Tendu (Diospyros melanoxylon) leaves, bidi cigarettes, and resource management

Abstract

The design and management of tropical forests, as sources of nontimber products, is a major economic issue for tropical nations. The exploitation of leaves of the tendu tree,Diospyros melanoxylon Roxb. (Ebenaceae), in the Madhya Pradesh Province of India, for wrappers of bidi cigarettes, is a good example of such a system. It is shown that a whole culture depends upon the harvests of these leaves as a source of income as the demand for bidis is very high. Yet revenues generated by the industry do not filter back in any appreciable amounts to the tribes harvesting the tendu leaves, nor is there an effort to manage the tendu forests as a continuous resource. Because the forest is a resource for other products beyond tendu leaves, the absence of sound forest conservation and protection programs means the almost certain destruction of the ecosystem. The development of an effective forest management program and the improvement of the economic state of Madhya Pradesh Province must be undertaken if India is to continue to develop itself in terms of replenishable natural resources.