Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

Conserving Biodiversity as If People Matter: A Case Study from India

Author(s): Madhav Gadgil
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Ambio, Vol. 21, No. 3, Economics of Biodiversity Loss (May, 1992), pp. 266-270
Published by: Springer on behalf of Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
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Article

MadhavGadgil

as if Peopl
ConservingBiodiversity
from
Study
India
Matter: A Case
centerof Malabar(Fig. 1). It is a regionof
gentleundulatinghills, risingrathersteeply
from a narrowcoastal strip borderingthe
ArabianSeato a plateauat analtitudeof 500
m with occasionalhills risingabove 600 to
860 m. The annual precipitationlargely
confinedto the monsoonmonthsof Juneto
Septemberrangesbetween3500 mmon the
coast,risingto 5000 mmon thecrestlineand
decliningto 1000mmontheeasternplateau.
An interpretationof the Landsatimagery
suggeststhataround6900 km2of thedistrict
is underforest cover, around2000 km2is
underpaddyandmilletcultivation,130km2
undercoconut and betelnutorchards,200
km2underrocky outcropsand the balance
under habitationand reservoirs(5). This
tractof 6900 km2of forestlandis thelargest
single contiguoustract of humid tropical
forestin PeninsularIndia.Today,it harbors
1741 species of floweringplants and 403
species of birds.Notablewildlife includes
INTRODUCTION
the tiger, elephant,gaur or Indianbison,
Withextensivetractsof humidtropicalforests the ongoingprocessesmay be summarized liontailedmacaque,Wynaadlaughingthrush,
and great heterogeneityof environmental as follows:
Travancore
tortoise,severalspeciesof legless
regimes, India is one of the top twelve a. Intensification of resource fluxes in amphibiansanddipterocarptrees (6).
megadiversitycountriesof theworld.Given
favor of industry-organized
services-inthelargebiomassneedsof its tribalandrural
tensive agriculturalcomplex involving
Colonial Period
populations and the exploding resource
large-scalestatesubsidies.
demandsof its growing urban-industrialUttara Kannada has been well known
intensive agriculturecomplex, conserving b. Increasingbiomassdemandsof a grow- historicallyforits forestsandwildlife.Inthe
ing
rural
population
to
forced
meet
its
this heritageof biodiversityis a formidable
17thcenturyboththe BritishandDutchhad
requirementsfrom open-access public
challenge.Indiahas richtraditionsof nature
establishedtradestationson its coast.These
lands.
conservation;followingindependenceit has
dealt extensively in wild pepper and
also developedan extensivenetworkof naTogether these two kinds of pressures cardamom,sandalandteakwood andpoon
turereserves.
promotenonsustainable,inefficientuse of (Calophyllum elatum) for ship masts.
The ProjectTigerwith 17 reservesspan- natural-resources,
resulting in decimation Accountsof Europeanswho workedatthese
ning the countryhas savedthis magnificent of biodiversity.This is coupledto
stationsmentionthe rich wildlife with an
animalfrom the brinkof extinction.There
abundance
of tiger,panther,elephant,bison
are however signs that all is not well with c. Attemptsat conservationof biodiversity and several species of deer. The district
in
a
of
network
officially
constituted
nathe country'sprogramsof conservation.Inturereserves,relyingon policingby the cameinto Britishhandsin 1799.Buchanan,
dia's culturaltraditionshave preservedan
state apparatus,while the traditional a naturalistin the employof the EastIndia
enormousnetwork of trees of the genus
practicesof conservationaregiven short Companytravelledextensivelythroughthe
Ficus, an importantkeystone resourcedistrict in 1800-1802. His very detailed
shrift.
throughoutthe countryside.These treesare
accountsconfirmthatapartfromthesouthern
now being increasingly felled to bake
How do these processes affect biodi- parts of the coastal tract,the districtwas
bricksandto makecrates.At the sametime, versity? What specific elements are re- thickly forestedand aboundedin wildlife.
key reservesin thenetworkof ProjectTiger sponsiblefor negativeimpacts?How might He also mentions,the culturaltraditionsof
suchas KanhaandManasarethreatenedby these problemnsbe overcome and what local people that focused on naturecondiscontentedlocal tribalpeople.The impor- would come in the way of overcoming servationsuch as sacredgroves. However,
tantquestionsthatmustnow be tackled,re- these problems?
he interpretsthe almost-total protection
late not only to identifyingthe deficiencies
offeredto thesegrovesas a "contrivance"
to
in the coverageof the nationalnetworkof
preventBritishrulersfromlayinga claimto
naturereserves, but to how decisions are UTTARAKANNADA
whatwas now its rightfulproperty(7).
made on whatelementsof biodiversityare The two richesthumidtropicalforesttracts
The historyof the Britishperiodcan be
to be conservedand how this is to be ac- of Indiafall in the biogeographicprovinces summarizedas a series of attemptsby the
complished(1, 2).
of EastemHimalayasandMalabar,thelatter colonialpowerto appropriate
therichforest
It is importantto look critically at the comprisingthe west coastandthe hill range resourcesof the districtas cheaplyas possiprocessesaffectingoverallpatternsof natu- of WestemGhats(3, 4). Thedistrictof Uttara ble. To this end, the community-based
sysral-resourceutilizationandnotjust at those Kannada(13052'to 15030'N and74?05'to temsof restraineduse andconservationhad
impingingon naturereserves.Verybroadly 750 5'E) withanareaof 10200 km2lies atthe to be scuttled. This was accomplished
Indiahas richtraditionsof natureconservation as well as a vigorous officialprogram
of protection of nature reserves developed over the last 40 years. However, the
officialprogramsuffersfromtotalrelianceon authoritarianmanagement arrangements
inwhich decisions are made centrallyand coercion is used to implementthem. Atthe
same time, the state apparatus organises subsidized resource flows to the urbanindustrial-intensiveagriculturalcomplex which promote inefficient,non-sustainable
resource-use patterns that are inimical to conservation of biodiversity. These
processes are illustratedwithinthe concrete setting of the districtof UttaraKannada
in southern India. Itis suggested that the interests of conservation would be served
farbetterby an approachthatwithdrawsthe subsidies to the elite so that a much more
efficient, sustainable and equitable pattern of resource use, compatible with conservation of biodiversity,can be instituted.Inconjunctionwiththis, the largersociety
should involve local people in working out detailed plans for conservation of
biodiversity and offer them adequate authority as well as appropriate financial
incentives to implement these plans. The paper goes on to illustratehow such an
approach may be implemented in the case of UttaraKannada.

