Energy-Food-Water; the fundamental provisioning services from the Himalayan forests: A case study from Dhauladhar mountain range, North-west Himalaya

Abstract

Provisioning services from forests play a very significant role in sustaining livelihood of rural communities in the Himalayan region. Continuous flow of these services depends on the health of forest ecosystem. The present study identifies basic provisioning services flowing from a community managed forest in the Dhauladhar mountain range (North-west Himalaya) and analyses socio-ecological threats on them. Participatory rural appraisal method and structured interviews were used to collect data. Energy (fuel wood), food (fodder and wild edible plants) and water have been identified as three major provisioning services for the upstream rural communities as well as downstream urban population. A total of 98 species are used from the forests for various purposes. Socio-ecological threats identified for the sustenance of services include spread of invasive species, lack of ecological monitoring and ignorance of stakeholders.