Contents: Preface. 1. The meaning of indigenous knowledge in the use and management of renewable natural resources/Klaus Seeland and Franz Schmithusen. 2. The socio-cultural and political context of sustainable forestry practices/Franz Schmithusen. 3. What is indigenous knowledge and why does it matter today?/Klaus Seeland. 4. Explorations into the conservation of indigenous knowledge for resource management in India/Sonja B. Brodt. 5. Eco-diversity and indigenous knowledge of forests/Nityananda Patnaik. 6. People’s perception and indigenous knowledge of land resources conservation in Rajasthan/Laj Pal Bharara. 7. Conflicts, resolution and institutions in forest resources management: experiences from the traditional mountain communities of Arunachal Pradesh/Ruchi Pant. 8. Indigenous knowledge in traditional modes of forest and tree management in the Central Himalaya, India/N.P. Melkania. 9. Natural resource management and the role of local knowledge in the Western Himalayas/Sudha Vasan. 10. Man’s relationship with forest—deification of trees and plants/Harish Chandra Das. 11. Forests and tribal economy/Shashi Kant. 12. Forest and tribal sacred complex – a comparison of three tribes of Orissa/Mihir Kumar Jena. 13. Forests, tribes and resources/Sricharan Behera. 14. Symbolic representation of being in the sacred art of the Saora of Orissa/Padmini Pathi. 15. Folk medicines and plants used by tribals of Phulbani and Koraput districts of Orissa and their future/Kamala Kumari Patnaik. 16. Trees of timber and trees for the forest – aspects of indigenous knowledge of wood and stone in Karnataka, India/Jan Brouwer. Index.
"In the management of renewable resources, forests have undeniably a vital role. And today, more than ever before, their conservation is an urgency. In view of this dire necessity, Man in the Forest tries to highlight the high relevance of indigenous knowledge of Indian tribal communities in the sustainable management of forests/local resources – more specially against the growing challenges of economic development vis-à-vis environmental hazards and a declining resource base.
A scientific inquiry into the area of ‘indigenous knowledge’ is basically an effort to discover/rediscover (in the tribals’ traditional modes of production and conservation) appropriate means to cope with the problems of modernity affecting largely the lives of the poor: not only in precarious environments, but amidst fast-depleting local resources as well.
Essentially a selection of papers: based on cross-cultural, interdisciplinary investigations, the book takes a critical look at both the ascribed benefits and limitations of indigenous knowledge in general, and with regard to forest management by local tribal people in particular. Also including, contextually, an overview of the various aspects of forests lifestyles, forest use, and management of natural resources in different climatic and cultural zones on the subcontinent, the authors emphasize the social meaning of forests as a cultural legacy – with case studies from different regions of India, namely, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.
It is the first volume in the newly-launched series ‘Man and Forest’ in South Asia, putting together research findings that represent accounts of experience and empirical evidence in the fields of forest management, social anthropology, ethno-botany, economy, forest policy and cultural history." (jacket)
