Case Studies

The interaction between people and plant biodiversity is as long as human beings existence on this planet. Plants as food and medicine have remained integral part of every society but with the passage of time man explored plants resource for a number of cultural needs. Mountain communities contribute to ecosystem maintenance through their rich culture, religious and spiritual beliefs, which incorporate a knowledge that has evolved over generations.

Many tribal and ethnic races inhabiting the Indian Himalayan Region and they are quite well adapted to their local environment. They are using available bio-resources for their well livelihoods. Each community or ethnic group has adapted themselves in particular manner. In this context traditional knowledge assumes great significance. Unfortunately, with advent of modernization the traditional knowledge is getting eroded.

A case study was carried out in district Rajouri to document the ethnobotanical knowledge of the ethnic groups, such as Gujjars, Bakarwals and paharis.

Sikkim is a small state in terms of land area and population, it however experiences high variation in temperature and rainfall, its populations are acutely sensitive to changes in the availability of water which immediately impacts livelihoods and health, and these affect the adaptive capacities of rural populations to poverty, environment and connectivity. According to Sikkim’s State Action Plan on Climate Change, the changes in climate over a long period of observation indicate that the weather patterns have become unreliable. The autumn season has extended and winters have become dry.

History has it that the rural economy of Assam has had many an indigenous knowledge based agriculture system which continues to prevail even today. Arrangements like the Bari system, shifting cultivation, terrace cultivation, integrated farming system, fish cum paddy cultivation being practiced with the use of indigenous knowledge continue to be an integral part the rural economy of the state.

Traditional food systems that are characterized by rich agricultural biodiversity and associated indigenous knowledge play an important role in the nutrition of hundreds of millions of people across the globe and continue to provide options of resilience for building sustainable livelihoods. The vast wealth of knowledge that indigenous people contain are the results of their long-evolved cultures and patterns of living in local agro-ecologies.

The farming systems in Sikkim is complex and unique of its own as the land use system in this region is dominated by traditional agriculture and adjoining forests along the altitudinal gradients from 300 to 5000 m elevations. The traditional agroforestr mainatanance, soil and water management, biodiversity conservation and pest management are key traditional and local practices for climate resilience. A study was carried out to document the traditional knowledge and practices concerning farming practices, agrodiversity, local soil and water management in agriculture systems in four districts of Sikkim during 2016-17.

The history of the use of wild mushrooms as food and in medicine is well documented for many countries, and India is just one example. A large number of mushroom species are not only edible and nutritious but also possess tonic and medicinal qualities. In Uttarakhand, villagers tend to be either mycophilic (term applied to those ethnic groups in which wild mushroom are regarded as suitable food) and mycophobic (term applied to those ethnic groups that have only a minor regard for mushrooms and often have a fear of them).

Degradation of natural forests is a global problem. Ruthless exploitation of vegetation from steep hills slopes of Uttarakhand has adversely affected environment and living condition of the people in the state. There is a growing awareness that woody perennial can play a major role not only in meeting farm based fodder and fuel wood needs but also in creating an income generating system at the village level in hilly parts of the state.

Food security has come to depend on a small handful of widely cultivated species; 12 species contribute 80 per cent of total dietary intake. By contrast, wild foods provide a greater dietary diversity to those who rely on them. The mean use of 90-100 wild species by agricultural and forager communities per location has been reported from 36 studies in 22 countries of Asia and Africa. Ethnobotanical surveys of wild plants indicate that more than 7000 species have been used for human food at some stage in human history.