266

AMBIO VOL. 21 NO. 3, MAY 1992

throughrefusalto recognizethe legitimacy

of all customaryandcommunityownership
rights. The British recognized only two
forms of ownership,state ownershipof all
non-cultivatedlandsandprivateownership
of all cultivatedlands. The bulk of stateowned lands were convertedinto reserveforestlands.A fraction,about25%was set
aside as minoror leaf-manureforest lands
for meetingthe subsistencebiomassneeds
of local people.These are substantialsince
agriculturein this hilly district with its
laterized nutrientdeficient soils depends
heavily on organicmanureinputs.But the
forest lands came to be
minor/leaf-manure
treatedas open-accessresourcesand have
consequently been subject to escalating
degradationas envisagedin the tragedyof
the commonsscenario.The reserveforests
were dedicatedto supplycheap raw material, primarily,teak to serve colonial interests of shipbuilding,railways and other
constructions.As a result,they were almost
totallydepletedof naturalteakbetweenthe
years 1800-1850; followed by depletionof
other hardwoods, especially Terminalia
andLagerstroemiaspecies, andconversion
to single species plantationsof teak. The
evergreentree species were of little commercialvalueuntilthe 1940s,andup to that
time forest working focussed on their replacementby the more valuedtimberspecies. Although a succession of management plans initiated in early 1900s professed sustainableharvestsas theiraim, in
fact there was only furtherdepletion.All
managementplans were set aside during
the two world wars, permittingtotally unregulatedharvestingfrom reserve forests
(8-10).
Since Independence
The British forest-management
regime in
UttaraKannadawas dedicatedto exportof
teakandothertimberas cheaplyas possible.
WorldWar II broughtabout an important
change,however,when the Britishdecided
to encourageplywoodmanufacture
in India.
With its rich evergreenforests providing
abundantraw material,one of India's first
plywood factorieswas set up in the Uttara
Kannadadistrict.This was followed by a
paperfactoryanda polyfiberindustry,both
of which were established soon after
independence.
Thepolicyof dedicatingstate-ownedforest landsto furnisha cheapsupplyof industrial raw materialswas carriedto further
extremes after independence. Thus, in
1958, bamboo, earlier prescribed to be
eradicatedas it constituteda weed in teak
plantations,in spite of its manifold rural
uses, was sold to the paper industry.The
price was as low as Rs. 1.50 (USD 0.30 at
the then prevalent exchange rates) per
tonne, i.e. over a thousandtimes less than
the marketvalue. Giant wild mango trees
that regularlyyielded much valued fruit
worthmorethanRs. 100peryear,werealso
made over to plywoodindustryfor as little
as Rs. 150 for a whole tree. The resulthas
been rapiddecimationof a whole rangeof
species in the morehumidtracts,especially
on the steeper western hill slopes. Other
AMBIO VOL. 21 NO. 3, MAY 1992

