David Ehrenfeld, the founding editor of the journal, and one of the cofounders of the discipline, likened conservation biologists to practitioners of medicine and urged that we evaluate the success or development of our discipline by the condition of our patient (Ehrenfeld 2000). Of course, our patient—biodiversity—is not well, particularly in the tropics where most biodiversity is found. Although deforestation rates have slowed in some parts of the world,forest degradation has accelerated in other parts ( Jha & Bawa, 2006). Moreover, improved monitoring methods indicate that previous rates of biodiversity loss may have been gross underestimates (Laurance et al. 2004). Some might argue that were it not for the contributions made by conservation biologists, biodiversity loss may have been much higher, but for most parts of the world we lack the evidence to validate such an argument.The challenges we face, as Ehrenfeld also pointed out, are not primarily biological. In that sense, the term conservation biology may itself be misdirected. However,whatever name one chooses to more accurately describe the field, biologists do have a great deal to contribute to the resolution of contemporary challenges. Suppose we posit a goal of curtailing or eliminating further biodiversity losses over the next 20 years. To achieve that goal, we will have to fundamentally transform many of the interactions between society and biodiversity. In particular, we must recognize that in the developing world, poverty and disenfranchisement pose severe constraints to conservation of biodiversity over vast areas (Adams et al. 2004). Unless we develop a new conceptual framework for action,create the necessary institutional and policy frameworks, and build human capacity, our successes will be limited and ephemeral. To pursue such goals we must meet five interrelated challenges: economic sustainability, institutional
development, interdisciplinarity, capacity building,
and large-scale action
How degraded are Himalayan forests?
No full textOVER the past few decades there has been a great deal of
concern about ecological degradation and deforestation in
the Himalayas. The main aim of this paper is to provide
estimates of the area of forest degraded in two Himalayan
districts with 90% confidence intervals by using satellite
imagery. Since all interpretation of satellite images is
subject to error, it is important to provide not just point
estimates, but also confidence intervals around those estimates. To the best of our knowledge, this has not been
done for estimates of forest degradation in the Himalayas
or elsewher
Land-Use Strategies for Tribals: A Socio-Economic Analysis
No full textThe paper seeks to identify alternate land-use and management strategies to strengthen the livelihood base of poor marginal farmers in the dry forest peripheries of India. Land alienation, soil degradation, wild animal attacks, and declining access to forests have debilitated the livelihood base of this tribal community. Benefit cost analyses and stakeholder discussions reveal that millet-based dry farming with adoption of soil conservation or growing perennials on field bunds are economically efficient relative to current practices and enjoy stakeholder acceptance. Some other economically superior alternate land-uses are not acceptable locally, indicating the care with which tribal development policies need to be made
Rattan species richness and population genetic structure of Calamus flagellum in North-Eastern Himalaya, India
No full textRattans, the climbing palms, are one of the most important non-wood forest produce supporting the livelihood of many forest dwelling communities in India. However, extensive harvest, loss of habitat and poor regeneration has resulted in dwindling of rattan populations necessitating an urgent need to conserve the existing rattan genetic resources. In this study, using GIS tools, an attempt has been made to develop species richness maps of rattans in the North-Eastern Himalaya, a mega-diversity region in India. At least four sites of extremely high species richness were identified that could be prioritized for in situ conservation. Further, using molecular tools, genetic variability was assessed in six populations of an economically important rattan, Calamus flagellum. The population that was least disturbed or harvested maintained comparatively higher levels of genetic diversity than those that were disturbed. The study, perhaps the first in the region, emphasizes the need for developing strategies for the long-term conservation of rattans in the North-Eastern Himalaya
Role of Monitoring in Institutional Performance: Forest Management in Maharashtra, India
Get PDFIn this article we examine the role of ‘monitoring’, believed to be crucial for effective participatory common property management. While governing a common pool resource such as forests, there may be conditions that tempt individuals to cheat and gain substantially higher benefits. This is disadvantageous for other participants, and can adversely affect resource condition. Monitoring includes ensuring rule compliance, dealing with infractions and guarding forest areas against outsider entry. Here we examine the impact of institutional structure on monitoring and, consequently, on the effectiveness of forest management. We examine the three most frequent approaches in India, namely community-initiated management, non-governmental organisation
(NGO) promoted forest management, and state-sponsored Joint Forest Management (JFM). Through a comparison of 3 case studies in the Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra in central India, we conducted a detailed comparison of forests that are situated in similar bio climatic conditions and similar social environments. We assess community approaches to monitoring using detailed social interviews with communities and integrate this with an
analysis of forest condition at the tree, sapling and seedling level using forest plot data. Our findings indicate that local enforcement has been most effective
in the case where forest management was initiated by the community, wit
The Fire-Lantana Cycle Hypothesis in Indian Forests
Get PDFAnthropogenic fires in Indian forests probably date back to the arrival
of the first hominids on the Indian subcontinent.However, with our continuing
dependence on forests for a variety of resources, but with shrinking forested
areas, forests are being subjected to more intensive use than before. As a result,
fires are occurring more frequently today than at any time in the past. This
altered fire regime is probably qualitatively different from historical fire regimes
in its impact on forests at multiple spatial scales. Present-day fires have possibly
led to forest degradation, increasing susceptibility to invasion by alien species
such as lantana (Lantana camara). We hypothesise that there may be a positive
feedback between present-day fires and invasion by lantana, leading to a fire-
lantana cycle that can have deleterious compositional and functional
consequences for forest ecosystems and the commodities and services that society
derives from them. Despite the widespread nature of the problem, we lack good
empirical information on the effects of varying fire frequency and severity in
Indian dry forests. So also, we lack a sound understanding of the mechanistic
underpinnings of lantana’s success and barriers to its control in Indian forests.
Without such information we have little hope of a way out of the fire-lantana
cycle
Practicing Interdisciplinarity
Get PDFWe explore the practical difficulties of interdisciplinary research in the context of a regional- or local-scale project. We posit four barriers to interdisciplinarity that are common across many disciplines and draw on our own experience and on other sources to explore how these barriers are manifested.Values enter into scientific theories and data collection through scientists’ hidden assumptions about disciplines other than their own, through
the differences between quantitative and interpretive social sciences, and through roadblocks created by the organization of academia and the relationship between academics and the larger society. Participants in interdisciplinary projects need to be self-reflective about the value judgments embedded in their choice of variables and models. They should identify and use a core set of shared concerns to motivate the effort, be willing to respect and to learn more about the “other,” be able to work with new models and alternative taxonomies, and allow for plurality and
incompleteness
Land-use Strategies, Economic Options and Stakeholder Preferences: A Study of Tribal Communities in Forest Peripheries
No full textAbstract: In the Anaikatty region of the southern Western Ghats in India, land-use in forest peripheries is characterized by low productivity and extended fallows. Land alienations, soil degradation, drought, wild animal attacks, and declining access to forests have debilitated the livelihood base of a tribal community known as Irulas. This study seeks to identify alternate land-use and management strategies to strengthen and diversify the livelihood options that are confronted by these extremely poor marginal farmers. Benefit-cost analysis in combination with stakeholder discussions reveal that alternative land-use strategies such as millet-based dry-farming along with the adoption of soil conservation or growth of perennials on field bunds are economically efficient relative to current dry-farming and that these enjoy acceptance among farmers. Adoption of such systems would result in a nearly 300 percent increase in the annual income from their land. Other economically superior alternative land-uses are not acceptable to farmers, indicating the care with which tribal development policies need to be made. The tribals in this region are caught up in an almost insurmountable poverty and environment trap. This study offers suggestions that may enable them to move away from the grim reality that currently faces them