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Assessing the extent and causes of forest degradation in India: Where do we stand?
Biological Conservation 143 (2010) 2937–2944
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Biological Conservation journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/biocon
Assessing the extent and causes of forest degradation in India: Where do we stand? Priya Davidar a,*, Sasmita Sahoo a,1, Pratheesh C. Mammen a,1, Prashanth Acharya a,1, Jean-Philippe Puyravaud a,b,1, M. Arjunan c, Jean Pierre Garrigues d, Krista Roessingh e a
Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Pondicherry University, Kalapet, Pondicherry 605 014, India ECOS, 9A Frederick Osanam St., Colas Nagar, Pondicherry 605 001, India c Department of Chemistry, S.K.P. Engineering College, S.K. Pichaandi Nagar, Thiruvannamalai District, Thiruvannamalai 606 611, India d LEGTA Nîmes–Rodilhan, Domaine de Donadille, 30230 Rodilhan, France e Department of Geography, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada b
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history: Received 30 November 2009 Received in revised form 12 April 2010 Accepted 18 April 2010 Available online 15 May 2010 Keywords: Forest degradation Forest products Fuel–wood India Livelihoods Livestock grazing pressure Protected areas Sustainable use of forests
a b s t r a c t In India, conservation of biodiversity goes hand in hand with human welfare, as millions of people live adjacent or within protected areas and depend upon forests products. The high density and biomass requirements of these households could result in the degradation of forests and loss of biodiversity. We assessed the collection of forest products among households in five sites in the Western and Eastern Ghats of peninsular India: the Kogar region of the Central Western Ghats, the Bandipur and Sigur regions of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, the Kalakad–Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve of the southern Western Ghats and Similipal Tiger Reserve of the northern Eastern Ghats, and tested whether extraction pressure on forests was associated with the proportion of agricultural households, wage labour and population density. We also examined whether data on loss of cover as stated by the State of the Forest Reports was supported by field data. The regions differed in land use: Kogar, KMTR and Similipal were primarily agricultural regions, whereas households engaged in wage labour or in running small businesses were predominant in Sigur and Bandipur. Fuel–wood was collected ubiquitously for household use in all sites, used mainly for domestic requirements and secondarily for generating income. Green leaves for making fertilizer and fodder were collected for household use and did not enter the market. Cattle manure for the global organic coffee industry was a major forest product in Bandipur and Sigur. Extraction pressure on forests was positively associated with the availability of wage labour and was negatively with the proportion of agricultural households. Data from official sources seem inadequate to measure forest degradation in protected forests. Accurate estimation of forest condition through field assessments and remote sensing, and understanding the socio-economic variables associated with forest loss and degradation are needed for the sustainable management of Indian protected areas. Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction It has been widely acknowledged that tropical forests are disappearing at a rapid rate. Reducing levels of deforestation would first of all depend on precise measurement of forest loss and secondly on understanding its causes. Local impacts on forests have been attributed to poverty, population pressure, agricultural expansion and intensification and development of infrastructure (Godoy et al., 1997; Angelsen and Kaimowitz, 1999; Geist and Lambin,
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 413 2353759; fax: +91 413 2655265. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (P. Davidar), [email protected] (S. Sahoo), [email protected] (P.C. Mammen), prashanth.eco@gmail. com (P. Acharya), [email protected] (J.-P. Puyravaud), arjunanmkn@yahoo. co (M. Arjunan), [email protected] (J.P. Garrigues), [email protected] (K. Roessingh). 1 Tel.: +91 413 2353759; fax: +91 413 2655265. 0006-3207/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2010.04.032
2002). In the Indian context, recent reports (State of Forest Report, 2005, 2009) based on remotely sensed data indicate that forest cover is increasing. Otherwise data on deforestation and its causes are fragmentary and often difficult to compare due to lack of standardized methodologies and scientific rigour. Much of the literature is unpublished reports and therefore not available in the public domain (Pandey, 2002). In India, forests and people are inextricably linked since millions of people live adjacent to or within protected areas and harvest forest products (Kothari et al., 1989). However, often the human pressure on forests is not sustainable and can cause forest loss and degradation (Ganesan, 1993; Maikhuri et al., 2001; Puyravaud and Garrigues, 2002; Sagar and Singh, 2004; Arjunan et al., 2005), and together with intensive livestock grazing can reduce carrying capacity, i.e. the net primary productivity available for herbivores in a year (Ganesan, 1993; Silori and Mishra, 2001; Sagar and Singh, 2004; Madhusudan, 2004, 2005).
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Measures have been taken to reduce levels of dependency of local communities upon forests by creating alternative livelihoods (Badola, 1999). However, studies have indicated that local support for such efforts has been mixed (Arjunan et al., 2006; Davidar et al., 2008; Gubbi et al., 2009), and dependence on forest products has not appreciably diminished (Arjunan et al., 2005). Therefore it is critical to find effective and socially acceptable answers to conserve India’s forest biodiversity. The Forest Survey of India (Ministry of Environment and Forests) based in Dehra Dun conducts periodic assessments of the state of its forests through remote sensing (State of Forest Report, 2003, 2005, 2009) and these assessments are the benchmarks for measuring changes in forest cover. According to these reports overall India has lost very little and in fact has gained forest cover (FSI, 2003, 2005, 2009). We conducted surveys among local communities in and around five protected areas in the Western and Eastern Ghats of peninsular India in order to assess the extent of dependence upon forest products and use of forests for livestock grazing. Using questionnaire and field data we approximated the extraction pressure on forests in terms of tonnes of biomass removed per hectare per year. We obtained data on the district wise forest cover from the State of Forest Reports (2003, 2005) for the study regions to see whether satellite assessments reflect ongoing conditions in the field. The Western Ghats sites were represented by the Kalakad– Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) in the southernmost part of the Western Ghats in the Tirunelveli district of Tamilnadu, Bandipur Tiger Reserve and Sigur plateau in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR) which forms a link between the Western and Eastern Ghats, the Kogar region in northern Shimoga district of Karnataka and Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) in the Eastern Ghats located in the Mayurbhanj district of Orissa (Fig. 1). The Tiger Reserves have high levels of protection where human use is prohibited in the core areas, whereas the Sigur plateau and the Kogar region are comprised of mostly Reserved Forests with lower levels of protection (The Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972). We tested the hypothesis that extraction pressure on forests would increase with (1) local human population density, (2) the proportion of agricultural households in each site, since agriculture is one of the main drivers of tropical deforestation (Geist and Lambin, 2002), (3) and with the availability of wage labour, an indicator of poverty.
2. Methods 2.1. Description of study sites and background survey information 2.1.1. Kogar The northernmost study site in the Western Ghats was Kogar in the Shimoga Division, Karnataka State in the Central Western Ghats, which is a hilly undulating area with low and medium elevation rain forest (Fig. 1, Table 1). The study was carried out east of crest of the Western Ghats, which is a predominantly agricultural region. A land use/land cover analysis revealed that this region is made up of a mosaic of lowland evergreen forests in different stages of degradation intermixed with areas of cultivated land (Garrigues and Puyravaud, 1999). These state protected forests are classified as either Reserved Forest or Wildlife Sanctuary. The caste-based agrarian systems ranged from subsistence agriculture to intensive cropping. Three different agrarian systems were identified in a preliminary analysis of 29 villages in this region and three villages (Araballi, Kodanavalli and Gudihithalu) were chosen as representative of each agrarian system (Garrigues, 1999). A total of 71 households (sampling intensity of 46%) from the three villages weighed and recorded products they had harvested/
used over a period of 1 year. Regular (monthly) field visits and the presence of field assistants ensured proper follow-up and reliability of data. 2.1.2. Bandipur National Park Bandipur National Park (BNP), covering an area of approximately 880 km2, is located in southern Karnataka and forms part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. It was established in 1973 and is now a Project Tiger Reserve. It adjoins the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve to the south (Fig. 1). The vegetation is composed of mixed deciduous forests and tree savannas (Table 1, Shridhar and Puyravaud, 1995). This is a dry land agro-pastoral farming region dominated by different caste groups and tribal communities, a large proportion of which are dependent on wage labour (Sumathi, 2006). There were 32 villages with about 2000 households comprising of approximately 200,000-people (Registrar General of India, 2001) in this region (Sumathi, 2006). Studies indicated high levels of forest degradation within the park boundary due to the impact of fuel–wood collection and livestock grazing pressure (Sumathi, 2006). The study was carried out in 15 of the 32 villages (47%) consisting of a total of 702 households (35%) belonging to Mangala Gram Panchayat (MGP), located on the southeastern boundary of BNP. Out of the 15 villages, eight were tribal communities and the rest were of mixed community composition. The tribal communities were composed of the Soligas, the Kadu Kurubas and the Jenu Kurubas, who were relocated from within the National Park about 40 years ago during its establishment. The survey was conducted from January to March 2009. A total of 167 (25%) households were randomly selected from at least 20% of the households in each village and interviewed using a semistructured questionnaire (Prashanth, 2009). 2.1.3. Sigur region The Sigur region, about 900 m asl elevation is centered amid a network of protected areas including Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Bandipur National Park, Nagarhole and Wynaad Wildlife Sanctuaries of the Western Ghats towards the north and west and the Sathyamangalam forests of the Eastern Ghats towards the East. The Reserved Forests of the Sigur region form a vital connecting link between these larger protected areas, which cover a total area of 3300 km2 (Roessingh, 2006). The vegetation in this region is highly degraded thorn and dry deciduous forests (Table 1; Roessingh, 2006). The Masinagudi panchayat, which falls within the Sigur region, consists of seven settlements with about 3446 households. The questionnaire survey was conducted among households in four settlements in the Sigur region. These settlements were Masinagudi, Mavinhalla, Bokkapuram and Singara. The total number of households in these four villages was 2632. Respondents were selected among 78 households (3%) in these villages based on their location and proximity to the forest. 2.1.4. Kalakad–Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve The Kalakad–Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR), situated in the Southern Western Ghats region. The 110 km long eastern boundary of KMTR is adjacent to rich agricultural land fed by 14 rivers and streams. About 145 villages and hamlets with about 30,000 households are located within 5 km of the reserve boundary (Melkani, 2001). The dry thorn forest adjoining the reserve (Table 1) has been extensively degraded due to resource extraction pressure and livestock grazing (Dutt, 2001; Arjunan et al., 2005). Data were obtained on the resource use patterns and harvest from 786 households out of a total of 13,680 households belonging to 31 villages located within 3.5 km of the KMTR eastern boundary.
