Assesment of NTFP resource harvesting practices in the regions of Chhattisgarh State, India
Student name: Ms Kritika Joshi
Guide: Dr P K Joshi
Year of completion: 2014
Host Organisation: Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Prof. Prashant Jadhav
Abstract: The study intends to assess the harvesting practices in the central Indian regions
and identify the eminent non timber forest products (NTFPs) and their resources.
In the present scenario of high demands of medicinal plant extracts in
pharmaceutical industries and other value goods based on NTFPs in export
market, is being expected to rise the unsustainable practices for harvesting of the
NTFPs. Therefore to deduce a lucid view of the situation of NTFP harvesting
practices in the central Indian mixed deciduous forests, this study has been
undertaken. Unsustainable harvesting practices have come in vogue due to
instantaneous monetary gains. They often are lopping and pollarding which
provides the complete removal of fruits from the trees but usually none is left to
propagate. Overharvesting is another unsustainable practice that is being put to
use. The overharvesting pattern has been known to leave less population
individuals to propagate in abundance, leading to regional extinction of specie
and biodiversity loss. This study will identify the species region wise and will
provide first hand information on the harvesting practices of specie.
The unsustainable harvesting practices were expected to be closely related to the
propagation of species around the mother trees of the study regions and the
already existing of population individuals. With the purpose of collecting speciewise
harvesting practices’ information, commonly harvested NTFP specie were
determined first. For local area’s NTFP species diversity knowledge, first the
identification NTFPs was performed through stakeholder consultation. The
various stakeholders identified were, local villagers, self help groups, forest
guards from the Chhattisgarh forest department.
Key words: Un-sustainability, Non timber forest produce, stake holder
consultation, harvesting practices.
