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eco.montJournal on Protected Mountain Areas Research and Management
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Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Austrian Academy of Sciences Press
A-1011 Wien, Dr. Ignaz Seipel-Platz 2
Tel. +43-1-515 81/DW 3420, Fax +43-1-515 81/DW 3400 https://verlag.oeaw.ac.at, e-mail: verlag@oeaw.ac.at |
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DATUM, UNTERSCHRIFT / DATE, SIGNATURE
BANK AUSTRIA CREDITANSTALT, WIEN (IBAN AT04 1100 0006 2280 0100, BIC BKAUATWW), DEUTSCHE BANK MÜNCHEN (IBAN DE16 7007 0024 0238 8270 00, BIC DEUTDEDBMUC)
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Eco.mont Vol. 1 Nr. 2, pp. 25-32, 2009/11/26
Journal on Protected Mountain Areas Research and Management
Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve in Uttarakhand, Himalaya, carries a large human population that traditionally depends on protected area forests, not only to fulfil basic resource needs but also for their livelihood. Due to restricted access to forests, resource utilization patterns have changed and communities have lost their traditional livelihood. This paper aims at investigating resource utilization patterns and rural livelihoods under changed socio-economic conditions and changed availability of and access to resources. Necessary data was generated through remote sensing techniques, ground validation and mapping, observations, monitoring, and socio-economic surveys. The study revealed a decline in forests and an increase in cultivated land due to changes in resource use patterns and resultant land-use intensifications. Availability per capita of forests and pastures declined by 0.72 % and 0.27 % respectively, wool production fell by 47 %; 13 % of the people lost their livelihood from forestry and 39 % in the woollen handicraft production sector. Now, subsistence agriculture constitutes the main source of livelihood, as indicated by a 16 % increase in dependency on agriculture, despite a drastic decline in the cultivated land available per capita. Agricultural productivity is fairly low and the region faces an average annual food deficit of 93 %, leading to further intensification in agriculture and community unsustainability in the region.