natural-resourceshave also been made

availableat highly subsidizedrates to the
urban, industrial, intensive agriculture
complex. For example, there have been a
series of state sponsored hydroelectric
projectswithin the district.The electricity
so generatedhas been suppliedto industrial
consumersandurbanhouseholdsas well as
usedin waterliftingfor irrigatedagriculture
at greatly subsidized rates. At the same
time the cultivatorswhose landswere submerged under the reservoirs have been
poorlycompensatedandoftenforcedto encroach on forest land to eke out a living.
This whole system of subsidizedresource
use has ensuredthatneitherresourcemanagersnorresourceusersareconcernedwith
resource-useefficiency.
While the commercial pressures have
mounted,so have the subsistencedemands
of the ruralpopulationthathas grownrapidly as a resultof the eradicationof malaria
afterWorldWar II. These subsistencedemands continue to be met from open-access public lands, with furthererosion of
traditionalpracticesof disciplinedharvests
from commonlands.Consequently,highly
inefficientandwastefulpatternsof naturalresourceuse haveprevailed(1 1).
Traditionsof Conservation
In commonwith the rest of the Indiansohaveinherited
ciety,peopleof UttaraKannada
a rich variety of traditions of nature
conservation(12, 13). Theseinclude:
- Protectionof individualplantsand animals consideredto be sacred,e.g., trees
of the genus Ficus or monkeyssuch as
the hanuman langur and bonnet
macaque.
- Protectionof specificlife historystages,
suchas birdsbreedingat heronaries.
- Protectionof entirebiological communities in the sacred groves and sacred
ponds.
- Protectionof animalsfromoverhunting
throughdevices, such as a ban on hunting of fruitbats at the roostingsites but
not outsidethe sites.
The British colonialists and, following
independence,Indian resource managers
have both consistentlyattackedthese traditions in many ways. For example,the plywood industryhas harvestedFicus nervosa
as a preferredspecies and many sacred
groveshave been clearcutto supplytimber.
Fisheries managershave poisoned sacred
ponds removing indigenous fish and restockedthem with exotic carpsfor sale to
outsideagencies.
State Initiated ConservationEfforts
The main focus of regulationof hunting
duringtheBritishperiodwasonthetraditional
subsistence/ritual
huntingby local people,
whichaimedto ensuresupplyof gameto the
Europeanhunters.These huntersbegan to
huntmanyspecies,suchaselephant,thathad
previouslybeen immunefrom huntingby
local people.They also vigorouslypursued
extermination
of speciesperceivedasvermin
such as the Indianwild dog. Indeed,there

BOMBAY

16'
GOA

UTTARA KANNADA

ARABIAN
SEA

MADRAS

12'

N
76?

80?E

Figure 1. A map of peninsular India indicating

the location of the hill range of Western
Ghats. The district of Uttara Kannada
stretches from the coast, across the hills to
the peninsular Indian plateau.