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Fig. 1. Map of the study area showing location of the study sites.
Table 1 Landscape features and vegetation profiles of the five study sites. Region
Area (km2)
Latitudinal range (N)
Longitudinal range (E)
Altitudinal range (m asl)
Vegetation
Kogar, Shimoga district Bandipur National Park Sigur plateau Kalakad–Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve Similipal Tiger Reserve
800 880 200 900 2750
13°520 –14°060 11°350 –11°570 11°310 –11°360 8°250 –8°530 21°280 –22°080
74°370 –74°550 75°120 –76°510 76°350 –6°46’ 77°100 –77°350 86°030 –86°37’
550–1010 680–1454 550–1000 40–1880 172–1079
Lowland evergreen Deciduous forests, thorny scrub Thorny scrub Thorny scrub, dry deciduous forest Sal forests, semi-evergreen
At least 2–31% of the households in each village were interviewed over a 3-year period from 2000 till the end of 2002.
overall 143 households which form about 10% of the 1418 households in the reserve were surveyed. 2.2. Questionnaire survey of household statistics
2.1.5. Similipal Tiger Reserve Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) is located in the northern part of the Eastern Ghats is a large protected area dominated by sal (Shorea robusta) forests with semi-evergreen, moist and dry deciduous vegetation occurring successively along a rainfall gradient (Saxena and Brahmam, 1989; Misra, 2004). STR has 65 villages, of which four are in the core zone and 61 in the buffer zone. These villages have a total population of about 12,500 people of various tribal groups who depend on the reserve for fuel–wood, fodder, sale of tendu leaves (Diospyros melanoxylon Roxb.), timber and other minor forest produce from the degraded sal forests that dominate the landscape (Table 1). A total of 30 of the 65 villages were selected for the household survey in 2007. Four of the villages were in the core zone of STR and the rest in the buffer zone. About 5–50% of the households from each village were selected for the questionnaire survey and
A household questionnaire survey assessed: (1) community/ caste, (2) income level (low = household cash incomes < USD50per month), (3) occupation: agricultural, wage labour, or self employed/other, (4) collection of fuel–wood, fodder and green leaves from the forest for domestic use or sale (5) livestock ownership: free ranging or stall fed, and domestic use/sale of milk/manure, and (6) the quantity and quality (type) of biomass extracted from the forests per unit time (day/week). Cattle manure was collected commercially in the BNP/Sigur region and was included as a forest product. In addition to the questionnaire survey, the quantity of biomass extracted by each household per unit time was directly weighed in Kogar, and in a subset of houses in KMTR using a weighing balance. In Sigur and Similipal the quantity of biomass extracted was approximated visually by comparing with head loads of known weight.
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2.3. Biomass extraction pressure The extraction pressure on the forest was estimated in four regions: Kogar, Sigur, KMTR and Similipal using quantitative data on harvest over the area of harvest. The quantity of forest products harvested per unit time over a unit area was converted to tonnes per hectare per year for comparison. In the Sigur region, fuel–wood collection within Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary was assessed between January and March 2007 along four footpaths leading from the town to the forest. Each footpath was observed for one complete day from dawn to dusk for a total of 7 days of observation. The total number of head loads over the observation period was summed and multiplied by the average weight of a head load, which was estimated to be about 30 kg in this region. Based on observations it was estimated that the fuel–wood collectors traverse an average area of 20 km2 around Masinagudi town (Davidar et al., 2007). In KMTR, eight important foot paths connecting all villages and the reserve boundary were identified and each path was monitored for 7 days at 3 month intervals from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm each day. All products removed from the forest were recorded. These observations were made eight times for each footpath over a period of 2 years from May 2000 to February 2002. The quantity of fuel–wood and fodder removed from the forest was approximately weighed daily for 7 days in total with the help of field assistants (Arjunan, 2005; Arjunan et al., 2005). The area of collection was estimated as the average distance observed to have been traversed by the fuel–wood collectors over the 36 km length of the reserve boundary covered in this study. From this data the biomass extracted in tonnes per hectare per year was estimated (Arjunan, 2005). In STR, the amount of wood extracted in each village per day was estimated through the questionnaire and by examining village fuel–wood stacks. The quantity collected by 143 households in 30 villages was estimated and extrapolated to 1418 households in the study villages, since all the households collected fuel–wood. The area of collection was about 2 km radius on average around each village. Using this information the tonnes of biomass extracted per hectare per year was calculated. 2.4. Population density Primary data pertaining to the total population size in the region was either obtained from the national census data (Registrar General of India, 1991, 2001) over the period which the study was conducted or from the local authorities. For example, population data for Kogar was from the Census of India (1991), since the study was conducted from 1990 to 1993, whereas for the other sites the 2001 census was used since the studies conducted after 2000. Population density was assessed by dividing the population size over the area of the study. 2.5. Forest cover change The district wise data on forest cover were obtained from the Forest Survey of India (2003, 2005), which is the official agency assessing forest cover changes in India. These reports assessed changes in forest cover over 2-year periods between 2001–2003 and 2003–2005. Additional data on the rate of deforestation for each region was obtained from publications wherever available.
hectare per year) for Bandipur was not available but the data estimated for Sigur plateau was used since these study sites were less than 20 km apart and faced similar anthropogenic pressures (Mammen, 200; Prashanth, 2009). Kogar was not included in the correlation with wage labour households, since this data was not available. Systat (SPSS, 2000) was used for statistical analysis. 3. Results 3.1. General patterns The five study sites differed in terms of the occupational status of the local households. In three sites, Kogar, Kalakad–Mundanthurai and Similipal, a range of 55–90% of households were engaged in agriculture, mostly subsistence. In Bandipur and Sigur there were a higher proportion of households that were engaged in wage labour or self-employed (Table 2). Fuel–wood was collected from the forest in all the study sites (Table 2), whereas the collection of fodder and green leaves was restricted to the agricultural regions (Table 2). The majority of the households surveyed used fuel–wood as the only source or as an additional source of domestic energy (Table 3). All the surveyed households collected fuel–wood in Kogar, BNP and STR, whereas about a quarter were involved in fuel–wood collection in KMTR (Table 3). Overall, the fuel–wood collected from the forest was used for domestic purposes, except in STR where the proportion of households that sold wood for a living was higher (Table 3). Each household used a range 4–18 kg of fuel–wood per day for cooking and other domestic activities (Table 3). The households in Kogar used a higher quantity of fuel–wood per day since fuel– wood was used for heating water round the clock in this high rainfall region. Ownership of livestock, primarily cattle was prevalent in all the regions and ranged from 52% to 70% of the households, with the lowest proportion of ownership in villages bordering KMTR (Table 4). Fodder either from forest or non-forest sources was collected to feed livestock in three of the agricultural regions but in Sigur and BNP livestock was free ranging and cattle/buffalo manure was an important product collected from the forests for sale to the organic coffee plantations located in Wynaad and Coorg (Table 4). The collection of green leaves for conversion to green manure was prevalent in the agricultural regions of KMTR and Kogar, but not in the others (Table 5). Overall fuel–wood, fodder and green leaves were collected for household consumption. Fuel–wood and manure were the only products that appeared in the market: fuel–wood was sold locally and manure was marketed to the global organic plantation industry (Table 4). 3.2. Extraction pressure on forests Extraction pressure on forests measured as tonnes of biomass extracted per hectare per year was highest at Kogar followed by Sigur. Extraction pressure was negatively associated with the proportion of agricultural households (Spearman Rank Correlation = 0.74, n = 5, p < 0.05), and positively associated with the proportion of wage labour households (Spearman Rank Correlation = 0.74, n = 4, p < 0.05), probably because these two categories were negatively associated. Extraction pressure was not associated with population density (Spearman Rank Correlation = 0.21, n = 5, ns).
