Forest-dependent Communities Research Articles

ROLE OF TRIBAL VANA SAMRAKSHANA SAMITHI (VSS) MEMBERS IN BUILDING FOREST PROTECTION AND ECO-TOURISM AT VAZHACHAL ECO-TOURISM AREA IN THRISSUR DISTRICT OF KERALA

Tribal communities are mainly living nearby the forest areas and their life routine and activities are connected with the forest. Majority of the tribals depend upon forest for their livelihood. The tribals know the characteristic of forest and forest teaches the tribals how to live and move in forest. The 1988 National Forest Policy envisaged Joint Forest Management (JFM) also known as Community Forest Management (CFM), which means forest protection with the support of forest dependent communities. The participatory forestry management (PFM) defines the protection of the forest, manage the noon-wood resources with the support of local people and ensure the livelihood income for local people. The one of the aims of the participatory Forest Management (PFM) is the welfare of the tribals and build the livelihood mission among the tribals. Vana Samrakshana Samithi (VSS) is also known as village level body and it is functioning under the Participatory Forest Management (PFM). The people living nearby the forests are joined in Vana Samrakshana Samithi (VSS) and with their support, forest department manages various activities related to forest protection. The Vana Samrakshana Samithi (VSS) has a great role in improving environmental protection and the concept of eco-tourism. They get livelihood income and also social interaction trainings by the activities of VSS. The VSS activities have supported the tribals by ensuring the livelihood income and in social trainings. The involvement of the tribals through the VSS, makes them aware of the environmental protection, eco-tourism concept, and forest protection among the society. The paper attempts to study the role of tribal members of Vana Samrakshana Samithi (VSS), how to engage in environmental protection, forest protection and building the eco-tourism concept in Vazhachal waterfalls eco-tourism area in Thrissur District of Kerala. KEY WORDS: VSS, Eco-Tourism, Forest Protection, Environmental Protection and Tribals

Assessment of climate change pattern in the Pauri Garhwal of the Western Himalayan Region: based on climate parameters and perceptions of forest-dependent communities.

This study assessed the climate change in Pauri district, Uttarakhand, India, a region highly vulnerable to climate change with potentially high loss of livelihoods and lives. The scale of change in the district's climate was analyzed using meteorological station data (1901-2000) and grid data (1985-2015). Perceptions of climate change among forest-dependent communities in three altitude zones (< 1200 m asl (zone A); 1200-1800 m asl (zone B), and > 1800 m asl (zone C)) in the study region were surveyed with respect to 14 climate-specific indicators. Annual mean, maximum, and minimum temperature of seasonal data indicated increasing trends except monsoon. Percentage cloud cover showed an increase, of approximately 3%, while diurnal temperature displayed decreasing trends. Rainfall in the district showed a decreasing trend, with more than 50% of years 1985-2015 receiving less rainfall than the annual average. More than 90% of respondents in zones A and B, and around 65-70% respondents in zone C, reported changes in climate parameters. These findings confirm the long-term observable changes in climate in the region and demonstrate the utility of station data, grid data, and surveys of local communities' perceptions when analyzing climate change. The analysis provided important clues about the nature of climate changes in the district. The results can be used to reduce the gap between bottom-up understanding and top-down policies and to formulate precautionary and ongoing site-specific adaptation practices for communities in different altitude zones in the study region, leading to effective and efficient mitigation of climate change impacts.

State-community relations and deliberative politics within federal forest governance in Nepal

Despite widespread participatory governance reforms in the forest sector in Nepal, how forest administration can be re-organised at multiple levels to enable community based forest management remains unexplored. Forest governance reforms in Nepal have involved numerous forms of collaboration and contestation between the state agencies and community-based forest stakeholders in the rapidly evolving federalist political context. Analysing an empirical case of community forestry in Nepal, this paper shows how state agencies and communities interact in the process of controlling and managing forest resources. It is argued in the paper that instituting deliberative processes in multi-level governance structure is a key to the functioning of a well-devolved forest governance. With the nation already adopting a new federal system of governance, it is crucial to clearly define the authorities of the federal, provincial and local level administrations. We also argue that the need for creating institutions and spaces for deliberative engagement between forest dependent community groups and the public administration is at an all-time high for achieving accountability and more effective forest governance. The future of Nepal's forestry and people living around forest resources depend to a large extent on how powers are shared by different levels of governments, and how these governments interact with one another, and with people and civil societies in their respective domains of governance.

