Forest utilization patterns and socio-economic status of the Van Gujjar tribe in sub-Himalayan...

For. Stud. China, 2012, 14(1): 36–46DOI 10.1007/s11632-012-0102-9 RESEARCH ARTICLE

*Author for correspondence. E-mail: [email protected]

Forest utilization patterns and socio-economic status of the Van Gujjar tribe in sub-Himalayan tracts of Uttarakhand, India

Jyotsana SHARMA*, Sumeet GAIROLA, R. D. GAUR, R. M. PAINULI

Department of Botany, HNB Garhwal University (Central University), Srinagar Garhwal-246174, Uttarakhand, India

© Beijing Forestry University and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012

Abstract The present study was conducted on the Van Gujjar tribe inhabiting a sub-Himalayan tract in the North Western Himalayas of Uttarakhand State, India. The Van Gujjars have been practicing transmigration over hundreds of years. They migrate each year with their households and livestock between summer and winter pastures. A few years ago with the announcement of the establish-ment of the Rajaji National Park, the tribe has been forced out of the forest area and rehabilitated outside the park, which has affected their lifestyle. The newly established rehabilitation colony in the Gandikhata area of Haridwar District of Uttarakhand State was taken as a case study. The aims of the present study were to understand and evaluate the socio-economic status of the Van Gujjars in their newly established rehabilitation colony, the utilization pattern of forest resources by the tribe and their relative preference for selec-tive trees for various uses. A total of 176 households were interviewed (giving equal weight to all economic classes and family every size) by using pre-structured questionnaires. The education level was very low (12.9%) and the average income per household was recorded as Rs. 36000 (approximately $ 803) per year. The major source of income was dairy production (80.6%) followed by labor employment (13.9%), NTFPs (4.2%) and agricultural production (1.4%). More than 90% of fuel wood and fodder is extracted from the forest. The average fuel wood and fodder consumptions per household per day were recorded as 25.86 and 21.58 kg, respectively. A total of 35 species of cultivated plants and 89 species of wild plants were found to be utilized as food sources. Selectively 25 wild tree species are well known as being used by the Van Gujjars as fodder, fuel wood, agricultural implements, household articles, dye, medicine, fi ber and other products. According to their utility value, the most preferred and useful tree species is Ougeinia oojeinensis, followed by Terminalia alata, Bombax ceiba, Shorea robusta and Dalbergia sissoo.

Key words ethnography, forest use, livestock, fuel wood, fodder, income sources, semi-nomadic tribe, India

1 Introduction

Tribal people are very much integrated and interac-tive with concerns for ecosystems. They live in har-mony with nature, are present examples of close links between humans and the environment (Sajem and Gosai, 2006) and have a sound knowledge, as well as capabilities, to develop innovative practices and valuable products from their environment. The liveli-hoods of tribal and forest dwellers are entirely depen-dent on forests, from which their socio-economic and cultural life has evolved (Shroff, 1997). Therefore, the socio-economic conditions of forest dwellers are closely associated with the type and extent of the for-est (Chaudhury et al., 2004). The link between forest management and the well-being of these communities has traditionally been viewed as an important sector for generations of employment opportunities (Sharma

and Gairola, 2007; Gairola et al., 2009). Millions of forest dwellers across the globe earn their livelihood from the forest (Patnaik, 1986), but their interlinked dependency on forests varies from place to place (Akhter et al., 2009).

The aboriginal communities of Uttarakhand (India) have their own set of cultural, religious and societal norms and are comparatively very backward in edu-cation and economy. These ethnic groups comprise a small percentage of the total population of the state and have maintained their own ethnicity. The Van Gujjars (“Van” meaning “forest” in Hindi) live in the lower sub-Himalayan parts of Uttarakhand State and are one of the most important migratory tribes of the Himalayas. The Van Gujjars follow Islamic religion and have their distinct culture and traditions. The Van Gujjars, surviving as forest pastoralists in the central part of the Indian Himalayas, are people who, due to their nomadic lifestyle, have been found since colonial

Jyotsana SHARMA et al.: Forest utilization patterns and socio-economic status of the Van Gujjar tribe... 37

rule at the margin of Indian society (Gooch, 2009). In 1983, on the basis of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, the Rajaji National Park was established in the Shiwalik hills of Uttarakhand. With its notification, the Forest Department of India forced the Van Gujjars to move from the core of the forest. They were reha-bilitated outside the park area and agricultural lands were provided to them. Early in their rehabilitation, the livelihoods of the Van Gujjars were based on rais-ing buffaloes and selling milk only. The Van Gujjars used to perform the annual cycle of transmigration, moving between winter pastures in the foothills and summer grazing areas in the upper ranges of the Hi-malayas. They live in close proximity of their forest environment along with their livestock and roam from one place to another in different habitats. Rehabilita-tion of the Van Gujjars outside the forest area has af-fected their lifestyle as well. In view of these known facts, the present study was carried out with the aim of understanding and evaluating the socio-economic status of the Van Gujjars in their newly established rehabilitation colony, their utilization pattern of forest resources and relative preference for selective trees in various uses.