2.6. Data analysis 3.3. Loss of forest cover The association between extraction pressure in each site with population density, percentage of agricultural (landed) and wage labour (landless) households was assessed using a Spearman’s Rank Correlation. The extraction pressure (tonnes of biomass per
Data from the State of the Forest Reports (2003, 2005) shows that there has been negligible loss of forest cover overall in the districts where these studies were conducted. The Mayurbhanj
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Table 2 Information pertaining to the questionnaire survey regarding sampling intensity, population density, income levels, occupational classes and collection of forest products in the five sites. Region
Kogar Bandipur-NBR Sigur-NBR KMTR eastern boundary Similipal
# Households sampled (% of total households)
Population density (km2)
Major community
Income classes
Agriculture (%) (s, i)
Wage labour (%)
Self-employed/ other (%)
Biomass collection Fuel– wood
Fodder
Green leaves
71 (46) 702 (35) 78 (3) 786 (6) 143 (10)
30 182 48 54 5
Farmers Adivasis/mixed Mixed Lower castes Adivasis
Mixed Low Low Mixed Mixed
>75 (76, 24) 11 (100, 0) 30 55 (60, 40) 90 (100, 0)
NA 57 32 15 8
NA 32 38 30 2
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes No No Yes Yes
Yes No No Yes No
s – Percentage of household practicing mainly subsistence agriculture. i – Percentage of household practicing mainly intensive agriculture. NA: not available.
Table 3 Domestic energy source of the households surveyed and data pertaining to the collection of fuel–wood from protected areas and use. Region (N)
a
Primary domestic energy source %
Average use kg/household/ day (range)
Only fuel– wood
Fuel–wood + others
Kogar (71)
>95
<5
18 (15–21)
Bandipur-NBR (702) Sigur-NBR (78) KMTR eastern boundary (786) Similipal (143)
69 90 60 100
31 10 21 0
7.8 6 (4–8) 4.6 4 (3–6)
Households collecting fuel–wood (%)
Type of use %
% Buying fuel–wood
Sources
Garrigues (1999) and Puyravaud and Garrigues (2002) Prashanth (2009) Mammen (2007) Arjunan (2005) Sahoo (unpublished)
Self use
Salea
71 (100)
100
–
–
702 (100) 69 (88) 212 (27) 143 (100)
95 61 18 43
<5 14 9 57
<1 15 4 0
Markets or households in the locality of the protected area.
Table 4 Livestock holdings at the household and regional scale and assessment of fodder collection in protected areas. Region (N)
Kogar (71) Bandipur-NBR (702) Sigur-NBR (78) KMTR eastern boundary (786) *
Similipal (143) *
Estimated livestock in study area
Number of households with livestock (%)
Average fodder collected/day (kg wet weight) Forest
Other sources
Domestic use/sale
Free ranging/ stall fed
Milk or manure
Domestic use/sale of manure
Sources
7200b 7000 10,000 (+5000 migratory cattle) 10,000
1800 (70) 470 (67) 53 (68)
0.342a 0 0
7.76a 0 0
Domestic – –
Both Free ranging Free ranging
Both Both Both
Domestic Sale Sale
Garrigues (1999) Prashanth (2009) Mammen (2007)
416 (53)
4
2.1
Domestic
Both
Both
Domestic
11,000
994 (70)
4.7
0
Domestic
Free ranging
Manure
Domestic
Arjunan (2005) and Dutt (2001) Sahoo (unpublished)
Tribals in this region do not utilize milk. a kg dry matter per day per household. b Out of total in the region.
district in Orissa where Similipal Tiger Reserve is located had lost about 127 km2 of forest between 2001 and 2003, but none between 2003 and 2005. There has been no change in forest cover in the Shimoga and Mysore districts of Karnataka and the Nilgiri and Tirunelveli districts of Tamilnadu where the study areas are located (FSI, 2003, 2005, Table 6). There are large tracts of open scrub forest in Shimoga, Sigur and Similipal (Table 6).
4. Discussion 4.1. General patterns Our study shows that human pressure on the forest and requirements of forest biomass are widespread and intensive as illustrated by data from these five sites representing different regions. The impact on forests, approximated in our study, was pos-
itively associated with the availability of wage labour, than with population density. It was negatively related to proportion of agricultural households probably because some of the regions whose main activity is farming had lower levels of impact. However, this is just indicative and needs more rigorous study. The availability of wage labour and local markets certainly appears to fuel deforestation. The quantity of fuel–wood per household was higher in the Sigur/Bandipur region, because of the availability of wage labour and a local market in the form of small businesses such as tea shops which cater to tourists (Mammen, 2007). Brouwer et al. (1997) has pointed out that level of fuel–wood use by rural households is dependent more on the availability of labour than access to the forest. Ganesan (1993) noted the emergence of a local market for fuel–wood in the Sigur region in the early 1990s. The demand seems to have increased over the years with the establishment of a lucrative tourism industry in the region and the availability of wage labour. The population increased by
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Table 5 Collection of green leaves by households for fertilizing the farms.
a
Region (N)
#l Households
% Households collecting green leaves
Average used (kg/household/day)
Sources
Forest
Other sources
Kogar (71)a Bandipur-NBR (702) Sigur-NBR (78) KMTR eastern boundary (786) Similipal (143)
71 702 78 786 143
>75 0 0 15 0
9.38 ± 2.141 0 0 0.16 0
0 0 0 0.12 0
Garrigues (1999) Prashanth (2009) Mammen (2007) Arjunan (2005) Sahoo unpublished
kg dry matter per day per household.
Table 6 Estimates of forest degradation in the districts where the field assessments were conducted. Present study
FSI (2003, 2005) district wise data
Study area, district
Biomass extracted (t ha1 y1 ± SD)
Source
Changes in forest cover (km2) 2003–2005
Open/degraded forest 2003 (km2)
Kogar, Shimoga Bandipur, Mysore Sigur, Nilgiris KMTR, Tirunelveli Similipal, Mayurbhanj
1.86 ± 0.74 Not known 0.7 0.01 0.037
Garrigues (1999)
No No No No No
1401 503 789 347 996
Davidar et al. (2007) Arjunan (2005) Sahoo unpublished
142% from 1981 to 1991, due to the influx of labour for constructing a hydroelectric project (Silori and Mishra, 2001; Mammen, 2007). Roessingh (2006) estimated that the average annual rate of land degradation on the Sigur plateau rapidly increased between 1989 and 1999 (572 ha/year) as compared to the period between 1973 and 1989 (286 ha/year), which coincides with the period when the labour settled in this region and exploited the forests. Our assessment suggests that measurements of change in forest cover as given by the Forest Survey of India might not reflect realities on the ground. For instance there has been a gain of 0.411% of forest cover in India between 2001 and 2003, due to a gain of about 11.22% of open (<10% cover) and a loss of about 6.3% of dense forest cover (>40%), whereas the 2002–2004 assessment indicates a loss of 0.11% of moderately dense forest (40–70%) (FSI, 2005). Loss of dense and moderately dense forest cover is suggestive of forest degradation. Even data from the states where this assessment was carried out suggest ongoing degradation of forest: for instance from 2001 to 2003, Tamilnadu has lost almost 500 km2 of dense forest (>40% canopy cover), and gained about 1600 km2 of open (FSI, 2003), certainly indicative of degradation. Indications of ongoing degradation is supported by independent assessments: Both the Western and Eastern Ghats have lost forest cover due to land use changes (Ramesh et al., 1997; Jha et al., 2000; Jayakumar et al., 2002; Ramesh, 2003; Roessingh, 2006). A remote sensing analysis of deforestation rates in Orissa indicated that 26% of dense forest cover (>40% canopy) had been lost between 1972 and 1989 (Rath, 2002). Jayakumar et al. (2002) assessed land use changes in the Kolli hills of the Eastern Ghats from 1990 to 1999, and recorded an increasing degradation of the semi-evergreen and deciduous forest belt due to the collection of fuel–wood, fodder and other products. A World Bank report has estimated that about 247 million rural people in India depend on forests for part of their subsistence or cash livelihoods, and two thirds use fuel–wood as an energy source (World Bank, 2006). The report also states that about 41% of Indian forests have been degraded over the past several decades which has reduced forest productivity to about one-third of its potential (World Bank, 2006). Therefore all data point to the fact that intensive harvesting of biomass leads to forest degradation. Apart from fuel–wood harvest, intensive livestock grazing and removal of biomass in the form of manure from forests has negative impacts on vegetation and soils (Ganesan, 1993;
change change change change change
Garrigues, 1999; Silori and Mishra, 2001). Ganesan (1993) estimated that the density of free-ranging cattle and buffalo in the Sigur and Mudumalai region was 65 cattle/km2, much higher than densities of wild herbivores. Silori and Mishra (2001) assessed the grass productivity of the Sigur region and found it to be lower than the requirements of free-ranging cattle. Export of biomass reduces the carrying capacity of forests and thus their ability to sustain wildlife; leads to poor regeneration of forest plants, and promotes invasive species (Ganesan, 1993; Silori and Mishra, 2001; Madhusudan, 2005; Sumathi, 2006; Davidar et al., 2007). 4.2. Local community dependence on forests Pressure on forests from forest dwelling communities can be classified into two broad categories: rural needs for (i) energy, and (ii) income generation. Fuel–wood is a major source of energy for rural households in India and other developing countries (Cecelski et al., 1979; Heltbert et al., 2000). Wood harvesting is widespread because wood is abundant, inexpensive and easily available in protected forests. As compared to other sources of energy such as electricity or LPG, its abundance makes it a reliable source of energy. Alternatives to fuel–wood are difficult to put into practice. Complicated renewable energy devices are not easily accepted in the rural areas (Arjunan et al., 2006). The reasons for the relative failure of acceptance are multiple and include economic, social, practical considerations among others. Energy plantations are one possible solution to the chronic energy needs of rural populations. Community managed forests and joint forest management schemes have been set up to alleviate the demand for fuel–wood and reduce pressure on natural forests (Ballabh et al., 2002), as they have been shown to do in successful models (Köhlin and Parks, 2001 in Orissa). But in many cases inadequate and inappropriate governance structures and lack of autonomy for local communities cause these programs to fail (Ballabh et al., 2002). Caste, gender and community play a dominant role in the socio-economics of rural households; dominant communities often excluded marginalized sections of society from access to forest resources (Cecelski et al., 1979; Amacher et al., 1993; Abbott and Mace, 1999; Adhikari et al., 2004; Arjunan et al., 2005). Also, commercial fuel–wood plantations often cannot compete with wood collected free of cost (Elkan, 1988).