‘Winners’ and ‘losers’ of the agricultural expansion in the Argentine Dry Chaco

ABSTRACT Biodiversity and natural resources constitute a social safety net for forest-dependent communities and represent their main source of livelihood. Agricultural expansion driven by global food demand is not only deeply altering landscapes at the local level but also affect the forms of life and culture of rural life. These changes are increasing inequalities between stakeholders in developing countries and causing the direct displacement of numerous rural families. In this article, we focus on the Argentine Dry Chaco, one of the most threatened forest systems in the world, to analyse evidence about how land-use changes asymmetrically affect social wellbeing across landscapes and generate conflicts between stakeholders regarding the use and access to natural resources. This information needs to be considered for better territorial planning and to propose conflict resolution strategies towards more just and sustainable relationships between people and nature in complex landscapes.

The impact of El Niño phenomenon on dry forest-dependent communities' welfare in the northern coast of Peru

This study analyzes the impact of El Niño phenomenon on dry forest-dependent populations in northern Peru. First, we identified the districts within and outside the dry forest regions in the Peruvian departments of Piura, Tumbes, and Lambayeque. Second, using the Coastal El Niño index (ICEN), we classified, according to severity, the Coastal El Niño in this region in the 2008–2016 period. We used an econometric model called triple difference (DDD) to prove that after a Coastal El Niño, rural communities that depend on dry forests are 5% less likely to be poor than those not located in dry forest areas. This result demonstrates how important these forests are in reducing the vulnerability of these populations to a Coastal El Niño and justifies the importance of promoting the sustainable use of this ecosystem.

Livelihood dependency on NTFP's among forest dependent communities: An overview

About 150 to 200 million indigenous or forest dependent communities of over 70 countries, mostly in tropics interact closely with forest especially through Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) to sustain their livelihood, derive their income also their cultural and spiritual identity. NTFPs along with traditional plant based knowledge are deep-rooted among the vast majority of indigenous communities. Reduction in forest cover and land use change has dramatic effect on production and collection of NTFPs worldwide; contributed to climate change and altering ecosystem service. NTFPs have the potential to bring an economic revolution in the lives of the indigenous communities and hold good prospects for upliftment of the forest fringe communities as forests provide 'natural insurance' to these communities. Therefore, exploration and listing of NTFPs with their ethnobiological values are important for knowing and evaluating human plants relationship, potential for their use in day to day life and for proper management. Nationalization of NTFPs may also ensure the welfare of these communities through better remuneration. There exists a huge potential of utilizing traditional ecological knowledge that indigenous communities possess about NTFP resources, their use and management for achieving sustainable NTFP production.

Social and Biological Correlates of Wild Meat Consumption and Trade by Rural Communities in the Jutaí River Basin, Central Amazonia

Wild animals are an important source of food and income throughout the Amazon basin, particularly for forest-dependent communities living in the more remote regions. Through interviews in 51 households within 16 communities in the Jutaí River Extractive Reserve, Amazonas, Brazil, we determined animal taxa consumed and frequency of wild meat consumption, as well as patterns of wild meat trade. We then investigated the influence of social and biological factors on wild meat consumption and trade. People declared consuming wild meat on an average of 3.2 ± 2.8 days/month/household, amounting to 198.85 kg/month consumed by all sampled households. The vast majority of respondents got wild meat by hunting themselves or it was given to them by their neighbors. The most consumed taxa were paca ( Cuniculus paca) and collared peccary ( Pecari tajacu). Approximately two-thirds of respondents declared selling wild meat; meat destined for urban markets was more expensive and was primarily sold from houses of relatives living in the city. Wild meat consumption was determined by taste preferences, while prices were related to the body mass of the taxa concerned. Frequency of wild meat consumption and the probability of selling wild meat were positively associated with the number of hunters in the household. We highlight the importance of wild meat for remote communities, and, importantly, the prominent links these communities have with urban markets. These findings are useful in developing strategies to ensure the sustainable use of wildlife in the Amazon.