wasarapiddeclineinwild-animal
populations
duringthe Britishregime.The pace of this
declineincreasedfurtherafterindependence
with the introduction of the jeep and
widespreadavailabilityof firearms(14).
This ever acceleratingdepletionof wildlife led to the beginning of conservation
measuresin the 1950s with the establishmentof an IndianBoardfor Wildlifeandof
WildlifeWingsin ForestDepartments.
The
maintool of conservationthatwas adopted
was a banon huntingof endangeredspecies
everywheretogetherwith the establishment
of WildlifeSanctuariesandNationalParks.
A majorWildlifeSanctuary,DandeliW.
L. S., of over 5730 km2, was establishedin
1953 in the northem parts of Uttara
Kannada. However, little protection to
naturalvegetation and wildlife was provided since a large papermill was established in the very heartof this sanctuaryin
1958 anda seriesof damsof the giantKali
hydelprojectcoveredtherestof the sanctuary in the 1970s (15). The ban on hunting
has not been very effectively implemented
since it is operatedin a centralized,rigid
fashionwithoutallowancefor local conditions.Forexample,farmersclaimthatthere
are now too manywild pigs in the district
withthenewly arrivingweeds,Lantanaand
Eupatoriumprovidingexcellentshelter,and
depletionof pantherand tigerpopulations,
cutting down predation.These pigs cause
severecrop damageandfarmershuntthem
relentlessly.Nevertheless,huntingwild pig
remainsan offence in law. So does the annual ritual huntingby local communities
such as the HalakkiVakkals who engagein
sucha huntas a religiousobservance.At the
same time official managerscontinue to
267

The coastal landscape of Uttara Kannada. There is little left of

natural vegetation. However the coastal stretch is covered by
coconut plantations mixed with a tremendous diversity of cultivars
of mango (Mangifera indica) and jackfruit (Artocarpus integrifolia)
along with a number of fruit yielding tree species belonging to
genera Myristica, Spondias and Garcinia. All of these also occur in
the wild. Photo: M.D. Subash Chandran.

The mosaic of disturbed natural forest and anthropogenic

grasslands near the crestline of Western Ghats in Uttara Kannada
district. Such vegetation supports the greatest diversity of bird
species within this district. Photo: R.J. Ranjit Daniels.

An irrigation pond in the

eastern part of Uttara
Kannada district. These
support a wide

:=

L!

.-*~~~~

~.

~
~ ~
3

~ponds

~~

~diversity of resident and

migratory waterfowl.
Photo: R.J. Ranjit

Daniels.

violatetraditionsof conservationof the local people.

Nevertheless,the effectiveness of traditional conservationcan be clearly seen in

the landscapeof UttaraKannada,where a
large numberof monkeysstill surviveand
Social Conflicts
thousandsof Ficus trees dot the countryThiswhole systemof resourcemanagement side due to theirreligioussignificance.The
initiatedunderthe Britishrule and further only remainingnaturalstand of the genus
elaboratedafter independenceis based on Dipterocarpuspersistsin a sacredgrove,as
alienatinglocal people from controlof and does the last large patch of a Myristica
access to resources.Its primaryobjective swamp.
hasbeento makenaturalresourcesavailable
as cheaplyas possibleto the elite, be it the
British ruling classes or the industry- RE-ORIENTINGCONSERVATION
organized services-intensive agriculture Evidently,thereis a case for workingout a
complexof theIndiansociety.Theelite that newapproachtoconservationof biodiversity
benefits from resource mobilization is inUttaraKannada.
Itis clearthatconservation
shieldedfromtheill-effectsof thedegradation cannotbe consideredin isolationfromlocal
of the resourcebase, since it can shift to the people, and broaderpatterns of naturaluse of other resourcesor resourcesfrom resourceuse anddevelopment,but mustbe
otherregionsas the occasiondemands.
complemented by policies promoting
The patternof natural-resource
use pro- sustainableand equitabledevelopmentof
moted by centralizedauthorityhas been the natural-resource
base as a whole. To be
non-sustainable
whenviewedfromlocal ar- effective, any approachmust give a larger
eas such as the UttaraKannadadistrict.It role to the local people. This would entail
has also led to severeconflictswith the lo- restoringto themmuchof the authoritythey
cal populationsattemptingto maintaintheir have lost over the past two centuriesalong
customaryrights over and access to re- with appropriate
financialincentives.Local
sources(5, 11). In the process,the local tra- people mustbe involvedbecausetheirwell
ditionsof resourceconservationhave been beingis stillintimatelylinkedto thehealthof
increasinglydisruptedor havebrokendown the natural-resourcebase of their own
altogether.
localities,hencetheyhave a realstakein its
268