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4.3. Harvesting for income Low income households consisting mostly of daily wage labour, depend upon forest resources to generate income. Biomass is removed from the forest and not replaced. This sort of dependency is difficult to address since alternative livelihoods might be less attractive than harvesting which is simple, need-based and relatively less time consuming. It also gives the harvesters the flexibility to harvest whenever required. Poor women depend disproportionately on the sale of fuel–wood to support their families in developing countries (Cecelski et al., 1979; Amacher et al., 1993; Abbott and Mace, 1999). The livelihood aspects need greater attention. 4.4. Is harvesting sustainable Sustainable harvesting of forest products have been promoted because of the belief that rural communities in India before colonization tended to live in a sustainable manner and that the maintenance of traditional lifestyles could preserve biodiversity (Gadgil and Guha, 1993). Following this analysis many research efforts in the field of conservation have attempted to emulate sustainable harvesting of forest products, but have largely failed (Shahabuddin and Prasad, 2004), and ongoing degradation is supported by regionalscale satellite imagery (Ramesh et al., 1997; Jha et al., 2000; Rath, 2002; Ramesh, 2003; Roessingh, 2006). This is because the sustainability of traditional forest resource use has been eroded due to constant population growth and penetration of market forces. Under these conditions, promoting sustainable livelihoods based on harvesting forest products is not a viable conservation strategy. 4.5. Measurement of forest degradation While clear felling of forests can be easily detected by satellite imagery, this diffuse type of degradation is difficult to measure at a regional level because the forest boundaries are stable, and only the overall forest biomass, tree density and individual tree cover vary (Ganesan, 1993; Maikhuri et al., 2001; Puyravaud and Garrigues, 2002; Sagar and Singh, 2004; Arjunan et al., 2005). Secondly, the forest cover need not change with increasing degradation since large trees are not cut. We still do not have a single parameter that indicates at what speed forests become degraded and how long it will take for the ecosystem to degrade beyond the point of recovery. Therefore present definitions of forests and forest degradation are inadequate to effectively measure this phenomenon (Sasaki and Putz, 2009). This highlights a vital knowledge gap about the state of India’s forests, without which management policies would be equivalent to shooting in the dark. Acknowledgements We thank several anonymous reviewers whose comments and suggestions helped improve the quality of the manuscript. References Abbott, J., Mace, R., 1999. Managing protected woodlands: fuel–wood collection and law enforcement in Lake Malawi National Park. Conservation Biology 13, 418– 421. Adhikari, B., Di Falco, S., Lovett, J.C., 2004. Household characteristics and forest dependency: evidence from common property forest management in Nepal. Ecological Economics 48, 245–257. Amacher, G.S., Hyde, W.F., Joshee, B.R., 1993. Joint production and consumption in traditional households: fuel–wood and crop residues in two districts in Nepal. Journal of Development Studies 30, 1743–9140. Angelsen, A., Kaimowitz, D., 1999. Rethinking the causes of deforestation: lessons from economic models. The World Bank Research Observer 14, 73–98.
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Why local resources management institutions decline: a comparative analysis of van (forest) panchayats and forest protection committees in India. World Development 30, 2153–2167. Brouwer, I.D., Hoorweg, J.C., van Liere, M., 1997. When households run out of fuel: responses of rural households to decreasing fuelwood availability, Ntcheu district, Malawi. World Development 25, 255–266. Cecelski, B., Dunkerley, J., Ramsay, W., 1979. Household Energy and the Poor in the Third World. Resources for the Future, Washington DC. Davidar, P., Arjunan, M., Mammen, P.C., Garrigues, J.P., Puyravaud, J.P., Roessingh, K., 2007. Forest degradation in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot: resource collection, livelihood concerns and sustainability. Current Science 93, 1573– 1578. Davidar, P., Arjunan, M., Puyravaud, J.-Ph., 2008. Why do local households harvest forest products? A case study from the southern Western Ghats, India. Biological Conservation 141, 1876–1884. Dutt, S., 2001. Beyond 2000: a management vision for the Kalakad–Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve. Current Science 80, 442–447. Elkan, W., 1988. Alternatives to fuel–wood in African towns. World Development 16, 527–533. Forest Survey of India, 2003. State of Forest Report. Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, Dehra Dun, India. Forest Survey of India, 2005. State of Forest Report. Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, Dehra Dun, India. Forest Survey of India, 2009. State of Forest Report. Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, Dehra Dun, India. Gadgil, M., Guha, R., 1993. This Fissured Land: An Ecological History of India. University of California Press, USA. Ganesan, B., 1993. Extraction of non-timber forest products, including fodder and fuel–wood in Mudumalai, India. Economic Botany 47, 268–274. Garrigues, J.P., 1999. Action Anthropique sur la Dynamique des Formations Végétales au Sud de l’Inde (Ghâts occidentaux, Etat du Karnataka, District de Shimoga). Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Claude Bernard, Lyon I, France. Garrigues, J.-P., Puyravaud, J.-Ph., 1999. Rain Forest, Degraded Forest and Cultivated Areas in the Linganamakki Region of the Western Ghats (Karnataka), India. Map 1/50,000 French Institute of Pondicherry, Pondicherry, India. Geist, H.J., Lambin, E.F., 2002. Proximate causes and underlying driving forces of tropical deforestation. BioScience 52, 143–150. Godoy, R., O’Neil, K., Groff, S., Kostishack, P., Cubas, A., Demmer, J., McSweeney, K., Overman, J., Wilkie, D., Brokaw, N., Martinez, M., 1997. Household determinants of deforestation by Amerindians in Honduras. World Development 25, 977– 987. Gubbi, S., Linkie, M., Leader-Williams, N., 2009. Evaluating the legacy of an integrated conservation and development project around a tiger reserve in India. Environmental Conservation 35, 331–339. Heltbert, R., Arndt, T.C., Sekhar, N.U., 2000. Fuel–wood consumption and forest degradation: a household model for domestic energy substitution in rural India. Land Economics 76, 213–232. Jayakumar, S., Arockiasamy, D.I., John Britto, S., 2002. Forest type mapping and vegetation analysis in part of Kolli hills, Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu. Tropical Ecology 43, 345–349. Jha, C.S., Dutt, C.B.S., Bawa, K.S., 2000. Deforestation and land use changes in the Western Ghats, India. Current Science 79, 231–238. Köhlin, G., Parks, P.J., 2001. Spatial variability and disincentives to harvest: deforestation and fuel–wood collection in South Asia. Land Economics 77, 206–218. Kothari, A., Pande, P., Singh, S.D., Variava, D., 1989. Management of National Parks and Sanctuaries in India: A Status Report. Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi. Madhusudan, M.D., 2004. Recovery of wild large herbivores following livestock decline in a tropical Indian wildlife reserve. Journal of Applied Ecology 41, 858– 869. Madhusudan, M.D., 2005. The global village: linkages between international coffee markets and grazing by livestock in a south Indian wildlife reserve. Conservation Biology 19, 411–420. Maikhuri, R.K., Nautiyal, S., Rao, K.S., Saxena, K.G., 2001. Conservation policy – people conflicts: a case study from Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (a World Heritage Site), India. Forest Policy and Economics 2, 355–365. Mammen, P.C., 2007. Forest–People Interface: A Rapid Assessment of Socioeconomic Profile, Resource use Patterns of Sigur Plateau, Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, Tamil Nadu. M.Sc. Dissertation, Pondicherry University, India. Melkani, V.K., 2001. Involving local people in biodiversity conservation in the Kalakad–Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve – an over view. Current Science 80, 437– 441.