Community living standards and rural household decision making

Abstract Reducing deforestation and environmental degradation in the tropics while alleviating rural poverty requires effectively engaging with small-scale fishing, farming and forest-dependent households. The changing aspirations of rural households, however, have increasingly been attributed as the cause of rural households changing from ecologically sustainable to intensive and destructive livelihoods and natural resource uses. Theories of rural household decision-making, however, have historically used normative assumptions about rural households that have not addressed the interconnections between culturally and locally specific community living standards and livelihood decisions. In this article, a novel framework for assessing household goals and community living standards is presented, along with how these differentiated goals are tied to household livelihood strategies. Through case studies of fishing, farming and forest-dependent communities in a coastal landscape in Indonesia, the orientation of household livelihood strategies towards the achievement of household goals are demonstrated. The consistency and differentiation of household goals within and between communities is also discussed, demonstrating that smaller, insular communities are more likely to have homogeneous living standards than larger, more integrated communities. In addition, the mechanisms that facilitate changes in community living standards and household goals change are also discussed, which include access to consumer markets, social integration and the provision of government infrastructure and services. The results demonstrate that a comprehensive understanding of rural household goals and community living standards is a critical first step for understanding and influencing rural household livelihood strategies. Through addressing the motivations of rural households more systematically in association with their livelihood strategies, more effective, equitable and acceptable interventions for addressing environmental degradation caused by small-scale producers are possible.

ADOPTION OF CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE AND ANALOG FORESTRY IN BUI DIVISION, NORTHWEST REGION, CAMEROON

Analogue forestry involves blending traditional knowledge and science to recover and valorise indigenous knowledge, creating systems that are familiar to traditional societies and meet the needs of contemporary forest-dependent communities. Conservation agriculture is based the principles of minimal soil disturbance, permanent soil cover and crop rotations so as to achieve sustainable and profitable agriculture and improve farmers ‘livelihoods. Every farmer is a researcher, who experiments every season on his or her farm. Farmers who find something that works are likely to repeat it the next season, and to tell their friends about it. This study set out to examined the extent of the adoption of conservation agriculture (CA) and analog forestry (AF) in Bui, the sociocultural and economic benefits of these agricultural methodologies to the population. Feld observations, interviews and the administration of questionnaires was the methodology used. The data were analysed descriptively and by simple statistical techniques using SPSS. The findings posits that CA and AF have been greatly adopted thanks to the farmers, government and NGOs/CIGS in Bui Division. The adoption of these strategies have contributed at improving the socio-cultural, economic and environmental conditions of the people. Finally, the study concludes that there has been 81% adoption of CA and 61% adoption of AF which has significantly benefited the population through increase in source of income, environmental protection and drop in cost of production.

Socioeconomic Factors of Forest Dependency in Developing Countries: Lessons Learned from the Bandarban Hill District of Bangladesh

Forests provide direct and indirect economic benefits to forest-dependent communities in the world, especially in the developing countries contributing to the national economy. The present study aims with the socioeconomic status and factors favoring forest conservation and influencing people’s dependency on forest resources in the Bandarban hill district of Bangladesh. The study was based on Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and socioeconomic survey through a semi-structured questionnaire. The study revealed that peoples’ income from the forest and forest-related occupations were positively related to their forest dependency. However, respondent’s education level significantly reduced their dependency on forest resources. Thus, educating the forest-dependent people and supporting alternative livelihoods may be an option for effective forest management and conservation. This study represents an important pioneer step in taking a holistic view of the peoples’ dependency on forest resources which might be helpful for policymakers in the future to ensure sustainable forest management and conservation in developing countries like Bangladesh.

Rural coping and adaptation strategies for climate change by Himalayan communities in Nepal

Climate change has major impacts on the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities. The unpredictable weather conditions in rural Nepal have been attributed to a changing climate. This study explored the climate change adaptation and coping strategies that rural communities adopt for the conservation of natural resources and livelihoods in the mid-hills of Nepal. This paper explored major climatic hazards, assessed different coping and adaptation measures, and barrier faced to climate change adaptation based on perceptions by forest-dependent communities. We conducted focus group discussions, questionnaire surveys, and semi-structured interviews with local communities and stakeholders. The results showed that rural communities had experienced significant impacts of climate change and variability. In response, they are practicing diverse coping and adaptation strategies, including the construction of bioengineering structures and planting different species that grow quickly and establish promptly.