sustainableuse. Thus, in UttaraKannada

peopledependon naturalvegetationto meet
almostall theneedsof domesticcookingand
water heating, 90% of fodder needs for
livestock, and 80-90% of nutrient-supply
needsfor cultivatedlands.Localpeople are
also dependenton naturalvegetation for
making ropes, baskets, agriculturaland
fishing implementsand for thatchingtheir
huts and cattle sheds (5). They still collect
many wild fruits,huntbirds and wild pigs
and fish the rivers to providea significant
fractionof their nutrition(16). For them,
degradation
of natural-resources
is a genuine
hardship,and of all the people and groups
who composethe Indiansocietytheyarethe
mostlikelyto be motivatedto takegoodcare
of the landscapeand ecosystemson which
they depend.The manytraditionsof nature
conservationthat are still practicedcould
form a basis for a viable strategy of
biodiversityconservation(2).
Involving local people in conservation,
however,does not implyas some Gandhian
environmentalistshave stated that India
mustabandonall effortsat industrialization
andreturnall authorityto villagecommunities in an effort to recreatean agricultural
society in balancewith nature(17). Such a
scenariois simplynot feasiblefor a variety
of reasons, including the pressuresof the
international
economicandpoliticalsystem.
The practicaloptionis to continuethe processes of industrialization
andintensification
of agriculture,butwith an emphasison efficient, sustainableand equitable resource
use.
The centralargumentso farhas been that
inefficient,non-sustainableand inequitable
resourceuse is promotedby the large-scale
state interventionthroughsubsidies to the
industrial-organized
services-intensiveagriculturecomplex thatis shieldedfrom the
costs of environmentaldegradation.These
costs are passed on, for instance to the
peasants and artisansof Uttara Kannada
districtwho have been deprivedof all authorityover the local natural-resource
base.
The properresponsewouldthenbe to withdrawthe subsidiesthatpresentlyflow to the
elite. Instead,the elite should be made to
AMBIO VOL. 21 NO. 3, MAY 1992

BOX
Assessing

Existing
Apparatus for
Planning and
Implementing
Biodiversity Conservation in India.
CENTRALGOVERNMENT
Ministry of Environment
and Forests

Use, Forestry and Law and

Order are responsibilities
of State Governments.
Advisory Boards provide
minimal inputs to the
Central Ministry.

Attribute

Criterion

Prescriptions for UK

The only or best representative localities of

conservation interest

1.

Species richness
of constituent
biological communities

Greater value attached

to communities with
larger number of species

Evergreen forests
harbor largest
number of species
of flowering plants
and amphibians, and
moist deciduous
forest zone that of
birds

Bharatnalli
Madurahalli,Gunjavati
Range, Bargadda-Patoli,
HuliaevargodluUnchalli, Aganashini
estuary, Kulgi-Virnoli

2.

Geographical range
of constituent
biological
communities

Greater value attached

to communities with
more restricted range

Myristica swamps
harbor communities
with a restricted
range

Kathlekan

3.

Spatial occurrence
of constituent
biological
communities within
their range

Greater value attached

to communities with
more restricted
spatial occurrence

Communities of spray
zones of waterfalls
are of very .
restricted occurrence;
Limestone outcrops

Unchalli waterfalls,
Yan

4.

Identity of species
making up
consitutent
biological
communities

The more distinctive

the component of
species, the greater
the value

Mangrove vegetation
and beaches harbor
a highly distinct set
of sepcies

Sunken, Thenginagundi
Aganashini estuaries
Karwar-KamatBay

5.

Endangerment due to
human pressures

The more endangered

communities
are of greater value

Riverine forests
are greatly
endangered by
human pressures

HulidevaragodluUnchalli waterfalls

6.

Attributes of
component species

(a)

Restricted
geographical range

Greater value attached

to species with more
restricted range

Evergreen forests
harbor birds with
more restricted
range

Suremane, Hulidevaragodlu

(b)

Narrow habitat
preference

Greater value attached

to species with
narrow habitat
preferences

Freshwater ponds and

estuaries harbor
birds with narrow
habitat preferences

Madurahalli,
Nyasergi, Salgaum,
Sanikatta, Masur

(c)

Taxonomic
uniqueness

Greater value attached

to species with fewer
related species

Gnetum, a
gymnospermous climber
of evergreen forests
is the only member
of its order in UK

Hulidevaragodlu

(d)

Endangerment due
to human pressures

Greater value attached

to species subject to
greater pressures

Winteringwaterfowl
in marshes are hunted
extensively

Aganashini estuary and

Nyasergi

(e)

Ecological role

Species serving as
keystone resources
would be attached
greater value

Ficus species are

keystone resources
of tropical forests
throughout the
district

Ficus trees protected

on religious grounds
are scattered

7.

