Forest Dependent Communities and Forest Degradation in Thiruvananthapuram, South-India

Abstract

The concept of forest resource extraction versus forest conservation has been a relevant topic of discussion at present. Anthropogenic activities have direct and indirect impacts on forest ecosystem. These impacts varies with the extend of human interaction with the forest as well as the culture of those people rely on forests. The term “forest-dependent people” refer to those who utilise direct benefits of forests. It includes the indigenous communities living legally within the forests and those people inhabiting along the forest fringes prohibited by governments to enter the forest permises. The study compares role of these two groups in the spatio-temporal changes of forest cover in Thiruvananthapuram district. The Tribal Population Size (TPS) is one among the major factor influencing the nature of forest cover in a region and TPS above carrying capacity of any forest region could lead to forest degradation. Also, the Forest Dependency Ratio (FDR) of non-tribal rural population is a crucial factor leading to forest-cover Changes (RFC). The study analyses and compare the relationship between TPS and RFC as well as FDR and RFC. The results would help in differentiating the extend of impact of these two groups on forest ecosystem. This would encourage the future researches in the same field to focus on the major degradational activities carried out by forest dependent people and to formulate possible solutions. The forest conservation and socioeconomic progress of communities within forest ecosystem are essential since the success of forest conservation depends on the culture of local population and their involvement in forest sustentation.