How Can Jurisdictional Approaches to Sustainability Protect and Enhance the Rights and Livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities?

Tropical forests are posited to hold up to one-third of the solution to slow climate change. It is estimated that over two-hundred million “forest peoples”- including indigenous peoples and local communities- live within and depend upon the tropical forests in the Amazon, Southeast Asia, Mesoamerica and the Congo Basin. To successfully mitigate climate change, we must find new forms of collaboration that meet the goals of forest-dependent communities for secure land rights, equitable participation in decision-making, and dignified livelihoods in conjunction with meeting commitments to reduce GHG emissions. In 2018, 34 subnational governments and 18 indigenous and local community organizations announced their endorsement of the “Guiding Principles for Collaboration between Subnational Governments, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities”. The Guiding Principles of Collaboration (GPC) are a set of 13 universal tenets, which lay out a blueprint for collaboration between subnational state actors, indigenous peoples and local communities to recognize rights, support livelihoods, strengthen participation of forest-dependent communities in decision-making, and protect indigenous and community environmental defenders within the context of joint action for climate change mitigation. Their implementation would advance the integration of climate justice in subnational efforts for forest conservation. Taking the GPC as a departure point, we explore how approaches to jurisdictional sustainability can protect and enhance the rights and livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples (IP) and Local Communities (LC). We develop and apply a suite of indicators to assess existing conditions across 11 tropical forest jurisdictions towards meeting the commitments described in the GPC. Our findings suggest that while Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities rights are recognized within national legal frameworks, implementation and security of those rights is uneven across subnational jurisdictions. Participation of IP and LC is not yet formalized as part of jurisdictional climate change mitigation initiatives in most cases, limiting their potential inform policy outcomes and benefit-sharing mechanisms. Monitoring the implementation of the GPC may foster greater accountability for commitments, as well as collective action and learning to support regional transformations to sustainability.

Potential of NTFPs in Income and Employment Generation for Tribals of Polo Forest, Sabarkantha, Gujarat

The present survey is the most elaborate comprised study on Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) collection along with its economic contribution to the tribal economy of Polo forests. In the study, a total of 31 villages of Polo forests have been sampled to calculate a total collection of NTFPs. During the study, 10% households of the total households from each village were interviewed with the help of a predesigned questionnaire. The primary level survey revealed that NTFPs played a remarkable role in the tribals economy of Polo forests from the contribution of a total of 57 NTFPs which are being collected from 8 different parts of 48 plant species products and 2 animal products. These NTFPs have generated an income oft 12.74 million/annum of which maximum part comes from nonrecorded trades. The current estimation of income generation revealed that maximum economic contribution was found to be in Mahuwa (29%) followed by Timru (25%), Puvad (7%) and Salai Guggal (6%). The study also revealed that in Polo forests, Kathodi community is the most forestdependent community that collects almost all types of NTFPs available during the year. The current study concluded the role of NTFPs in the tribal economy and various factors affecting the collection and trade.

DIAMETER STRUCTURE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH FRUIT AND SEED PRODUCTION IN A NATIVE BRAZIL NUT GROVE IN MATO GROSSO

The study aimed to evaluate the annual variation in fruits and seed productivity of Brazil nut trees and to determine the association between diameter structure and fruit/seed productivity in a semi-deciduous seasonal forest undergoing logging in Mato Grosso, Brazil. Data were collected in two permanent plots (300 m x 300 m) spaced 3.5 km apart. All trees ( n = 279) with diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 10 cm were tagged and productivity was monitored from October to February during each of the five harvest seasons between 2012 and 2017. Associations between seed dry weight (SDW) per tree and DBH, crown position, crown shape and fruit number were established using stepwise regression analysis. The model based on DBH was a good predictor of seed production and revealed that SDW tree -1 increased by 1.3 kg on average for every 10 cm increase in DBH. Trees reached the reproductive phase with DBH < 50 cm. Characteristics and mean SDW values of the diameter classes were: 10 cm ≤ DBH < 30 cm - dominated/suppressed trees/malformed crowns (0.12 kg tree -1 year -1 ); 30 cm ≤ DBH < 70 cm - dominant/co-dominant/good crown shape (1.23 kg tree -1 year -1 ); DBH ≥ 70 cm - dominant/co-dominant/well-formed crowns (4.8 kg tree -1 year -1 ). DBH explained 34% of the variation in the mean SDW. Our results are important for the sustainable management of the study stands, allowing the assessment of current and future yields of Brazil nuts for the purpose of improving the economy of forest-dependent communities and associated enterprises.