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Misra, S., 2004. Orchids of Orissa. Bishen Singh and Mahendra Pal Singh Publication, Dehra Dun, India. Pandey, D., 2002. Fuel–Wood Studies in India – Myth and Reality. Center for International Forestry Research. Prashanth, V., 2009. Factors Influencing Income from Manure Sales and Fuel–Wood Dependence in Villages around the Scrubland and Dry Deciduous Portion of Bandipur National Park. M.Sc. Dissertation, Pondicherry University, India. Puyravaud, J.-Ph., Garrigues, J.P., 2002. L’agriculteur ou la forêt? Systèmes agraires, prélèvements et conséquences écologiques sous la crête des Ghâts (district de Shimoga). In: Pouchepadass, J., Puyravaud, J.-Ph. (Eds.), L’homme et la forêt en Inde du Sud. Modes de gestion et symbolisme de la forêt dans les Ghâts occidentaux. Institut Français de Pondichéry, Karthala, pp. 167–234. Ramesh, B.R., 2003. Biodiversity conservation and management. Tropical Ecology 44, 85–91. Ramesh, B.R., Menon, S., Bawa, K.S., 1997. A vegetation based approach to biodiversity gap analysis in the Agastyamalai Region, Western Ghats, India. Ambio 26, 529–536. Rath, B., 2002. A Statistical Review of the Triangular Relationship in Orissa. Vasundhara, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India. Registrar General of India, 1991. Census of India, New Delhi. Registrar General of India, 2001. Census of India, New Delhi. Roessingh, K., 2006. Mapping the Elephant Corridors of Sigur Plateau, Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, Tamil Nadu. M.Sc. Dissertation, Pondicherry University, India.
Sagar, R., Singh, J.S., 2004. Local plant species depletion in a tropical dry deciduous forest of northern India. Biodiversity and Conservation 31, 55–62. Sasaki, N., Putz, F.E., 2009. Critical need for new definitions of ‘‘forest” and ‘‘forest degradation” in global climate change agreements. Conservation Letters 2, 226– 232. Saxena, H.O., Brahmam, M., 1989. The Flora of Similipahar, Orissa. Regional Research Laboratory, Bhubaneswar. Shahabuddin, G., Prasad, S., 2004. Assessing ecological sustainability of non-timber forest produce extraction: the Indian scenario. Conservation and Society 2, 235– 250. Shridhar, D., Puyravaud, J.-Ph., 1995. Primary productivity of the herbaceous layer in a grazed savanna woodland, Bandipur National Park, southern India. Acta Oecologica 16, 491–505. Silori, C.S., Mishra, B.K., 2001. Assessment of livestock grazing pressure in and around the elephant corridors in Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, South India. Biodiversity and Conservation 10, 2181–2195. SPSS Inc., 2000. Systat, Version 10. SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL. Sumathi, V., 2006. Examining the Socioeconomic Drivers of Fuel–Wood Dependence in Villages on the Northern Boundary of Bandipur National Park. M.Sc. Thesis, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Karnataka, India. The Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Government of India. World Bank, 2006. Unlocking Opportunities for Forest-dependent People in India. Report No. 34481-IN.
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Biological Conservation journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/biocon
Assessing the extent and causes of forest degradation in India: Where do we stand? Priya Davidar a,*, Sasmita Sahoo a,1, Pratheesh C. Mammen a,1, Prashanth Acharya a,1, Jean-Philippe Puyravaud a,b,1, M. Arjunan c, Jean Pierre Garrigues d, Krista Roessingh e a
Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Pondicherry University, Kalapet, Pondicherry 605 014, India ECOS, 9A Frederick Osanam St., Colas Nagar, Pondicherry 605 001, India c Department of Chemistry, S.K.P. Engineering College, S.K. Pichaandi Nagar, Thiruvannamalai District, Thiruvannamalai 606 611, India d LEGTA Nîmes–Rodilhan, Domaine de Donadille, 30230 Rodilhan, France e Department of Geography, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada b
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history: Received 30 November 2009 Received in revised form 12 April 2010 Accepted 18 April 2010 Available online 15 May 2010 Keywords: Forest degradation Forest products Fuel–wood India Livelihoods Livestock grazing pressure Protected areas Sustainable use of forests
a b s t r a c t In India, conservation of biodiversity goes hand in hand with human welfare, as millions of people live adjacent or within protected areas and depend upon forests products. The high density and biomass requirements of these households could result in the degradation of forests and loss of biodiversity. We assessed the collection of forest products among households in five sites in the Western and Eastern Ghats of peninsular India: the Kogar region of the Central Western Ghats, the Bandipur and Sigur regions of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, the Kalakad–Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve of the southern Western Ghats and Similipal Tiger Reserve of the northern Eastern Ghats, and tested whether extraction pressure on forests was associated with the proportion of agricultural households, wage labour and population density. We also examined whether data on loss of cover as stated by the State of the Forest Reports was supported by field data. The regions differed in land use: Kogar, KMTR and Similipal were primarily agricultural regions, whereas households engaged in wage labour or in running small businesses were predominant in Sigur and Bandipur. Fuel–wood was collected ubiquitously for household use in all sites, used mainly for domestic requirements and secondarily for generating income. Green leaves for making fertilizer and fodder were collected for household use and did not enter the market. Cattle manure for the global organic coffee industry was a major forest product in Bandipur and Sigur. Extraction pressure on forests was positively associated with the availability of wage labour and was negatively with the proportion of agricultural households. Data from official sources seem inadequate to measure forest degradation in protected forests. Accurate estimation of forest condition through field assessments and remote sensing, and understanding the socio-economic variables associated with forest loss and degradation are needed for the sustainable management of Indian protected areas. Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction It has been widely acknowledged that tropical forests are disappearing at a rapid rate. Reducing levels of deforestation would first of all depend on precise measurement of forest loss and secondly on understanding its causes. Local impacts on forests have been attributed to poverty, population pressure, agricultural expansion and intensification and development of infrastructure (Godoy et al., 1997; Angelsen and Kaimowitz, 1999; Geist and Lambin,
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 413 2353759; fax: +91 413 2655265. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (P. Davidar), [email protected] (S. Sahoo), [email protected] (P.C. Mammen), prashanth.eco@gmail. com (P. Acharya), [email protected] (J.-P. Puyravaud), arjunanmkn@yahoo. co (M. Arjunan), [email protected] (J.P. Garrigues), [email protected] (K. Roessingh). 1 Tel.: +91 413 2353759; fax: +91 413 2655265. 0006-3207/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2010.04.032
2002). In the Indian context, recent reports (State of Forest Report, 2005, 2009) based on remotely sensed data indicate that forest cover is increasing. Otherwise data on deforestation and its causes are fragmentary and often difficult to compare due to lack of standardized methodologies and scientific rigour. Much of the literature is unpublished reports and therefore not available in the public domain (Pandey, 2002). In India, forests and people are inextricably linked since millions of people live adjacent to or within protected areas and harvest forest products (Kothari et al., 1989). However, often the human pressure on forests is not sustainable and can cause forest loss and degradation (Ganesan, 1993; Maikhuri et al., 2001; Puyravaud and Garrigues, 2002; Sagar and Singh, 2004; Arjunan et al., 2005), and together with intensive livestock grazing can reduce carrying capacity, i.e. the net primary productivity available for herbivores in a year (Ganesan, 1993; Silori and Mishra, 2001; Sagar and Singh, 2004; Madhusudan, 2004, 2005).