2 Materials and methods

2.1 Study area

The study was conducted on a sub-Himalayan tract (eastern part of the North West Himalayas) of Ut-tarakhand State, India, inhabited by the Van Gujjar tribe (Fig. 1). The Gujjar dera (Gujjar village) in the Gandikhata area of Haridwar District of Uttarakhand, India, was taken as a case study. It was built as a

rehabilitation colony in 2004 and is approximately 12 km from the Rajaji National Park. The Haridwar District lies at 29.96°N latitude and 78.04°E longi-tude. The sub-Himalayan tract is a varied reservoir of biodiversity including a large variety of plant species and wildlife. It is an intermediate region between the plains of the Ganges and the mountains of the Hima-layas. It supports a great variety of forests, varied in species composition from east to west (latitudinal) and from lower to higher elevations (vertical). It occupies a fairly large tract in Uttarakhand, running along the southern periphery. The zone has a long chain of nar-row and low mountain ranges of about 300 to 1000 m a.s.l. The tract is about 30−40 km wide among the scattered mountains in the Uttarakhand Himalayas.

2.2 Climate

The study area shows varied climatic and edhaphic conditions. The climate of the area is strongly affected by the South-West and North-East monsoons and exhibits considerable variations vis-a-vis its different topographic features. The climate of the tract is that of a subtropical monsoon type and varies from one region to the next. There are three distinct seasons: a hot summer, a rainy season and a mild winter. May and June are the hottest months of the year. The days are hot but the nights are moderately cool and pleas-ant. In the summer the maximum temperature may reach 40°C. The hot weather starts at the end of March and continues till the monsoon. This zone shows high annual precipitation, with the rainfall mainly occur-ring during the months of July–September, with the maximum rainfall (60% to 70% of the total rainfall) usually occurring in August. The winter season starts

Fig. 1 Map of the study area

Forestry Studies in China, Vol.14, No.1, 201238

in October, continues till the end of February and is characterized by low temperatures and humidity. Frost is a common occurrence during December and Janu-ary, the coldest months of the season. In winters the minimum temperature falls down to 4−7°C. During this period the rain occurs sometimes with hail and storms. At the beginning of March frost and fog disap-pear but dew is observed well up into April.

2.3 Data collection and analysis

A preliminary survey was conducted at G ujjar deras (Gujjar villages) where we counted the number of families and the number of members in each house-hold. In total 20% (176 households) of the total households were interviewed by using a pre-structured questionnaire. Households interviewed were randomly selected. Questions focused on human and livestock populations, annual income, literacy level, land hold-ings, types of employment, consumption of fuel wood, fodder and extraction of NTFPs (n on-timber forest products) and the answers were appropriately record-ed. Information was also collected through personal interviews and discussions with the head of the vil-lage (g ram pradhans) and representatives of selected households.

In order to estimate the amount of fuel wood and fodder consumption per day per household, 10% (90 households) of the total households were surveyed and their consumption amounts were noted for five con-secutive days. In the case of fuel wood consumption, this procedure was followed for three different seasons viz., summer, the rainy season and winter. Households surveyed were selected, giving equal weight to all economic classes and every family size. Subsequently the average fuel wood consumption of the village was calculated by multiplying the average daily per house-hold consumption of fuel wood with the total number of houses. In order to estimate the utility value of indi-vidual tree species, the preference of the villagers for various purposes viz., fuel wood, fodder, agricultural implements, construction of household articles and other uses was determined, which was further veri-fi ed by personal observations. The availability of fuel wood and fodder resources near the village and the distance to forests for collection of resources were re-

corded from interaction with the inhabitants. Ethno-botanical data was gathered through per-

sonal contacts and interviews with the experienced tribal men, women and medicine men, who possess knowledge of plants for various uses such as food, fi ber, medicine, fodder, gums, dyes, fi sh poison, fuel and other purposes. Plant specimens were brought to the laboratory and identifi ed with the help of pertinent flora (Babu, 1977; Gaur, 1999). These samples were matched with the specimens housed in t he H NB Gar-hwal University Herbarium, the H erbarium of the Bo-tanical Survey of India, Dehradun and the Herbarium of the Forest Research Institute. Current available literature was also consulted for proper nomenclature and properly labeled specimens with all the relevant information have been submitted in the HNB Garhwal University Herbarium.

3 Results and discussion

3.1 Cropping pattern and vegetation

Information about cropping patterns is presented in Table 1. The vegetation of the study area is that of a mixed sub-tropical dry deciduous type. The floristic composition shows variation from place to place due to fl uctuations in topography and edaphic factors. The main forest types of the area are S al forests and mixed forests.

Sal forest: Throughout the study area natural Sal forests are quite abundant and at a few places planta-tions of Sal patches have been observed. Patches of Teak (Tectona grandis L. f.) plantation have been noticed in different areas near the forest. Other com-monly occurring species are Aegle marmelos (L.) Cor-rea, Anogeissus latifolius (Roxb. ex DC.) Wallich ex Richard, Bridelia retusa (L.) Sprengel, Cassia fi stula L., Celtis tetrandra Roxb., Ehretia laevis Roxb., Ficus spp., Gmelina arborea Roxb., Grewia serrulata DC., Haldinia cordifolia (Roxb.) Ridsdale, Holarrhena pubescens (Buch.-Ham.) Wallich ex G. Don, Lager-stroemia parviflora Roxb., Lannea coromandelica (Houttuyn) Merrill, Madhuca longifolia (Koeing) MacBride, Mallotus philippensis (Lam.) Muell. Arg., Mitraygna parvifolia (Roxb.) Korthals, Moringa ole-ifera Lam., Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre, Schleichera

