The Nilgiris Biodiversity Festival, Oct 2009
The Workshop on “Community-based Ecological Monitoring & Adaptive Management for Enhancing NTFP Management in India” started with an informal gathering of the participants on the Keystone campus. Stone lamps were lit and resin was burnt symbolically. Pratim Roy, Director – Keystone Foundation welcomed all the participants especially the special guests, Dr. Charles Peters (Kate E. Tode Curator of Botany, New York Botanical Gardens and steering committee member, People & Plants International) and Madhu Ramnath (India Co-ordinator of the NTFP – EP). (more…)
Ecological Monitoring
Securing the livelihoods of forest-dependent peoples and the biodiversity they depend on necessitates good governance and sustainable management of common-pool forest resources. This is of special importance in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR), South India, which supports high levels of both biological and cultural diversity. Keystone’s action-research over the past 15 years has illustrated the strong links between conservation and adivasi livelihoods in the NBR. Our aim and specifically that of the project was to improve governance of common-pool NTFP by adivasi communities in the NBR using a cross-sectorial and cross-disciplinary approach. Specifically, we
1) developed protocols and built capacity for local-level participatory monitoring through workshops with local stake holders including harvesters, processors, village forest councils and forest department personnel;
2) established and tested on-the-ground trials for community-based monitoring and adaptive management in five zones;
3) carried out a field course to train students from universities, NGOs and the forest departments in cross-disciplinary research on NTFP;
4) enhanced knowledge of governance, management, ecology and conservation of key subsistence and commercial NTFP in the NBR through action-research; and
5) used our results to contribute to the global understanding of the factors that can drive sustainable management of common-pool resources and provide an approach and model for community-based monitoring and adaptive management of NTFP.
Nurseries
Raising of indigenous forest and horticultural species has been an area of priority in the work at Keystone. Most nurseries grow ornamental and horticulture varieties, but we raise forest and shola species and are being recognized for it by people and Forest Departments. Earlier, only the Forest Department would grow such nurseries. In our approach, we have found active participation and interest from the village. The Forest Department also understands our work and has given us permission to plant these species in the forest. As a result of this we have planted 6210 plants in Bhavani Sagar range at Sathyamangalam and the survival of the species is being monitored. We have also issued 3750 free saplings to Hasanur and Bhavani Sagar forest ranges.
Conservation Education
The mission of Keystone Foundation is to enhance the quality of life and environment with indigenous communities using eco-development approaches. Keeping this in mind, we initiated a programme on Conservation Education at various levels of the communities in the NBR. The level of interactions can be termed in the following heads.
- Conservation education for village school children
- Conservation education for village children
- Conservation education for elders in the community
- Harvesters meeting: Sustainable harvests of minor forest produce
- Cycad conservation centers
- Bee Museum
Keystone Foundation works primarily in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve covering the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. Our Conservation education programs are covering 4 zones of the NBR – 1) Sigur, 2) Pillur, 3) Nilambur and 4) Geddesal.
An Introduction
Conservation approaches are integral to all projects at Keystone Foundation. From distant villages to urban taluks to districts within the state, work is now at a landscape level. The conservation focus keeps pace with enterprise and livelihoods.
Specific projects provide insights into the ecology of bees, forest fruits, resin yielding trees, endemic cycads, agriculture, water, wetland & mountain ecosystems.
Documentation of biodiversity values mesh indigenous knowledge and scientific information. In the past five years, support has gone out to students for their postgraduate dissertations. These studies build baselines on the biodiversity of the region.
We are often asked “Is the harvest of forest produce affecting the ecology?” Research at Keystone has shown that a host of other parameters like weather conditions, soil textures, geographical locations, institutional mechanisms and water quality have a role to play in the dynamics of harvest.
The Conservation Program is implemented through the area resource centers where communities take on the role of monitoring the quality and changes to their ecosystems. The centers need to facilitate conservation activities in nearby villages working together to build conservation villages which preserve and protect the ecosystem.
Our activities:
- Design and implement community based biodiversity monitoring protocols
- Field courses for harvesters, managers, students – sharing monitoring procedures
- Conservation education programs that address children of the indigenous communities and others
- Biodiversity studies through student research fellowships
- Raising of multi use forest species nurseries which are both commercial and village based
- Documenting biodiversity through indigenous knowledge
- Building knowledge networks to exchange action research findings and develop implementation of conservation principles
Wetland Management
Hill wetlands belong to a small minority of water bodies which are widespread and under serious threat. Hill wetlands are highly ignored but much valuable resources for human need. The wetlands project sought to gather substantive information about these wetlands and initiate awareness amongst the people of the hill district.
Objectives
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Survey and mapping of crucial wetland habita; ecological aspects, socio-economic situation of stakeholders within the wetland home-range and economic activities that are on-going at present.
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Dialogue and advocacy with the Government on how to declare these wetlands as important conservation areas and initiate legal steps towards it
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Assess the dependence of stakeholders on the wetlands
- Develop local wetlands conservation and management plans
The project came to an end in 2007. (more…)
Bees, Biodiversity & Livelihoods
The Darwin Initiative, funded by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) draws on the wealth of biodiversity expertise in the UK to work with local partners in host countries to protect and enhance their biodiversity. Keystone won this award in 2006, alongwith its UK partners – the University of East Anglia and Bees for Development. The initiative has a high reputation for securing real results for biodiversity with impacts often continuing well beyond the Darwin Initiative funding. It supports projects that bring lasting benefits to the host country, such as added expertise and understanding and a greater commitment and ability to benefit from and look after biodiversity.
This project came to an end in May 2009 – the proceedings of the workshop held in March 2009, will be available shortly
