For many tribal communities in Western Ghats, it’s the season for ponamboo and kudampuli, minor forest produce (MFP) that maintain them as soon as the wild honey harvest ends.
But this yr they’re seeing a decline in availability, and the dip isn’t restricted to any single forest produce. “In some parts of the forest, trees are not blooming well and the yield is very low. The last wild honey season was also poor and now we are forced to walk farther into the forest in search of products with commercial value. This is creating difficulties to our community since many of us are forest-dependent,” says Santhosh, a tribal and govt committee member of Vana Samrakshana Samithi (VSS) from Achencoil.
While the forest dwellers are alarmed by the event and its affect on their earnings, consultants say unsustainable extraction practices may be the primary motive. After a quantifying examine of sources indicated a declining development, Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) had launched an augmentation programme with assistance from National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB). A complete of 19,000 seedlings of 10 completely different species had been planted in Vazhachal Forest Division and coaching was impaired to tribals to curb unscientific extraction strategies. While wild nutmeg is harvested for seed aril, quick viability of the seeds is another excuse for poor regeneration. “After collecting kudambuli they take the rind and discard the seed. As a result the seed hardly gets deposited in its natural habitat inside the forest and no germination process takes place. In the case of wild nutmeg varieties, the seed and aril are used as spice,” says Dr. P. A. Jose, Principal Scientist, Sustainable Forest Management Division, Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI).
He provides that species like marotti (Oken) are already a part of the IUCN Red List and if the over exploitation and different unsustainable practices proceed, there shall be penalties. “Without proper conservation measures many other species will also make their way to the list within next twenty years.”
From ‘soapinkaya’ and ‘vayambu’ to ‘thakara veru’ and ‘pachotti tholi’, the tribals acquire a variety of merchandise, together with division-specific ones. Conservation is hardly a priority for a lot of as competitors forces them to reap the crop even earlier than it attains full maturity. According to tribals, regardless of the additional effort and threat concerned within the precarious expeditions, the worth they obtain stays a pittance. Now many individuals have stopped venturing into the forest and the teams with no consultants make the journeys much less productive. According to Forest officers the Department has taken all measures to manage the exploitation of middlemen and procure most produce. “We have opened collection units inside the forests to streamline the procurement and very soon the prices will be revised,” says a senior official.
Source: www.thehindu.com