Table 1 Cropping patterns in the study area Ravi (winter season) crops* Kharif (rainy season) crops* Common leguminous cropsWheat (100%), potato (24%),mustard (22%) and others (18%)

Rice (66%), pulses (50%) and others (30%)

Soyabean (Glycine max), black gram (Vigna mungo), green gram (Vigna radiata), kidney bean (Phaseolus lunetus), pea (Pisum sativum) and horse gram (Dolichus unifl orus)

*Values in bracket are the per cent of households growing them in the study area.


oleosa (Lour.) Oken, Termnalia spp. and Trewia nudi-fl ora L. The shrubby elements chiefl y consist of Balio-spermum montanum (Willd.) Muell. Arg., Callicarpa macrophylla Vahl, Capparis zeylanica L., Cleroden-drum viscosum Ventenet, Colebrookia oppositifolia J. E. Smith, Croton bonplandianus Baillon, Eranthemum pulchellum Andrews, Flemengia strobilifera (L.) R. Br., Glycosmis arborea (Roxb.) DC., Jatropha curcas L., Lantana camara L., Murraya koenigii (L.) Spren-gel, Naringi crenulata (Roxb.) Nicolson and Pogoste-mon benghalense (Burm. f.) Kuntze.

Mixed forest: Mixed forests cover a large pro-portion of the sub-Himalayan tracts. The prevailing tree species are Acacia catechu (L. f.) Willd., Acacia nilotica (L.) Willd. ex Delile, Albizia lebbeck (L.) Benth., Alstonia scholaris (L.) R. Br., Anogeissus lati-folius (Roxb. ex DC.) Wallich ex Richard, Bauhinia racemosa Lam., B. semla Wunderlin, B. variegata L., Bischofi a javanica Blume, Bombax ceiba L., Bucha-nania lanzan Sprengel, Butea monosperma (Lam.) Kuntze, Casearia elliptica Willd., Cordia dichotoma Forster f., Crataeva adansonii DC., Dalbergia latifolia Roxb., Dalbergia sissoo Roxb., Dendrocalamus stric-tus (Roxb.) Nees, Diospyros malabarica (Desrouss.) Kosteletsky, Erythrina arborescens Roxb., Ficus spp., Flacourtia indica (Burm. f.) Merrill, Garuga pinnata Roxb., Haldinia cordifolia (Roxb.) Ridsdale, Holoptelea integrifolia (Roxb.) Planchon, Lannea coromandelica (Houttuyn) Merrill, Litsea glutinosa (Lour.) Robinson, Mangifera indica L., Oroxylum in-dicum (L.) Ventenat, Ougeinia oojeinesis (Roxb.) Ho-chreutiner, Phoenix humilis Royle, Phoenix sylvestris (L.) Roxb., Phyllanthus emblica L., Salix tetrasperma Roxb., Semecarpus anacardium L. f., Syzygium cum-ini (L.) Skeels, Toona hexandra (Wallich ex Roxb.) M. Roemer, Wrightia arborea (Dennst.) Mabberly and Ziziphus mauritiana Lam. The common shrubs are Adhatoda zeylanica Medikus, Boehmeria platyphylla D. Don, Buddleja asiatica Lour., Calotropis gigantea (L.) Dryander, C. procera (Aiton) Dryander, Can-nabis sativa L., Carissa congesta Wight, Colebrookia oppositifolia J. E. Smith, Cotinus coggyria Scopoli, Helicteres isora L., Lantana camara L., Nyctanthes arbor-tristis L., Ricinus communis L., Securinega virosa (Roxb. ex Willd.) Baillon, Urena lobata L., Vernonia anthelmintica (L.) Willd., Vitex negundo L., Woodfordia fruticosa (L.) Kurz and Ziziphus oenoplia (L.) Miller.

3.2 Ethnographic observations

The Gujjars are semi-nomadic and their main occupa-tion is herding goats, sheep and buffaloes. They live with their herds inside the forest area. The main male

member of the family is referred to as ‘Lambardar’ and his female counterpart is known as ‘Lamardarni’. They speak a Gujjari language or Dogri which is simi-lar to that of other Gujjar tribes of Punjab, Himanchal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. The huts of the Guj-jars are of a special type, called ‘Deras’. They make beautiful decorative items on the walls of their deras. The deras are made up of materials extracted from forests, such as wood, bamboo, grass for thatching purposes and the making of roofs over small clearings in the forest. The distance between two deras is kept at about 1−2 km. Generally they build their houses near water sources. Distinct animal sheds are constructed near houses and some Gujjar people also keep hens for business purposes, using small wooden cages.

With their animal herds they migrate from one place to another, over different elevation zones of the Himalayas, for better grazing and browsing op-portunities. However, the major period is spent in sub-Himalayan tracts. Traditionally they move to the higher Himalayan pastures during the summer or in the monsoon period and return in the winter. This helps in the natural regeneration of the vegetation and when they come back during the chilly winter, there will be a better fodder reserve for the next months until their migration in the subsequent summer. It was observed that the Gujjars retain their the knowledge of forest ecology. Presently the Van Gujjars of the Rajaji National Park and of adjacent forest areas are shifted to permanent settlement in Pathri and Gandikhata near Haridwar. They have been provided with land for habitation and partly for agriculture. But many of the Gujjar families are still inside the forests and show pastoral or semi-nomadic behavior. Now changes have occurred in their life style due to their permanent re-habilitation, which has been supplemented with better educational opportunities for their children.