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Measures have been taken to reduce levels of dependency of local communities upon forests by creating alternative livelihoods (Badola, 1999). However, studies have indicated that local support for such efforts has been mixed (Arjunan et al., 2006; Davidar et al., 2008; Gubbi et al., 2009), and dependence on forest products has not appreciably diminished (Arjunan et al., 2005). Therefore it is critical to find effective and socially acceptable answers to conserve India’s forest biodiversity. The Forest Survey of India (Ministry of Environment and Forests) based in Dehra Dun conducts periodic assessments of the state of its forests through remote sensing (State of Forest Report, 2003, 2005, 2009) and these assessments are the benchmarks for measuring changes in forest cover. According to these reports overall India has lost very little and in fact has gained forest cover (FSI, 2003, 2005, 2009). We conducted surveys among local communities in and around five protected areas in the Western and Eastern Ghats of peninsular India in order to assess the extent of dependence upon forest products and use of forests for livestock grazing. Using questionnaire and field data we approximated the extraction pressure on forests in terms of tonnes of biomass removed per hectare per year. We obtained data on the district wise forest cover from the State of Forest Reports (2003, 2005) for the study regions to see whether satellite assessments reflect ongoing conditions in the field. The Western Ghats sites were represented by the Kalakad– Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) in the southernmost part of the Western Ghats in the Tirunelveli district of Tamilnadu, Bandipur Tiger Reserve and Sigur plateau in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR) which forms a link between the Western and Eastern Ghats, the Kogar region in northern Shimoga district of Karnataka and Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) in the Eastern Ghats located in the Mayurbhanj district of Orissa (Fig. 1). The Tiger Reserves have high levels of protection where human use is prohibited in the core areas, whereas the Sigur plateau and the Kogar region are comprised of mostly Reserved Forests with lower levels of protection (The Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972). We tested the hypothesis that extraction pressure on forests would increase with (1) local human population density, (2) the proportion of agricultural households in each site, since agriculture is one of the main drivers of tropical deforestation (Geist and Lambin, 2002), (3) and with the availability of wage labour, an indicator of poverty.
2. Methods 2.1. Description of study sites and background survey information 2.1.1. Kogar The northernmost study site in the Western Ghats was Kogar in the Shimoga Division, Karnataka State in the Central Western Ghats, which is a hilly undulating area with low and medium elevation rain forest (Fig. 1, Table 1). The study was carried out east of crest of the Western Ghats, which is a predominantly agricultural region. A land use/land cover analysis revealed that this region is made up of a mosaic of lowland evergreen forests in different stages of degradation intermixed with areas of cultivated land (Garrigues and Puyravaud, 1999). These state protected forests are classified as either Reserved Forest or Wildlife Sanctuary. The caste-based agrarian systems ranged from subsistence agriculture to intensive cropping. Three different agrarian systems were identified in a preliminary analysis of 29 villages in this region and three villages (Araballi, Kodanavalli and Gudihithalu) were chosen as representative of each agrarian system (Garrigues, 1999). A total of 71 households (sampling intensity of 46%) from the three villages weighed and recorded products they had harvested/
used over a period of 1 year. Regular (monthly) field visits and the presence of field assistants ensured proper follow-up and reliability of data. 2.1.2. Bandipur National Park Bandipur National Park (BNP), covering an area of approximately 880 km2, is located in southern Karnataka and forms part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. It was established in 1973 and is now a Project Tiger Reserve. It adjoins the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve to the south (Fig. 1). The vegetation is composed of mixed deciduous forests and tree savannas (Table 1, Shridhar and Puyravaud, 1995). This is a dry land agro-pastoral farming region dominated by different caste groups and tribal communities, a large proportion of which are dependent on wage labour (Sumathi, 2006). There were 32 villages with about 2000 households comprising of approximately 200,000-people (Registrar General of India, 2001) in this region (Sumathi, 2006). Studies indicated high levels of forest degradation within the park boundary due to the impact of fuel–wood collection and livestock grazing pressure (Sumathi, 2006). The study was carried out in 15 of the 32 villages (47%) consisting of a total of 702 households (35%) belonging to Mangala Gram Panchayat (MGP), located on the southeastern boundary of BNP. Out of the 15 villages, eight were tribal communities and the rest were of mixed community composition. The tribal communities were composed of the Soligas, the Kadu Kurubas and the Jenu Kurubas, who were relocated from within the National Park about 40 years ago during its establishment. The survey was conducted from January to March 2009. A total of 167 (25%) households were randomly selected from at least 20% of the households in each village and interviewed using a semistructured questionnaire (Prashanth, 2009). 2.1.3. Sigur region The Sigur region, about 900 m asl elevation is centered amid a network of protected areas including Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Bandipur National Park, Nagarhole and Wynaad Wildlife Sanctuaries of the Western Ghats towards the north and west and the Sathyamangalam forests of the Eastern Ghats towards the East. The Reserved Forests of the Sigur region form a vital connecting link between these larger protected areas, which cover a total area of 3300 km2 (Roessingh, 2006). The vegetation in this region is highly degraded thorn and dry deciduous forests (Table 1; Roessingh, 2006). The Masinagudi panchayat, which falls within the Sigur region, consists of seven settlements with about 3446 households. The questionnaire survey was conducted among households in four settlements in the Sigur region. These settlements were Masinagudi, Mavinhalla, Bokkapuram and Singara. The total number of households in these four villages was 2632. Respondents were selected among 78 households (3%) in these villages based on their location and proximity to the forest. 2.1.4. Kalakad–Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve The Kalakad–Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR), situated in the Southern Western Ghats region. The 110 km long eastern boundary of KMTR is adjacent to rich agricultural land fed by 14 rivers and streams. About 145 villages and hamlets with about 30,000 households are located within 5 km of the reserve boundary (Melkani, 2001). The dry thorn forest adjoining the reserve (Table 1) has been extensively degraded due to resource extraction pressure and livestock grazing (Dutt, 2001; Arjunan et al., 2005). Data were obtained on the resource use patterns and harvest from 786 households out of a total of 13,680 households belonging to 31 villages located within 3.5 km of the KMTR eastern boundary.
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Fig. 1. Map of the study area showing location of the study sites.
Table 1 Landscape features and vegetation profiles of the five study sites. Region
Area (km2)
Latitudinal range (N)
Longitudinal range (E)
Altitudinal range (m asl)
Vegetation
Kogar, Shimoga district Bandipur National Park Sigur plateau Kalakad–Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve Similipal Tiger Reserve
800 880 200 900 2750
13°520 –14°060 11°350 –11°570 11°310 –11°360 8°250 –8°530 21°280 –22°080
74°370 –74°550 75°120 –76°510 76°350 –6°46’ 77°100 –77°350 86°030 –86°37’
550–1010 680–1454 550–1000 40–1880 172–1079
Lowland evergreen Deciduous forests, thorny scrub Thorny scrub Thorny scrub, dry deciduous forest Sal forests, semi-evergreen
At least 2–31% of the households in each village were interviewed over a 3-year period from 2000 till the end of 2002.
overall 143 households which form about 10% of the 1418 households in the reserve were surveyed. 2.2. Questionnaire survey of household statistics
2.1.5. Similipal Tiger Reserve Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) is located in the northern part of the Eastern Ghats is a large protected area dominated by sal (Shorea robusta) forests with semi-evergreen, moist and dry deciduous vegetation occurring successively along a rainfall gradient (Saxena and Brahmam, 1989; Misra, 2004). STR has 65 villages, of which four are in the core zone and 61 in the buffer zone. These villages have a total population of about 12,500 people of various tribal groups who depend on the reserve for fuel–wood, fodder, sale of tendu leaves (Diospyros melanoxylon Roxb.), timber and other minor forest produce from the degraded sal forests that dominate the landscape (Table 1). A total of 30 of the 65 villages were selected for the household survey in 2007. Four of the villages were in the core zone of STR and the rest in the buffer zone. About 5–50% of the households from each village were selected for the questionnaire survey and
A household questionnaire survey assessed: (1) community/ caste, (2) income level (low = household cash incomes < USD50per month), (3) occupation: agricultural, wage labour, or self employed/other, (4) collection of fuel–wood, fodder and green leaves from the forest for domestic use or sale (5) livestock ownership: free ranging or stall fed, and domestic use/sale of milk/manure, and (6) the quantity and quality (type) of biomass extracted from the forests per unit time (day/week). Cattle manure was collected commercially in the BNP/Sigur region and was included as a forest product. In addition to the questionnaire survey, the quantity of biomass extracted by each household per unit time was directly weighed in Kogar, and in a subset of houses in KMTR using a weighing balance. In Sigur and Similipal the quantity of biomass extracted was approximated visually by comparing with head loads of known weight.