Interaction with
adjacent communities

Greater value attached

to communities serving
as links in maintaining
higher diversity

Betelnut plantations
serve as links
between patches of
evergreen forests

STATEGOVERNMENTS
Forest Departments:
Territorial and Wildlife
Wings

These two wings have joint

jurisdiction throughout a
state. Wildlife Wings are

manned by Forestry
Personnel on temporary
secondment. All the
decision-making power of
these as well as all other
State Government agencies
is concentrated in the hands
of Ministers, Secretaries
and and Departmental
Heads operating from the
state capitals. At the state
level a WildlifeAdvisory
Board provides minimal
inputs, there are no inputs
from a more local level.

priorities for Uttara Kannada (6).

Si
No.*

Primarily advisory, and as

disburser offunds for
special projects such as
Project Tiger since Land

conservation

SI = Specific locality

compensatethe ruralpoorfor the declinein

theirqualityof life, consequenton degradation of the natural-resourcebase. At the
same time the local people should be increasinglyinvolvedin controllingandmanaging the natural-resource
base of theirlocalities. This ought to promotea far more
efficient, sustainableand equitableprocess
of intensificationof natural-resource
use, a
processthatwouldbe compatiblewith conservationof biodiversity.

treats conservation as a matter of keeping

local people out of a few large naturereserves
and preventing them from killing most larger
species of wild reptiles, birds and mammals
anywherewithin the district.All the decisions
pertaining to such regulations are made
centrally, partly in the national capital of
Delhi and largely in the state capital of
Bangalore by the Forestry Service personnel
(Box). Substantial amounts of funds are then
placed at the disposal of the Forest Departments to discharge their regulatory function.
The state apparatushas at its disposal little
Outside Control
detailed locality-specific knowledge of either
Thenatural-resource
developmentapproach the distributionof biodiversity or the various
advocatedhere,wouldof coursehave to be pressures impinging on it. Its functionaries
complemented
by aneffortmorespecifically have no real personal stake in conservation of
focusedonbiodiversity.
Thecurrentapproach biodiversity, nor are they in a position to
AMBIO VOL. 21 NO. 3, MAY 1992

effectively discharge their regulatory

function. It is then no wonder that these
effortshave not been very fruitful.
Involving the Local People
A farmoreeffectiveconservation
effortwould
focusonthewholelandscapeinsteadof a few
reserves,on the whole diversityof species
and ecosystems instead of only on larger
vertebratesandemphasizepositiverewards
for promoting conservation in place of
regulationby the stateapparatus.Above all,
it wouldplacethemajorresponsibilityforthe
tasksquarelyin thehandsof thelocalpeople,
ratherthan with an impersonalcentralized
bureaucracyor technocracy.
The local people would not howeverbe
269

in a positionto operateentirelyon theirown ferentvillagesconcernedcould submitbids References and Notes