3.3 Social status

The results related to social status are presented in Table 2. The average household size was recorded as 8.26 individuals per household, which is higher than the assessed values for the communities living in the hilly parts of Uttarakhand State. The sex ratio, i.e., the number of females per thousand males in the study area, was recorded as 1017. The average landhold-ing in the study area was recorded as 10.74 ha per household, which is much higher than the average landholding per household in the hilly region of the state. Recently Sharma et al. (2009a) have reported it between 0.26 and 0.35 ha per household for different temperate villages of Garhwal Himalaya. Tewari et al. (2003) also observed that cultivated land per farmer in


the central Himalayas is 0.5 ha. However, in the sub-Himalayan tracts average land per farmer seems to be higher. The main source of potable water in the study area is a government supply (100%); besides, some villagers (22%) also complement the government sup-ply from natural water sources. The literacy rate in Uttarakhand is 72%, which is higher than the national literacy rate (Gaur, 2007). However, the literacy rate of the Gujjar tribe of the study area is just 12.90%. Most of the literate people had studied below 5 grade and a few have received higher education, i.e., only 0.49% above 10 grade.

3.4 Livelihood

The major source of employment in the study area is agriculture (96%) followed by labor employment (90%) and dairy farming (82%). These are the three main sources of employment in the study area and only a few villagers were found to be involved in other professions. However, the cash income is mainly earned by selling milk and milk products, i.e., 80.6% of the total income (Fig. 2). Other sources of income were labor employment (13.9%), selling non-timber forest products (4.2%) and selling agricultural and vegetable produce (1.4%). The average annual in-come in the study area was recorded as Rs. 36000 per household (approximately US$ 803), which is well above the poverty line of Rs. 12000 (approximately US$ 268) defined by the government of India for rural areas. This infers that, although land given by

the government to Gujjars has provided them with an alternate profession in agriculture, dairy production is still the main source of income. Their economy is es-sentially dependent on selling milk and milk products in the market. We estimated that each family sells an average of 4.38 L of milk every day (Table 3). The Gujjars depend entirely on forest products for their daily needs of fodder, fuel, food, construction of their houses and other necessities. Most of the agricultural produce was consumed for household purposes and only a small proportion of agricultural production fi nds its way in the open market. Due to a lack of any other sources of employment, the Gujjars are mainly dependent on dairy production and selling NTFPs.

3.5 Patterns of energy and fodder consumption

In the context of changing socio-economic and en-vironmental conditions, in which rural communities are operating, it is important to develop a method of predicting patterns of fuel wood and fodder consump-tion. Rural development operations require interven-tion given rural structures in various issues at different times in accordance with the quality of problems iden-tifi ed in rural areas and alternative remedial solutions. Patterns of fodder and energy consumption in the study area are shown in Table 3. The average amount of kerosene consumed per household per month was recorded as 3.36 L. Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is not used in the study area, which may be the main reason for dependency on forests for fuel wood. Kerosene is available in the study area, but due to the large number of individuals in a family and the lack of alternate sources of energy, people mainly rely on fuel wood from the forest as a source of energy. Fuel wood is easily and freely available, which also makes

Table 2 General and socio-economic detailsVariable ValuesTotal households 878Sampled households 176Total human population 7252 Avg. household size (individuals per household)

8.26

Sex ratio (females per thousand males) 1017Avg. landholding per household (ha) 10.74Avg. annual income per household* Rs. 36000 (US$ 803) Potable water source (%) Natural 22 Government supply 100Education level (%) 12.90 < 5 Grade 10.95 5−10 Grades 1.46 > 10 Grade 0.49 Uneducated 87.10

*1 US$ is approximately Rs. 44.83.

Fig. 2 Share of different sources of income in total household income


it a popular source of energy. The average fuel wood consumption was recorded as 25.86 kg per household per day. Seasonal fuel wood consumption is shown in Table 4. The maximum amount of fuel wood (kg per househo ld per day) is consumed during the winter (38.60) followed by summer (19.82) and the rainy seasons (19.16). Recently Sharma et al. (2009a) re-corded fuel wood consumption in temperate Himala-yan villages between 11.6 and 24.6 (kg per household per day). Approximately 96% of fuel wood has been extracted from the forest. The women of the area spent at least 2 to 4 h per day and travel at least 4 to 5 km per day to collect fuel wood. Per capita fuel wood consumption ranges between 2.32 kg per day in the rainy season and 4.67 kg per day during the winter. In the winter months of December to February fuel wood consumption was observed as the highest because of other applications, such as heating water and keeping the temperature of houses high. The average per capita fuel wood consumption in the present study was re-corded as 3.13 kg per day. Reddy (1981) and Hegde (1984) reported fuel wood consumption for southern India as 0.9–2.2 k g per capita per day and Dovovan (1981) reported it as 1.7−2.5 kg per capita per day for southern and south-eastern Asian countries. For Himalayan villages Bartwal (1987), Mishra et al. (1988), Moench (1989), Saksena et al. (1995), Silori (2004) and Sharma et al. (2009b) reported fuel wood consumption as 1.53, 1.26−1.95, 1.9−3.6, 0.76−1.21, 3.43−4.59 and 1.00−2.72 kg per capita per day, re-spectively.