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2.3. Biomass extraction pressure The extraction pressure on the forest was estimated in four regions: Kogar, Sigur, KMTR and Similipal using quantitative data on harvest over the area of harvest. The quantity of forest products harvested per unit time over a unit area was converted to tonnes per hectare per year for comparison. In the Sigur region, fuel–wood collection within Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary was assessed between January and March 2007 along four footpaths leading from the town to the forest. Each footpath was observed for one complete day from dawn to dusk for a total of 7 days of observation. The total number of head loads over the observation period was summed and multiplied by the average weight of a head load, which was estimated to be about 30 kg in this region. Based on observations it was estimated that the fuel–wood collectors traverse an average area of 20 km2 around Masinagudi town (Davidar et al., 2007). In KMTR, eight important foot paths connecting all villages and the reserve boundary were identified and each path was monitored for 7 days at 3 month intervals from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm each day. All products removed from the forest were recorded. These observations were made eight times for each footpath over a period of 2 years from May 2000 to February 2002. The quantity of fuel–wood and fodder removed from the forest was approximately weighed daily for 7 days in total with the help of field assistants (Arjunan, 2005; Arjunan et al., 2005). The area of collection was estimated as the average distance observed to have been traversed by the fuel–wood collectors over the 36 km length of the reserve boundary covered in this study. From this data the biomass extracted in tonnes per hectare per year was estimated (Arjunan, 2005). In STR, the amount of wood extracted in each village per day was estimated through the questionnaire and by examining village fuel–wood stacks. The quantity collected by 143 households in 30 villages was estimated and extrapolated to 1418 households in the study villages, since all the households collected fuel–wood. The area of collection was about 2 km radius on average around each village. Using this information the tonnes of biomass extracted per hectare per year was calculated. 2.4. Population density Primary data pertaining to the total population size in the region was either obtained from the national census data (Registrar General of India, 1991, 2001) over the period which the study was conducted or from the local authorities. For example, population data for Kogar was from the Census of India (1991), since the study was conducted from 1990 to 1993, whereas for the other sites the 2001 census was used since the studies conducted after 2000. Population density was assessed by dividing the population size over the area of the study. 2.5. Forest cover change The district wise data on forest cover were obtained from the Forest Survey of India (2003, 2005), which is the official agency assessing forest cover changes in India. These reports assessed changes in forest cover over 2-year periods between 2001–2003 and 2003–2005. Additional data on the rate of deforestation for each region was obtained from publications wherever available.
hectare per year) for Bandipur was not available but the data estimated for Sigur plateau was used since these study sites were less than 20 km apart and faced similar anthropogenic pressures (Mammen, 200; Prashanth, 2009). Kogar was not included in the correlation with wage labour households, since this data was not available. Systat (SPSS, 2000) was used for statistical analysis. 3. Results 3.1. General patterns The five study sites differed in terms of the occupational status of the local households. In three sites, Kogar, Kalakad–Mundanthurai and Similipal, a range of 55–90% of households were engaged in agriculture, mostly subsistence. In Bandipur and Sigur there were a higher proportion of households that were engaged in wage labour or self-employed (Table 2). Fuel–wood was collected from the forest in all the study sites (Table 2), whereas the collection of fodder and green leaves was restricted to the agricultural regions (Table 2). The majority of the households surveyed used fuel–wood as the only source or as an additional source of domestic energy (Table 3). All the surveyed households collected fuel–wood in Kogar, BNP and STR, whereas about a quarter were involved in fuel–wood collection in KMTR (Table 3). Overall, the fuel–wood collected from the forest was used for domestic purposes, except in STR where the proportion of households that sold wood for a living was higher (Table 3). Each household used a range 4–18 kg of fuel–wood per day for cooking and other domestic activities (Table 3). The households in Kogar used a higher quantity of fuel–wood per day since fuel– wood was used for heating water round the clock in this high rainfall region. Ownership of livestock, primarily cattle was prevalent in all the regions and ranged from 52% to 70% of the households, with the lowest proportion of ownership in villages bordering KMTR (Table 4). Fodder either from forest or non-forest sources was collected to feed livestock in three of the agricultural regions but in Sigur and BNP livestock was free ranging and cattle/buffalo manure was an important product collected from the forests for sale to the organic coffee plantations located in Wynaad and Coorg (Table 4). The collection of green leaves for conversion to green manure was prevalent in the agricultural regions of KMTR and Kogar, but not in the others (Table 5). Overall fuel–wood, fodder and green leaves were collected for household consumption. Fuel–wood and manure were the only products that appeared in the market: fuel–wood was sold locally and manure was marketed to the global organic plantation industry (Table 4). 3.2. Extraction pressure on forests Extraction pressure on forests measured as tonnes of biomass extracted per hectare per year was highest at Kogar followed by Sigur. Extraction pressure was negatively associated with the proportion of agricultural households (Spearman Rank Correlation = 0.74, n = 5, p < 0.05), and positively associated with the proportion of wage labour households (Spearman Rank Correlation = 0.74, n = 4, p < 0.05), probably because these two categories were negatively associated. Extraction pressure was not associated with population density (Spearman Rank Correlation = 0.21, n = 5, ns).
2.6. Data analysis 3.3. Loss of forest cover The association between extraction pressure in each site with population density, percentage of agricultural (landed) and wage labour (landless) households was assessed using a Spearman’s Rank Correlation. The extraction pressure (tonnes of biomass per
Data from the State of the Forest Reports (2003, 2005) shows that there has been negligible loss of forest cover overall in the districts where these studies were conducted. The Mayurbhanj
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Table 2 Information pertaining to the questionnaire survey regarding sampling intensity, population density, income levels, occupational classes and collection of forest products in the five sites. Region
Kogar Bandipur-NBR Sigur-NBR KMTR eastern boundary Similipal
# Households sampled (% of total households)
Population density (km2)
Major community
Income classes
Agriculture (%) (s, i)
Wage labour (%)
Self-employed/ other (%)
Biomass collection Fuel– wood
Fodder
Green leaves
71 (46) 702 (35) 78 (3) 786 (6) 143 (10)
30 182 48 54 5
Farmers Adivasis/mixed Mixed Lower castes Adivasis
Mixed Low Low Mixed Mixed
>75 (76, 24) 11 (100, 0) 30 55 (60, 40) 90 (100, 0)
NA 57 32 15 8
NA 32 38 30 2
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes No No Yes Yes
Yes No No Yes No
s – Percentage of household practicing mainly subsistence agriculture. i – Percentage of household practicing mainly intensive agriculture. NA: not available.
Table 3 Domestic energy source of the households surveyed and data pertaining to the collection of fuel–wood from protected areas and use. Region (N)
a
Primary domestic energy source %
Average use kg/household/ day (range)
Only fuel– wood
Fuel–wood + others
Kogar (71)
>95
<5
18 (15–21)
Bandipur-NBR (702) Sigur-NBR (78) KMTR eastern boundary (786) Similipal (143)
69 90 60 100
31 10 21 0
7.8 6 (4–8) 4.6 4 (3–6)
Households collecting fuel–wood (%)
Type of use %
% Buying fuel–wood
Sources
Garrigues (1999) and Puyravaud and Garrigues (2002) Prashanth (2009) Mammen (2007) Arjunan (2005) Sahoo (unpublished)
Self use
Salea
71 (100)
100
–
–
702 (100) 69 (88) 212 (27) 143 (100)
95 61 18 43
<5 14 9 57
<1 15 4 0
Markets or households in the locality of the protected area.
Table 4 Livestock holdings at the household and regional scale and assessment of fodder collection in protected areas. Region (N)
Kogar (71) Bandipur-NBR (702) Sigur-NBR (78) KMTR eastern boundary (786) *
Similipal (143) *
Estimated livestock in study area
Number of households with livestock (%)
Average fodder collected/day (kg wet weight) Forest
Other sources
Domestic use/sale
Free ranging/ stall fed
Milk or manure
Domestic use/sale of manure
Sources
7200b 7000 10,000 (+5000 migratory cattle) 10,000
1800 (70) 470 (67) 53 (68)
0.342a 0 0
7.76a 0 0
Domestic – –
Both Free ranging Free ranging
Both Both Both
Domestic Sale Sale
Garrigues (1999) Prashanth (2009) Mammen (2007)
416 (53)
4
2.1
Domestic
Both
Both
Domestic
11,000
994 (70)
4.7
0
Domestic
Free ranging
Manure
Domestic
Arjunan (2005) and Dutt (2001) Sahoo (unpublished)
Tribals in this region do not utilize milk. a kg dry matter per day per household. b Out of total in the region.
district in Orissa where Similipal Tiger Reserve is located had lost about 127 km2 of forest between 2001 and 2003, but none between 2003 and 2005. There has been no change in forest cover in the Shimoga and Mysore districts of Karnataka and the Nilgiri and Tirunelveli districts of Tamilnadu where the study areas are located (FSI, 2003, 2005, Table 6). There are large tracts of open scrub forest in Shimoga, Sigur and Similipal (Table 6).