Understanding Changes for Forest-Dependent Communities in Upland Laos

Forest-dependent communities globally are experiencing rapid environmental and social changes that require attention beyond policy to also consider governance. This case study from Laos examines a national program that links forest management and poverty alleviation in upland areas. I conducted fieldwork across 45 ethnic minority communities in Savannakhet Province. I detail three main findings: first, expanding natural resource extraction will likely entail the greatest impacts to forest-lands, but government discourses blame forest-based livelihoods as causing deforestation and poverty; second, that while data from community surveys and formal interviews indicate success in poverty alleviation in communities, informally collected data indicate this was driven by illegal logging from National Protected Areas; third, community perspectives increasingly criticize government-supported activities when there are severe negative impacts, especially in the case of rubber plantations. I conclude that critical attention to forest-lands change, governance, livelihoods, and community perspectives is important to understand the complexity of environmental and social changes for forest-dependent communities.

A Multiscalar and Justice-Led Analysis of REDD+: A Case Study of the Norwegian–Ethiopian Partnership

This article presents a critical assessment and examination of the underlying justice norms present in the Norwegian–Ethiopian Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) partnership across international, national, and local scales. Based on a multiscalar justice framework and a critical discourse analysis, we explore the extent to which conceptions of justice align or diverge across and between scales of REDD+ discourse. The findings indicate the dominance of a “utilitarian–neoliberal” nexus at the policy level, underpinning a cost-effective orientation of REDD+, that conflicts with the egalitarian ethics present at the community level in Ethiopia. The research suggests that conflicts in REDD+ design, implementation, and management are likely to be underpinned by, and reflect, fundamental divergences in actors’ norms and ethics. Accordingly, we raise concerns over the extent to which the needs and interests of the forest-dependent communities are to be actively considered and valued by REDD+ policy makers.

What does autonomy mean for forest communities? The politics of transnational community forestry networks in Mesoamerica and the Congo Basin

Since the 1990s, forest-dependent communities in tropical regions have created national and transnational grassroots networks. While in Latin America, their main goal is to promote community forestry and claim territorial rights, forest-dependent communities in the Congo Basin are more focused on improving participatory inclusion in forest policies. These diverging trends are rooted in the historical social movements’ struggles in Latin America and in the international actors’ push for more inclusion of local communities by governments in Central Africa. Given that the emergence of transnational community forestry networks is linked to different claims of autonomy based on regional context, how do the politics of autonomy driven by transnational grassroots networks influence community forest governance? This paper aims to examine how the different types of autonomy claimed by transnational grassroots networks, – vis-à-vis state bureaucracies, international partners and community organisations, – affect the multi-scale governance of community forestry in tropical regions. Our analysis draws on a political sociology and comparative politics approaches, through the case studies of the Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests (AMPB) and the Network of Indigenous and Local Communities for the Sustainable Management of Forest Ecosystems in Central Africa (REPALEAC).

Participation as an Effective Means of Enhancing Farmers’ Sense of Ownership Towards Forest Management: The Case of Jello Forest, West Hararghe Zone, Oromia Regional State