Common livestock domesticated by people in the study area are cows, oxen and buffalos. The average number of animals per household was recorded as

4.76. The average amount of milk sold was recorded as 4.38 L per household per day and the average amount of fodder consumed as 21.58 kg per household per day. Sharma et al. (2009a) recorded fodder con-sumption in temperate villages of the Garhwal Hima-layas between 27.20 and 40.50 kg per household per day. In contrast, Sharma et al. (2009b) recorded high levels of fodder consumption, i.e., between 65.22 and 157.98 kg per household per day, which corresponds with the large number of animals per household in the villages concerned. Approximately 92% of total fod-der was extracted from the forest. Similar to wood col-lection, women travel 4 to 5 km per day and spent at least 2 to 4 h per day to collect fodder from the forest. Since dairy farming (82%) is one of the major sources of income for the people, all the families sustain large numbers of animals, which is the prime cause for the large amount of fodder consumption in the area.

3.6 Plant species preferred by villagers for various purposes

Utility values, availability, calorifi c values and prefer-ences for tree species on the part of the villagers are shown in Table 5. According to its utility value, the most useful tree species is Ougeinia oojeinensis fol-lowed by Terminalia alata, Bombax ceiba, Shorea robusta and Dalbergia sissoo. High pressure on these wild tree species especially leads to their overexploita-tion. The most preferred species for fodder are Ougei-nia oojeinensis, Terminalia alata, Celtis australis, Terminalia bellirica and Albizia lebbeck, whereas, tree species preferred as fuel wood are Ougeinia oojeinen-

Table 3 Patterns of fodder and energy consumption in the study area Pattern of f odder c onsumption Value Pattern of energy consumption ValueAvg. fodder consumed per household per day (kg) 21.58 Avg. milk sold per household per day (L) 4.38Fodder extracted from the forest (%) 92 Avg. kerosene per capita per month (L) 0.41Approx. distance traveled for fodder collection (km) 4−5 Avg. kerosene per household per month (L) 3.36Ave. number of animals per household 4.76 Avg. LPG per household per month (L) 0

Avg. cow per household 0.96 Avg. fuel wood per household per day (kg) 25.86Avg. oxen per household 0.24 Avg. fuel wood extracted from the forest (%) 96Avg. buffalo per household 3.56 Approx. distance traveled for fuel wood collection (km) 4–5

Table 4 Seasonal fuel wood consumptionVariable Summer Winter Rainy AveragePer capita per day (kg) 2.40 4.67 2.32 3.13Per household per day (kg) 19.82 38.60 19.16 25.86Per household per year (t) 7.23 14.09 6.99 9.44Per village per year (t) 6351.72 12370.14 6140.21 8287.35

Number of sampled households = 90.


sis, Terminalia alata, Shorea robusta and Dalbergia sissoo. Agricultural implements of the Gujjar tribes are mainly made from wood of Ougeinia oojeinensis, Terminalia alata, Shorea robusta, Dalbergia sissoo and Toona hexandra. Celtis australis and Mallotus philippensis are known for the preparation of dyes, while many of the household articles are made up of parts of Ougeinia oojeinensis, Terminalia alata, Sho-rea robusta and Dalbergia sissoo.

Since time immemorial plant species from the for-ests have been a constant source of food for forest dwelling communities. For the Central Himalayas, including parts of the Western Himalayas, Maikhuri et al. (2000) stated that the Bhotiya tribe depends to a large extent on wild plant resources for their food security. Chandra (2002) mentioned that 80% of the forest dwellers in Orissa, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Himachal Pradesh depend on forests for 25%−50% of their annual food requirements.

Tribal societies on the Chotanagpur plateau depend on forest food for at least four to fi ve months of the year (Surin and Bahadur, 1980), whereas Namgyel and Ghimiray (1998) recorded that in West-central Bhutan people use forest plants as a source of food throughout the year. Approximately 150 species of wild plants, consumed in India, Malaysia and Thailand, have been identifi ed as sources of emergency foods by the FAO (FAO, 1984). Similarly in the study area many plant species are noted as edibles by the Van Gujjars. The Van Gujjars are strictly vegetarian in their food habits and also avoid use of any sort of alcoholic beverages. They eat Chapatti or roti made from wheat or maize flour with potato or onion curry and milk products such as ‘Dahi’ (Yoghurt), ‘Chhanch’ (buttermilk) and others. They prefer Chhanch instead of water with their meal. In the survey it has been noticed that they have been utilizing 34 species of cultivated plants and 90 species of wild plants as food. The cultivated plants

Table 5 Utility values and preferences for tree species used by villagers

R Species Utility va luesPreference

AvaCV

(kJ·g–1 dry weight)FO FW AI HA DY ME FB ED1 Ougeinia oojeinensis FO, FW, AI, HA, ME A A A A n.a. A n.a. n.a. + 16.93 (1)