and the conservationeffort would have to based on the annuallevel of financialin1. Rodgers, W.A. and Panwar, H.S. 1988. Planning a
WildlifeProtected Area Networkin India, Vol.1. The
be one of co-planningandco-management. centivethey would need to acceptthe conReport.Wildlife
of India,DehraDun, India.
Local people do possess very detailedin- servationoption.If the statethatspeaksfor 2. Gadgil, M. 1991.Institute
ConservingIndia's biodiversity: the
societal context. EvolutionaryTrendsin Plants 5, 3-8.
formationon local biodiversity,its history the broaderpublicinterestfinds these bids
Mani, M.S. (ed.). 1974. Ecology and Biogeographyin
andtheforcesimpingingon it. Buttheylack acceptable,it could decide to implement 3. India.
W. Junk,The Hague.
a broader,global perspective.Outsideex- conservationprogramsin partnershipwith 4. Nair,N.C. andDaniel, P. 1986.The floristicdiversityof
the
Western
Ghatsandits conservation:A review.Proc.
perts collaboratingwith local scientists, some or all of the villages involved. ConInd. Acad. Scie. (Anim.Sci/Plan.Sci),Supplement,Nowhen these are available, could provide versely,it coulddecideto writeoff some of
vember 1986, p. 103-125.
sucha perspective(6).
the freshwaterpondsof the UttaraKannada 5. Gadgil,M., Hegde, K.M. andShetty,K.A. 1986. Uttara
Kannada:A case study in hill area development. In:
The startingpointof this exercisewas to districtto extend paddycultivation.Local
Karnataka State of EnvironmentReport-1985-1986.
Saldanha, C.J. (ed.). Centre for Taxonomic Studies,
note that we might wish to conserve communitiesshouldof coursereceive payp. 155-170.
biodiversity,definedas the entirespectrum mentonly if they succeedin conservingthe 6. Bangalore,
Daniels,R.J.R.,SubashChandran,M.D. andGadgil,M.
of varietyand variabilityamongliving or- freshwaterpondsinvolved.
A strategy for conserving the biodiversity of Uttara
Kannada: A districtin South India.Environ.Conserv.
ganisms and the ecological complexes in
Undoubtedly,more researchand practi(In Press).
which they occur,for a varietyof reasons. cal experienceis requiredto designandim- 7. Buchanan,F. 1870.JourneyThroughtheNorthernParts
ofKanara
(1800-1802) 2. Higginbothams,Madras,India.
These reasonsmay includesubsistenceuse plementan alternativeto thecentralizedand
8. Gadgil, M. and Subash Chandran,M.D. 1989. On the
value, e.g. herbalmedicines used locally; authoritarian
approachto conservation.An
historyof UttaraKannadaforests.In:ChangingTropical
Forests. Dargavel,J., Dixon, K. and Semple, N. (eds).
commodity use value, e.g. cane or wild importantobstacleis likely to be the resistNational University,Canberra,p. 47-58.
honey; non-consumptiveuse value, e.g. anceof the centralauthoritybecausea large 9. Australian
Gadgil, M. and Iyer, P. 1989. On the diversificationof
watershedservices;optionvalue, e.g. wild bureaucraticapparatusto implementprocommonpropertyresourceuse by the Indiansociety. In:
CommonPropertyResources:Ecology and Community
relativesof cultivatedplantsthatmay pro- gramslocallywouldsimplybe unnecessary.
Based Sustainable Development. Berkes, F. (ed.).
vide useful genetic material for future Rathera much smaller, technically more
Belhaven Press, London,p. 240-255.
breeding programs;transformativevalue, sophisticatedapparatuswould be required, 10. Gadgil,M. 1989.Deforestation:problemsandprospects.
EnvironmentMonitor5, 3-47.
provisionof experienceof unspoiltnature; one whichwouldhavea capabilityto assess 11. Energy
Gadgil, M. 1991. RestoringIndia's forest wealth. Nat.
Res. 27, 12-20.
and existencevalue, for its own sake. This broaderpriorities,to help local authorities
M. 1991. Diversity: cultural and biological.
rationalesuggestscertainconservationpri- workout detailedplans and monitorto de- 12. Gadgil,
TrendsEcol. Evolut.2, 369-373.
orities. These prioritiesmust be relatedto terminewhetherthe local authoritiesare in 13. Gadgil, M. and Berkes, F. 1991. Traditionalresource
management systems. Resource Management and
attributesof any locality to assess the lo- fact implementingthe conservationmeaOptimization18, 127-141.
cality's significance for conservation.In suresas agreed.The local authoritieswould 14. Nair, P.V.K. and
Gadgil, M. 1980. The statusand distributionof elephantpopulationsin Karnataka.Journal
general,a locality will be valuedmoreif it have to be strengthenedand betterorganof BombayNatural History Society 75 (Suppl.), 1000contains elements that are distinctive, ized andcapableof takingfurtherprograms
1016.
threatened,rareor of restrictedoccurrence; of decentralizationof political and admin- 15. Kamath,S.V. (ed.). 1985. KarnatakaState Gazetteer,
Uttara Kannada District. Governmentof Karnataka,
and if it harborsmany such elements (see istrativeresponsibilities.This would entail