Alienating forest dependent communities from forest by depriving them of the right to use forest resource is what widely accepted over recent years as a major factor in conditioning local communities to develop feelings of hostility towards the forest; and push them to destroy the forest resource irresponsibly. This consideration was lied the foundation for new development in forest management known as participatory forest management (PFM).This form of forest management through local participation is a phenomenon that emerged over recent decades as a remedial measure to the old (top down) form of forest management. One of the core concepts in this Participatory forest management (PFM) is improving local community’s sense of ownership toward the forest by empowering them as both developer and beneficiaries of forest resources. Taking local participation as fundamental principle of PFM approach, this research was under taken on Jello forest with the objective of studying local communities’ participation, attitude towards the new approach (PFM) and improvements in their sense of ownership toward the forest. A total of 172 sampled respondents were randomly selected from both non-PFM and PFM member households. Data were collected from sampled households using Household survey questionnaire, key informant interview and focus group discussion. Qualitative data were analyzed using content and discourse analyses; whereas quantitative data were analyzed by descriptive statistics using R-statistical software. Accordingly the result of household survey, focus group discussion and key informant interview were revealed that local communities participation in forest management have improved under the newly introduced forest management system (PFM). The study further revealed that local communities have positive attitude towards PFM and also their sense of ownership toward the forest has significantly improved. About 70% of non- PFM and 85% of PFM members were strongly agreed that the establishment of PFM has improved communities’ participation in forest management. Based on the findings of this study it could be concluded that PFM is effective in improving local community’s participation and sense of ownership towards the forest. Key w ords: Participatory Forest management, Sense of Ownership, participation, Sustainable development, Jello Forest. DOI : 10.7176/JAAS/59-01 Publication date: December 31 st 2019

Effects of a changing climate on livelihoods of forest dependent communities

PurposeClimate change and variability present different challenges to the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities. This paper aims to determine climate variability/change and its effects on the livelihoods of the Buyangu community, which depends on Kakamega tropical rain forest in Kenya.Design/methodology/approachRainfall and temperature trends were analysed using Mann–Kendall tests and Sen’s slope estimator. The effects of climate variability on the community were determined using household survey questionnaires, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with key stakeholders.FindingsTemperature trend analyses represent statistically significant trends for the period of 1980-2015. Results reveal a warming trend for both mean annual maximum temperatures and mean annual minimum temperatures by 0.04°C/year and 0.02°C/year, respectively. Moreover, analysis of annual precipitation (1923-2015) indicated an increase of 0.068 mm/year; however, the mean monthly rainfall showed a decreasing trend. As a result, crop production and livestock rearing are negatively affected. Although there is a high level of awareness of climate variability and its related effects on livelihoods, a majority of the Buyangu community still do not understand the influence of climate change on forests and the provision of forest products. Lack of knowledge on this subject will consequently limit adaptation responses.Originality/valueThis research fulfills the need to study climate variability and its effects on the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities. The study calls for all-round stakeholder participation of local and national players in formulating coherent adaptation strategies that will enhance the resilience of forest-dependent communities to a changing climate.

Indicator based integrated vulnerability assessment of community forests in Indian west Himalaya

The Himalaya is often referred to as forested landscape, which provides a range of ecosystem services vital for sustaining life of billions of people. The region is recognized amongst the 35 global biodiversity hotspots for its unique and rich biodiversity. Also, the region is highly vulnerable to perturbations due to anthropogenic disturbances and climate change. Especially the forests in the region are subject to stress from such perturbations. The higher dependency of communities on forests and changing climate has impacts on structure and function of forest ecosystems. This has severe implications for forest dependent communities. Therefore, vulnerability assessment of forests is urgently needed to understand the likely consequences of these changes and responses. Such information would help in developing better management and conservation planning. Earlier studies on vulnerability assessment of forests and forest-dependent people have failed to acknowledge the importance of spatial and temporal aspects of vulnerability investigated through field based observations. Realizing this, present study focuses on forest vulnerability assessment through field based observations along an altitudinal gradient (700–3400 m) in the Indian west Himalaya. This study, for the first time, provides vulnerability assessment of community forests at local scale following integrated approach of multiple indicators across diverse domains. The vulnerability indicators have been identified through a systematic analysis and extensive review of the available literature. A total of 14 indicators in six domains (viz. forest, climate, anthropogenic, topographic, soil and management practices) were identified to assess inherent vulnerability of Community Forests (Van Panchayats) in the target region. Furthermore, Forest Vulnerability Index (FVI) was calculated by integrating the selected indicators across domains. The results revealed high vulnerability at low altitude (<1200 m) forests. Disturbance index, expansion of invasive species and people dependency has emerged as the major factors responsible for forest vulnerability in the region. The value of FVI declined significantly (R2 = 0.51, p < 0.001) with increasing altitude range. The study also analysed perceptions of inhabitant community regarding dependency on forest resources, management practices and status of community forest in the studied area. The outcomes of this study would help in developing management interventions and strategies to ensure sustainable management of forest resources in the targeted landscape in particular and Indian Himalaya in general.