2 Terminalia alata FO, FW, AI, HA, ME A A A A n.a. C n.a. n.a. + 21.15 (2)

3 Bombax ceiba FO, FW, AI, HA, ME, ED B C C B n.a. B n.a. A ++ 20.47 (2)

4 Shorea robusta FO, FW, AI, HA, ME B A A A n.a. C n.a. n.a. + 21.35 (2)

5 Dalbergia sissoo FO, FW, AI, HA, ME D A A A n.a. B n.a. n.a. + 20.56 (2)

6 Celtis australis FO, AI, DY, ED A D B n.a. A n.a. n.a. B + 19.86 (2)

7 Haldinia cordifolia FO, FW, AI, HA, ME B B B B n.a. C n.a. n.a. + n.a.8 Ficus racemosa FO, FW, AI, ME, ED B C D n.a. n.a. B n.a. A ++ n.a.9 Ehretia laevis FO, FW, AI, ME C B B n.a. n.a. A n.a. n.a. + 16.71 (1)

10 Mallotus philippensis FO, FW, AI, DY, ME D B D n.a. A B n.a. n.a. ++ 20.26 (2)

11 Acacia catechu FO, FW, AI, ME C B C n.a. n.a. A n.a. n.a + 21.97 (2)

12 Terminalia bellirica FO, FW, AI, ME A C D n.a. n.a. A n.a. n.a. + 20.83 (2)

13 Toona hexandra FW, AI, HA, ME n.a. C A B n.a. C n.a. n.a. ++ 23.00 (3)

14 Albizia lebbeck FO, AI, HA, ME A D B D n.a. C n.a. n.a. ++ 21.63 (2)

15 Crataeva adansonii FO, FW, AI, ME C B C n.a. n.a. B n.a. n.a. + n.a.16 Diospyros exsculpta FW, AI, ME, ED n.a. C B n.a. n.a. C n.a. B + 21.47 (2)

17 Grewia optiva FO, FW, FB B B n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. A n.a. ++ 19.50 (4)

18 Lannea coromandelica FO, FW, AI, HA, ME C C D D n.a. A n.a. n.a. + 17.14 (1)

19 Aegle marmelos FO, FW, AI, ME C C C n.a. n.a. B n.a. n.a. ++ 18.83 (2)

20 Anogeissus latifolious FO, FW, AI, ME B B D n.a. n.a. D n.a. n.a. + 21.00 (2)

21 Cassia fi stula FW, AI, ME n.a. B D n.a. n.a. A n.a. n.a. ++ 21.64 (2)

22 Holoptelea integrifolia FW, AL, ME, ED n.a. C C n.a. n.a. B n.a. D ++ 22.03 (2)

23 Trewia nudifl ora FO, FW, AI, ME B D D n.a. n.a. B n.a. n.a. + n.a.24 Schleichera oleosa FO, AI, ME B D D n.a. n.a. B n.a. n.a. + 20.74 (2)

25 Lagerstroemia parvifl ora FW n.a. B n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. + 20.47 (2)

Note: R = Ranking (based on the combined points given for preference for various uses); A = highly used; B= mostly used; C = mod-erately used; D = sometimes used; n.a.= not applicable/available; Ava = availability; CV = calorifi c values (kJ·g–1 dry weight); FO = fodder; FW = fuel wood; AI= agricultural implements; HA = household articles; DY = dye; ME = medicinal; FB = fi ber; ED = edible; “++ ” = easily available; “+” = moderately available. 1Jain (1992), 2Krishna and Ramaswamy (1932), 3Jain (1993), 4Jain (1998).


Table 6 Traditional uses of tree species by the Van GujjarsNo. Botanical name VN Family Uses Herbarium No.1 Acacia catechu (L.f.) Willd. Khair Mimosaceae Me, Dy, G, FO, FW, AA GUH-JS 197522 Acacia nilotica (L.) Willd. ex Delile Keekar Mimosaceae Me, G, FO, FW, AA GUH-JS 188573 Aegle marmelos (L.) Correa Bel Rutaceae Me, FO, FP, Fd, FW, AA GUH-JS 188374 Albizia lebbeck (L.) Benth. Sirsi Mimosaceae Me, Fd, AA GUH-JS 197405 Alstonia scholaris (L.) R.Br. Dudla Apocynaceae Me, MP GUH-JS 203216 Annona squamosa L. Sharifa Annonaceae Me, Fd GUH-JS 202977 Anogeissus latifolius (Roxb. ex DC.)

