Harvesting and Local Knowledge of a Cultural Non-Timber Forest Product (NTFP): Gum-Resin from Boswellia serrata Roxb. in Three Protected Areas of the Western Ghats, India

Abstract

Soliga tribes in the Western Ghats, India harvest some NTFPs (non-timber forest products) for religious purposes. They extract gum-resin from Boswellia serrata Roxb. in Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Tiger Reserve (BRT), Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS), and Malai Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary (MMH) in the state of Karnataka, India. They use gum-resin as a cultural offering to the deities in the temples in these study sites and in their households. The traditional harvesting practices adopted by the Soliga tribes in these protected areas, types of gum-resin extracted, and the nature of the extraction processes were examined. The research undertook 346 household surveys with gum-resin harvesters and non-harvesters across 15 villages, along with 60 field trips with the harvesters, during which field harvesting activities and practices were noted. Six different types of gum-resin were harvested, with marked differences between the three sites. Because of the different types of gum-resin, the quantities harvested were also significantly different between sites. Approximately 80% of the harvesters were aware of some harmful methods of harvesting gum-resin, and some harvesters highlighted that B. serrata trees would yield gum-resin only when damaged. Such damage could be human-made or through the effects of elephants, wind, Trigona honey harvest, deer horns or body rubbing and longhorn beetles. Most (81%) of the non-harvesters surveyed previously practiced gum-resin harvesting but had ceased for a variety of reasons, mostly because of insufficient demand and hence income from the sale of gum-resin, insufficient supply, or fear of wild animals in the forests. Considering these cultural practices, experiences, and beliefs of the Soliga communities can help inform management plans and conservation of the species in its natural habitat. rural poverty in many regions of the world [6][7][8], which, under the right conditions, can also prompt resource conservation [9] and support cultural needs [10].Although many NTFP harvest systems appear ecologically sustainable [11,12], concerns are often voiced about the likelihood and potential impacts of overharvesting. This is because of the multiple uses and dependencies on NTFPs, which if overharvested could jeopardize the livelihoods, incomes, and species populations. The effects of harvesting may also be exacerbated by other stressors, such as climate change, fire, invasive species, or herbivory, further undermining the potential viability of harvested populations [13,14]. However, generalizations across contexts and species should be made with caution because the assessment of ecological sustainability must be done at the local scale while taking cognizance of the broader dynamics of the social-ecological system in which harvesting and livelihoods are embedded [12]. A multitude of factors need to be taken into consideration, such as the consequences of long-term NTFP harvest on individual populations, fitness and vigor of the progeny, climate and environmental variability, synergis...

eDNA metabarcoding reveals dietary niche overlap among herbivores in an Indian wildlife sanctuary

“…Most of the area is dry deciduous forest (64.3%) with scrub woodland (20.5%) and patches of moist deciduous and riparian forest (2.5%, Harisha & Padmavathy, 2013). MMH is home to approximately 12,000 people from several ethnic and tribal groups, but throughout the year the population is heavily elevated due to tens of thousands of religious pilgrims who visit the main temple and other shrines (Harisha & Padmavathy, 2013; Kent & Dorward, 2015; Soumya et al., 2019a). Despite its history of human interactions and anthropogenic character, the MMH forests host a wide range of wildlife.…”

“…Although livestock rearing (forest grazing) has traditionally been part of the livelihoods of the local communities (Kent & Dorward, 2015), there is currently an effort to regulate forest access and livestock grazing in MMH (Thornton et al, 2019). At the same time, resource impacts from tens of thousands of pilgrims annually (Soumya et al, 2019a), invasive plant species and modernization, including developmental activities and tourism, are reported to reduce biodiversity in the area. This is evident from, among others, interviews with local communities (Harisha et al, 2015) and research on the impacts of the invasive plant Lantana camara L. on vegetation (Soumya et al, 2019b;Varghese et al, 2015), bird assemblages (Aravind et al, 2010), and human adaptive responses (Kent & Dorward, 2015;Thornton et al, 2019).…”

Can commercialization of non-timber forest product (NTFP) reduce deforestation in Myanmar?

“…Commercialization of NTFPs can replace the destructive utilization of the forest products with conservationcompatible practices (Belcher and Schreckenberg 2007), and improve the health of the ecological environment (Cosyns et al 2011). However, questions regarding the actual conservation impacts of NTFP initiatives have arisen since the end of the last century (Neuman and Hirsch 2000, Belcher et al 2005, Belcher and Schreckenberg 2007, Soumya et al 2019. The ultimate effects of NTFP commercialization projects likely vary and depend on the features of individual projects, as well as the NTFPs itself (Cosyns et al 2011).…”