India.
Table).
renderinglocal governmentsmuch more 16. SubashChandran,M.D. and Gadgil, M. State forestry
anddeclineof food resourcesin tropicalforestsin Uttara
The local people must be intimatelyin- accountableto people thanis presentlythe
Kannadain SouthernIndia.Proceedingsof the Internavolved to takethis broadprioratization
fur- case. The centralauthoritywouldalso have
tionalSymposiumon Food and Nutritionin the Tropical
Forest:
Biocultural Interactions and Applications to
therandto decideon specificactionpoints. to transfera greatdeal of its jurisdicialand
Paris, 10-13, September1991. (Inpress).
For example, the evergreen forests of policing powers to the more locally-ori- 17. Development,
Shiva, V. 1991. Ecology and the Politics of Survival.
Uttara Kannadadistrict are rich in wild entedinstitutions.
Sage Publications,New Delhi, p. 365.
WorldResourcesInstituteet al. 1992.GlobalBiodiversity
relativesof cultivatedfruittrees,as well as
Such a local involvementmanagement 18. Strategy.
many cultivarsof fruit trees. Quite a few strategyis very much in the spirit of the 19. NationalWastelandsDevelopmentBoard,Govt.of India.
1991. Guidelines for Micro Planning. National
farmershave developedlargecollectionsof proposalto involve local communitiesthat
Wastelands Development Board, Ministry of
such species, especially of genera is an importantelement of the Global
Environmentand Forests, Govt. of India, New Delhi
110003,p.51.
Mangifera, Artocarpus, Myristica, Gar- BiodiversityStrategybeing developed by
20. I gratefully acknowledge supportfor this work by the
cinia and Spondiason theirown lands,out WRI,IUCNandUNEP(18). It is also conDepartment of Environment, Government of India
of personalinterest.Manylocal peoplealso sistentwith the microlevelplanninginitiathrougha series of long-termresearchgrants.I am also
grateful
to my colleagues R.J. RanjitDaniels and M.D.
know of individualwild mango trees that tive of the NationalWastelandsDevelopSubashChandranfor manyyears of collaborativework
bear fruit of special flavor or have excep- ment Board of the Governmentof India
thathas contributedto the ideas embodiedin this paper.
tionallyhigh yields. Theirinputswouldob- (19). Such internationaland nationalsupviouslybe of valuein decidingon the focus portis criticalto the success of an alternaof a programto conservewild relativesof tive approach,for it is apt to runinto sericultivated plants. Similarly some habitat ous oppositionon the partof the politicaltypes are now conserved only in sacred economic-bureaucratic
vested intereststhat
MadhavGadgil holds a Ph.D. in
groves, e.g. Myristicaswamps in Kathle- benefitfromthe present-daypatternof nonbiology from HarvardUniversity and
kan. Local people know of such patchesin sustainableresourceuse and of a rigid pohas served as a lecturer at Harvard
forestinterior;they also appreciatetheirre- licing approach to conservation. FortuUniversity and a visiting professor
ligious significance.
nately, the global trendsare today excepat Stanford University. For the past
Conservationprioritiesmust also take tionally favorable for a decentralized,
18 years he has been on the faculty
account of the whole set of human de- peopleorientedapproach.As a result,more
of the IndianInstitute of Science
mands on a given locality. For example, andmoreattemptslike thatexemplifiedby
where he currently holds the Astra
articificialfreshwaterirrigationpondscon- the MarineConservationandDevelopment
Professorship in Biological
Sciences. His research interests
structedin preBritishtimes in the eastern Programon the Visayas islands, Philipencompass mathematical modelling
partsof the districtareimportanthabitatsof pines,arelikelyto be initiatedin thecoming
as well as field studies in the areas
migratorywaterfowl.These pondsare now years (18). Theirsuccess would be greatly
of population biology, conservation
beingencroachedby paddycultivators.The enhancedif they are backedby a locality
biology and human ecology. He is
local people are fully awareof who is en- specific analysisof the situationin its conalso active in policy studies having
croaching and what their economic cretehistoricalsetting.Involvementof local
served for 4 years on the Scientific
motivationsare. Today,the stateapparatus people is absolutely essential for impleAdvisory Council to the Prime
triesto regulatesuchencroachmentthrough mentingthe conservationmeasureson the
Ministerof India. His address:
coercion. This often fails. Instead,the re- ground.
Centre for Ecological Sciences,
sources devoted to enforcementcould be
IndianInstitute of Science,
Bangalore 560012, India.
offeredto local communitiesso as to motivate themto continueto conservethefreshwaterpondsin theirown villages. The dif270

AMBIO VOL. 21 NO. 3, MAY 1992