Wallich ex RichardBankli/Tau Combretaceae Me, G, FO, FW, AA GUH-JS 20268

8 Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. Kathal Moraceae Me, Fd, AA GUH-JS 203319 Averrhoa carambola L. Kamrakt Averrhoaceae Me, Fd GUH-JS 2011410 Azadirachta indica AHL Juss. Nimb Meliaceae Me GUH-JS 1882611 Bauhinia racemosa Lam. Kural Caesalpiniaceae Me, FO, Fd, Fbr GUH-JS 2024212 Bauhinia semla Wunderlin Semli Caesalpiniaceae Me, FO, FW GUH-JS 2016513 Bischofi a javanica Blume Paniyala Euphorbiaceae Me, Fd GUH-JS 2034714 Bombax ceiba L. Sembal Bombacaceae Me, Fd, G, AA, MP GUH-JS 1890015 Bridelia retusa (L.) Sprengel Magha Euphorbiaceae Me, Fd, FO GUH-JS 2033816 Broussonetia papyrifera Ventenat Murmari Moraceae Fbr, FW, FO GUH-JS 2033817 Butea monosperma (Lam.) Kuntze Palash Fabaceae Me, Fd, Dy, Fbr, Fp, FO, G, AA GUH-JS 1880218 Casearia elliptica Willd. Chilla Flacourtiaceae Me, Fp, FO, FW, AA GUH-JS 2022619 Cassia fi stula L. Karangal Caesalpiniaceae Me, Fd, FW, AA GUH-JS 1884220 Celtis australis L. Kharik Ulmaceae Me, Fd, FO, AA GUH-JS 2026221 Cordia dichotoma Forster f. Lasoda Ehretiaceae Me, Fd, FW, G, MP, AA GUH-JS 2027122 Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. Talli Fabaceae Me, FW, AA GUH-JS 2037323 Ehretia laevis Roxb. Chamror Ehritiaceae Me, Fd, D, FO, AA GUH-JS 2010124 Eucalyptus citriodora Hook. Luten Myrtaceae Me, FW, MP, AA GUH-JS 2036525 Ficus benghalensis L. Bapodi Moraceae Me, Fd, FO GUH-JS 1887826 Ficus palmata Forsk. Pyal Moraceae Me, Fd, FO, MP GUH-JS 2015527 Ficus racemosa L. Rombad Moraceae Me, Fd, FO GUH-JS 2012728 Ficus religiosa L. Badh Moraceae Me, FO GUH-JS 2036629 Ficus virens Ainton Pakh Moraceae Me, Fd, FO GUH-JS 2022830 Garuga pinnata Roxb. Kharpat Burseraceae Me, Fd, FO GUH-JS 2033031 Grewia optiva J. R. Drumtnond ex Burret Tamman Tiliaceae Me, Fd, FW, FO, Fbr, AA, MP GUH-JS 1973532 Haldinia cordifolia (Roxb.) Ridsdale Haldu Rubiaceae Me, FO, FW, AA GUH-JS 1886533 Holarrhena pubescens (Buch.-Ham.)

Wallich ex D. DonKogad Apocynaceae Me, FO, FW, AA GUH-JS 18830

34 Holoptelea integrifolia (Roxb.) Planchon Kanju Ulmaceae Me, Fd, Fp, FO, AA GUH-JS 2021935 Lagerstroemia parvifl ora Roxb., Pl. Corom Dhauri Lyrthaceae Me, FO, FW, AA GUH-JS 2022036 Lannea coromandelica (Houttuyn) Merrill Kembal Anacardiaceae Me, FO, FW, G GUH-JS 1887637 Mallotus philippensis (Lam.) Muell.-Arg. Kamela Euphorbiaceae Me, D, FO, AA GUH-JS 2014838 Melia azedarach L. Baikan Meliaceae Me GUH-JS 1889539 Moringa oleifera Lam. Saroinjina Moringaceae Me, Fd, G, FO GUH-JS 2014040 Oroxylum indicum (L.) Ventenat Tarangal Bignoniaceae Me, FO, FW GUH-JS 2027341 Ougeinia oojeinensis (Roxb.) Hochreutiner Sandan Fabaceae Me, FO, Fp, G, AA GUH-JS 2018242 Phyllanthus emblica L. Ambli Euporbiaceae Me, Fd, FO GUH-JS 2022243 Pithecellobium dulce (Roxb.) Benth. in

Hook.Jangal jalebi Mimosaceae Me, Fd, FO, FW, MP GUH-JS 19755

(To be continued)


used as food are Aegle marmelos, Allium cepa, Allium sativum, Amaranthus viridis, Annona squamosa, Arto-carpus heterophyllus, Averrhoa carambola, Benincasa hispida, Brassica juncea, Cajanus cajan, Carrisa con-gesta, Chenopodium album, Cicer arietinum, Citrus grandis, Cleome gynandra, Colocasia esculenta, Cu-cumis sativus, Curcuma domestica, Mangifera indica, Momordica dioica, Morus alba, Musa balbisiana, Phoenix acaulis, Phyllanthus emblica, Piper longum, Prunus persica, Psidium guajava, Punica granatum, Sesamum orientale, Solanum melongena, Syzygium cumini, Tamarindus indica, Vicia faba and Zea mays. Wild plants used as food include Acacia catechu, Acacia pennata, Adhatoda zeylanica, Alternanthera pungens, Amaranthus spinosus, Ampelocissus latifo-lia, Antidesma ghaesembilla, Argemone mexicana, As-paragus racemosus, Asphodelus tenuifolius, Bamusa arundinacea, Basella rubra, Bauhinia racemosa, Bauhinia vahlii, Bauhinia variegata, Bischofi a javan-ica, Bombax ceiba, Bridelia retusa, Bryophyllum pin-natum, Buchanania lanzan, Butea monosperma, Cap-paris zeylanica, Cardiospermum halicacabum, Cassia fistula, Cassia tora, Catunaregam spinosa, Celas-trus paniculatus, Celosia argentea, Celtis australis, Cleome viscosa, Coccinia grandis, Cocculus hirsutus, Coix lacryma-jobi, Commelina benghalensis, Cordia dichotoma, Costus speciosus, Crotalaria juncea, Den-drocalamus strictus, Dioscorea belophylla, Dioscorea bulbifera, Dioscorea hispida, Diospyros exsculpata, Echinochloa colonum, Echinochloa crus-galli, Ehre-tia laevis, Ficus benghalensis, Ficus palmata, Ficus racemosa, Ficus sarmentosa, Ficus virens, Flacourtia indica, Fumaria indica, Garuga pinnata, Glycosmis arborea, Grewia optiva, Helminthostachys zeylanica, Holarrhena pubescens, Holoptelea integrifolia,