4. Discussion 4.1. General patterns Our study shows that human pressure on the forest and requirements of forest biomass are widespread and intensive as illustrated by data from these five sites representing different regions. The impact on forests, approximated in our study, was pos-
itively associated with the availability of wage labour, than with population density. It was negatively related to proportion of agricultural households probably because some of the regions whose main activity is farming had lower levels of impact. However, this is just indicative and needs more rigorous study. The availability of wage labour and local markets certainly appears to fuel deforestation. The quantity of fuel–wood per household was higher in the Sigur/Bandipur region, because of the availability of wage labour and a local market in the form of small businesses such as tea shops which cater to tourists (Mammen, 2007). Brouwer et al. (1997) has pointed out that level of fuel–wood use by rural households is dependent more on the availability of labour than access to the forest. Ganesan (1993) noted the emergence of a local market for fuel–wood in the Sigur region in the early 1990s. The demand seems to have increased over the years with the establishment of a lucrative tourism industry in the region and the availability of wage labour. The population increased by
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Table 5 Collection of green leaves by households for fertilizing the farms.
a
Region (N)
#l Households
% Households collecting green leaves
Average used (kg/household/day)
Sources
Forest
Other sources
Kogar (71)a Bandipur-NBR (702) Sigur-NBR (78) KMTR eastern boundary (786) Similipal (143)
71 702 78 786 143
>75 0 0 15 0
9.38 ± 2.141 0 0 0.16 0
0 0 0 0.12 0
Garrigues (1999) Prashanth (2009) Mammen (2007) Arjunan (2005) Sahoo unpublished
kg dry matter per day per household.
Table 6 Estimates of forest degradation in the districts where the field assessments were conducted. Present study
FSI (2003, 2005) district wise data
Study area, district
Biomass extracted (t ha1 y1 ± SD)
Source
Changes in forest cover (km2) 2003–2005
Open/degraded forest 2003 (km2)
Kogar, Shimoga Bandipur, Mysore Sigur, Nilgiris KMTR, Tirunelveli Similipal, Mayurbhanj
1.86 ± 0.74 Not known 0.7 0.01 0.037
Garrigues (1999)
No No No No No
1401 503 789 347 996
Davidar et al. (2007) Arjunan (2005) Sahoo unpublished
142% from 1981 to 1991, due to the influx of labour for constructing a hydroelectric project (Silori and Mishra, 2001; Mammen, 2007). Roessingh (2006) estimated that the average annual rate of land degradation on the Sigur plateau rapidly increased between 1989 and 1999 (572 ha/year) as compared to the period between 1973 and 1989 (286 ha/year), which coincides with the period when the labour settled in this region and exploited the forests. Our assessment suggests that measurements of change in forest cover as given by the Forest Survey of India might not reflect realities on the ground. For instance there has been a gain of 0.411% of forest cover in India between 2001 and 2003, due to a gain of about 11.22% of open (<10% cover) and a loss of about 6.3% of dense forest cover (>40%), whereas the 2002–2004 assessment indicates a loss of 0.11% of moderately dense forest (40–70%) (FSI, 2005). Loss of dense and moderately dense forest cover is suggestive of forest degradation. Even data from the states where this assessment was carried out suggest ongoing degradation of forest: for instance from 2001 to 2003, Tamilnadu has lost almost 500 km2 of dense forest (>40% canopy cover), and gained about 1600 km2 of open (FSI, 2003), certainly indicative of degradation. Indications of ongoing degradation is supported by independent assessments: Both the Western and Eastern Ghats have lost forest cover due to land use changes (Ramesh et al., 1997; Jha et al., 2000; Jayakumar et al., 2002; Ramesh, 2003; Roessingh, 2006). A remote sensing analysis of deforestation rates in Orissa indicated that 26% of dense forest cover (>40% canopy) had been lost between 1972 and 1989 (Rath, 2002). Jayakumar et al. (2002) assessed land use changes in the Kolli hills of the Eastern Ghats from 1990 to 1999, and recorded an increasing degradation of the semi-evergreen and deciduous forest belt due to the collection of fuel–wood, fodder and other products. A World Bank report has estimated that about 247 million rural people in India depend on forests for part of their subsistence or cash livelihoods, and two thirds use fuel–wood as an energy source (World Bank, 2006). The report also states that about 41% of Indian forests have been degraded over the past several decades which has reduced forest productivity to about one-third of its potential (World Bank, 2006). Therefore all data point to the fact that intensive harvesting of biomass leads to forest degradation. Apart from fuel–wood harvest, intensive livestock grazing and removal of biomass in the form of manure from forests has negative impacts on vegetation and soils (Ganesan, 1993;
change change change change change
Garrigues, 1999; Silori and Mishra, 2001). Ganesan (1993) estimated that the density of free-ranging cattle and buffalo in the Sigur and Mudumalai region was 65 cattle/km2, much higher than densities of wild herbivores. Silori and Mishra (2001) assessed the grass productivity of the Sigur region and found it to be lower than the requirements of free-ranging cattle. Export of biomass reduces the carrying capacity of forests and thus their ability to sustain wildlife; leads to poor regeneration of forest plants, and promotes invasive species (Ganesan, 1993; Silori and Mishra, 2001; Madhusudan, 2005; Sumathi, 2006; Davidar et al., 2007). 4.2. Local community dependence on forests Pressure on forests from forest dwelling communities can be classified into two broad categories: rural needs for (i) energy, and (ii) income generation. Fuel–wood is a major source of energy for rural households in India and other developing countries (Cecelski et al., 1979; Heltbert et al., 2000). Wood harvesting is widespread because wood is abundant, inexpensive and easily available in protected forests. As compared to other sources of energy such as electricity or LPG, its abundance makes it a reliable source of energy. Alternatives to fuel–wood are difficult to put into practice. Complicated renewable energy devices are not easily accepted in the rural areas (Arjunan et al., 2006). The reasons for the relative failure of acceptance are multiple and include economic, social, practical considerations among others. Energy plantations are one possible solution to the chronic energy needs of rural populations. Community managed forests and joint forest management schemes have been set up to alleviate the demand for fuel–wood and reduce pressure on natural forests (Ballabh et al., 2002), as they have been shown to do in successful models (Köhlin and Parks, 2001 in Orissa). But in many cases inadequate and inappropriate governance structures and lack of autonomy for local communities cause these programs to fail (Ballabh et al., 2002). Caste, gender and community play a dominant role in the socio-economics of rural households; dominant communities often excluded marginalized sections of society from access to forest resources (Cecelski et al., 1979; Amacher et al., 1993; Abbott and Mace, 1999; Adhikari et al., 2004; Arjunan et al., 2005). Also, commercial fuel–wood plantations often cannot compete with wood collected free of cost (Elkan, 1988).
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4.3. Harvesting for income Low income households consisting mostly of daily wage labour, depend upon forest resources to generate income. Biomass is removed from the forest and not replaced. This sort of dependency is difficult to address since alternative livelihoods might be less attractive than harvesting which is simple, need-based and relatively less time consuming. It also gives the harvesters the flexibility to harvest whenever required. Poor women depend disproportionately on the sale of fuel–wood to support their families in developing countries (Cecelski et al., 1979; Amacher et al., 1993; Abbott and Mace, 1999). The livelihood aspects need greater attention. 4.4. Is harvesting sustainable Sustainable harvesting of forest products have been promoted because of the belief that rural communities in India before colonization tended to live in a sustainable manner and that the maintenance of traditional lifestyles could preserve biodiversity (Gadgil and Guha, 1993). Following this analysis many research efforts in the field of conservation have attempted to emulate sustainable harvesting of forest products, but have largely failed (Shahabuddin and Prasad, 2004), and ongoing degradation is supported by regionalscale satellite imagery (Ramesh et al., 1997; Jha et al., 2000; Rath, 2002; Ramesh, 2003; Roessingh, 2006). This is because the sustainability of traditional forest resource use has been eroded due to constant population growth and penetration of market forces. Under these conditions, promoting sustainable livelihoods based on harvesting forest products is not a viable conservation strategy. 4.5. Measurement of forest degradation While clear felling of forests can be easily detected by satellite imagery, this diffuse type of degradation is difficult to measure at a regional level because the forest boundaries are stable, and only the overall forest biomass, tree density and individual tree cover vary (Ganesan, 1993; Maikhuri et al., 2001; Puyravaud and Garrigues, 2002; Sagar and Singh, 2004; Arjunan et al., 2005). Secondly, the forest cover need not change with increasing degradation since large trees are not cut. We still do not have a single parameter that indicates at what speed forests become degraded and how long it will take for the ecosystem to degrade beyond the point of recovery. Therefore present definitions of forests and forest degradation are inadequate to effectively measure this phenomenon (Sasaki and Putz, 2009). This highlights a vital knowledge gap about the state of India’s forests, without which management policies would be equivalent to shooting in the dark. Acknowledgements We thank several anonymous reviewers whose comments and suggestions helped improve the quality of the manuscript. References Abbott, J., Mace, R., 1999. Managing protected woodlands: fuel–wood collection and law enforcement in Lake Malawi National Park. Conservation Biology 13, 418– 421. Adhikari, B., Di Falco, S., Lovett, J.C., 2004. Household characteristics and forest dependency: evidence from common property forest management in Nepal. Ecological Economics 48, 245–257. Amacher, G.S., Hyde, W.F., Joshee, B.R., 1993. Joint production and consumption in traditional households: fuel–wood and crop residues in two districts in Nepal. Journal of Development Studies 30, 1743–9140. Angelsen, A., Kaimowitz, D., 1999. Rethinking the causes of deforestation: lessons from economic models. The World Bank Research Observer 14, 73–98.
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