People and protected area: implications on livelihood

Shylajan Sudhakaran, IBS Hyderabad

This paper examines the livelihood of people in a Protected Area and the factors influencing the extent of their dependence on forest. The study uses direct participatory observation method to analyze the forest dependence model. The analysis reveals that, in the absence of alternative income sources, the forest dwellers tend to depend more on various available forest products and often it leads to unsustainable extraction of resources. Forest dependent communities contribute for forest protection in various ways and they need to be compensated for their services. The estimated values of foregone benefits of biodiversity conservation from non-wood forest products would serve as good indicator of minimum compensation to be made to the local community, if they are to be relocated for the purpose of biodiversity conservation. Providing such compensation would be beneficial for maintaining the ecological stability in the long run.