Lathyrus sativa, Leucas cephalotes, Madhuca longi-folia, Malva sylvestris, Melilotus indica, Momordica charantia, Moringa oleifera, Mucuna pruriens, Mur-raya koenigii, Ophioglossum reticulatum, Oxalis cor-niculata, Physalis divaricata, Pithecellobium dulce, Pueraria tuberosa, Rumex hastatus, Schleichera oleosa, Securinega virosa, Semecarpus anacardium, Shorea robusta, Solanum nigrum, Spondias pinnata, Stellaria media, Sterculia villosa, Torenia cordifolia, Trianthema portulacastrum, Trichosanthes cucume-rina, Typha angustata, Vicia sativa, Ziziphus mauri-tiana, Ziziphus nummularia and Ziziphus oenophila.

3.7 Traditional knowledge

Traditional botanical knowledge of indigenous com-munities relating to the uses and management of wild plant resources is extensive (Cotton, 1997). Maintain-ing traditional knowledge in the face of sweeping modern medicine and diminishing folklore is impera-tive (Abbas et al., 1992) since such wisdom in the past has proved to be the key for inventing wonder drugs for diseases once considered incurable. During the survey of the study area it was observed that the Van Gujjars have very good knowledge of various uses of almost all the plants present in the study area. Information about uses of some of the trees present in the vicinity of the study area is shown in Table 6. Recently Gaur et al. (2010) and Sharma (2010) have also surveyed and recorded many ethno-medicinal and ethno-botanical uses of the plant species present in the study area. According to Cotton (1997), rural people not only depend on wild plants as sources of food, medicine, fodder and fuel, but also develop methods

No. Botanical name VN Family Uses Herbarium No.44 Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre Karanju Fabaceae Me, MP GUH-JS 1884745 Schleichera oleosa (Lour.) Oken Kumbha Sapindaceae Me, Fd, FO, FW, AA GUH-JS 2024046 Semecarpus anacardium Ghatelu Anacardiaceae Me, Fd GUH-JS 2026147 Shorea robusta Roxb. ex Gaertner f. Sal Dipterocarpaceae Me, MP, AA GUH-JS 2036948 Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels Phalenda Myrtaceae Me, Fd GUH-JS 2037049 Tectona grandis L. f. Sagon Verbenaceae FW, MP, AA GUH-JS 1887050 Trewia nudifl ora L. Bakhara Euphorbiaceae Me, FO, FW, AA. GUH-JS 1880451 Crataeva adansonii DC. Berna Capparaceae Me, MP GUH-JS 1888652 Diospyros exsculpta Buch.-Ham. Kinnu Ebenaceae Me, Fd, FW, MP GUH-JS 20272.53 Terminalia alata Heyne ex Roth Asin Combretaceae Me, FO, FW, AA GUH-JS 1885654 Terminalia bellirica (Gaertner) Roxb. Bahera Combretaceae Me, FO, AA, MP GUH-JS 2035355 Toona hexandra (Wallich ex Roxb.) M.

RoemerTunu Meliaceae FW, AA GUH-JS 18801

Note: VN = vernacular name, Me = ethno-medicine, Dy = dye, G = gum, Fd = food, FP = fi sh-poison, FO = fodder, FW = fuel wood, Fbr = fi ber, MP = miscellaneous purposes, AA = agricultural articles.

Table 6 (continued)


of resource management, which may be fundamental to the conservation of some of the important habitats of the world.

4 Conclusions

The Van Gujjars of the study area are very much de-pendent on the forests for their livelihood. Although government policies to provide them with facilities for permanent settlement, including agricultural fi elds, have considerably improved their condition, there is still a long way to go. For feeding livestock, fod-der is extracted from the forest as well as fuel wood, NTFP’s and other items for daily use, viz., agricultural implements, household articles, dye, medicine, fiber, inferring dependency on the forests for their liveli-hood. The literacy rate and employment of the Van Gujjars of the study area are very low. Therefore to alleviate their socio-economic conditions, they should be supported with better educational and employment opportunities (Gaur, 2007). It was also observed that these people are the repository of traditional knowl-edge regarding processing and use of large numbers of plants, which could be documented and utilized with proper modifi cations to improve their economy. By doing so, their dependency on the forests can be reduced, together with imposing limits on the loss of biodiversity and overexploitation of natural resources. A review by Turner et al. (2000) also showed that tra-ditional ecological knowledge of indigenous people is of fundamental importance to the management of local resources, in husbandry of global biodiversity and in providing locally valid models for sustainable life. This conservation and sustainable resource use will not be successful without the full participation of indigenous people and the application of their ethno-botanical and ecological knowledge.

Acknowledgement

We are greatly thankful to the villagers of the study area for their cooperation in providing essential infor-mation.

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(Received September 12, 2011 Accepted December 20, 2011)

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