Nilgiri Area, I Am Greatly Obliged
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RESOURCE USE, CULTURE AND ECOLOGICAL CHANGE : A CASE STUDY OF THE NlLGlRI HILLS OF SOUTHERN INDIA A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Borfor of vl$neophg L in the Faculty of Science BY R. PRABHAKAR Centre for Ecological Sciences INDIAN INSTITUTE OP SCIENCE BANGALORE - 560 012 (INDIA) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful to my advisor Prof. Madhav Gadgil, for constantly impelling me to stretch my imagination into newer and uncharted areas of science. This he showed through personal example and by the critique he provided at each stage of my work. I also thank Ramachandra Guha who initiated me into this study and provided me comments from a social science perspective tbat was important for an interdisciplinary work of this nature. I thank Dr. N.V. Joshi, for his constant encouragement and his frank and critical comments at each stage of my work. I also thank Dr. R. Sukumar for his support and enthusiasm towards my work. To the people of the Nilgiri area, I am greatly obliged. The elders have willingly participated in my study and provided me insights info the interactions and process that operated in the Nilgiri area. During the elaborate and long interviews that I have had with then, they have, with nostalgia, relived their experiences, and have hoped that their voices will be heard, appreciated, and taken note of, in planning for the future. To them I dedicate this work. My seniors, Ranjith, Chandru and Arun, with whom I spent many happy first few years, were instrumental in inculcating a work ethic and research culture that stood me in good stead during trying times. To my colleagues, Negi, Dhruv and Karthik, for their camaraderie and company. I am grateful for the editorial help from David Schonfeld, Nambi, Rajashaker and Chandru. I thank the field staff and my colleagues at the field station in Masinagudi who have shared the joys and strains of field work; and the staff at CES who have provided all the support and a favourable environment for efficient work. Financial support for this project has been provided by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. I am grateful to the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, for providing me the support for the production of this thesis. Finally, I truly appreciate the sustained support from my companion Sangeetha, who has shared with me my trials and triumphs. Her patience during this period of studentship has provided the stability in the home and family that was necessary for the pursuit of this work. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ...........................................v LIST OF FIGURES ..........................................vii GLOSSARY ............................................... ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................. 1 CHAPTER 2: FRAMEWORK AND HYPOTHESES .................. 23 CHAPTER 3: MATERIALS AND METHODS ............; .......... 33 CHAPTER 4: SIGUR PLATEAU ................................ 45 CHAPTER 5: THE NILGIRI WYNAAD PLATEAU ................... 77 CHAPTER 6: THE NILAMBUR VALLEY .........................113 CHAPTER 7 THE A'ITAPPADI PLATEAU ........................ 151 CHAPTER 8: THE NILGIRI PLATEAU ........................... 185 CHAPTER 9: THE COIMBATORE PLAINS ....................... 237 CHAPTER 10: CONCLUSION ................................. 267 REFERENCES APPENDIX I: LIST OF IMAGES AND MAPS USED FOR THE VEGETATION AND LAND USE MAP OF THE NILGIRI AREA .............A-2 APPENDIX 11: LEGEND OF THE VEGETATION AND LAND USE MAP OF THE NILGIRI AREA DRAWN ON A SCALE OF 1.100.000 ..... A-4 APPENDIX 111: VEGETATION SAMPLES .......................A-5 APPENDIX IV: SCHEDULE FOR HABITATION SURVEYS ........ Am10 APPENDIX V: LIST OF HABITATION SURVEYS ................ A-29 APPENDIX VI: LIST OF ORAL HISTORIES ARCHIVED AT THE CENTRE FOR ECOLOGICAL SCIENCES ......................A-35 LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 Characteristics of Resource Uses ......................... 26 Table 10.1 Relation between Resource Endowment and Commercial Resource Use ......................................... 270 Table 10.3 Relation between Access Regimes and Commercialisation ..... 272 Table 10.4 Relation between Disease Environment and Commercialisation . 273 Table 10.5 Relation between State Policy and Commercialisation ......... 274 Table 10.6 Relation between Technology and Resource Use ............ 275 Table 10.7 Relation between Market Demands and Resource Use ........ 275 Table 103 Experimental Phase of Commercial Resource Use ........... 277 Table 10.9 Spatial Expansion of Commercial Resource Use ............. 278 Table 10.10 Expansion of Commercial Resource Use in the Resource Domain .............................................278 Table 10.11 Intensification of Commercial Resource Use ...............279 Table 10.12 Resource Exhaustion and their Context .................. 280 Table 10.13 Sustained Levels of Resource Use and their Context ..........281 Table 10.14 Outcomes of Commercial Resource Use on Human Groups ... 283 Table 10.15 Vegetation Changes with Commercial Resource Use ......... 284 Table A-111.1 Summary Results of Vegetation Sampling ............... A-7 Table A-V.l List of Habitations Surveyed .........................A-30 Table A-VI.l List of Oral Histories .............................A-36 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 Map of the Biophysical Zones of the Nilgiri Area ............ 18 Figure 1.2 Nilgiri Area: Topography Map .......................... 19 Figure 1.3 Nilgiri Area: Rainfall Map ....a,...................+.. 20 Figure 1.4 Map of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve ....................... 21 Figure 2.1 Framework for the Study .............................. 32 Figure 4.1 Rainfall Regime on Sigur Plateau ....................... 67 Figure 4.2 Access Regimes on Sigur Plateau ........................ 68 Figure 4.3 Sandal Extraction: Sigur Plateau ........................ 69 Figure 4.4 Sandal Extraction Criteria ............................. 70 Figure 4.5 Sandalwood Resource Status ........................... 71 Figure 4.6 Population Changes on Sigur Plateau: 1871-1981 ............. 72 Figure 4.7 Time Line of Subsistence Resource Use on Sigur Plateau ...... 73 Figure 4.8 Time Line Of Commercial Resource Use on Sigur Plateau ..... 74 Figure 4.9 Landscape Changes on Sigur Plateau ..................... 75 Figure 5.1 Rainfall Regime on Nilgiri Wynaad Plateau ................ 103 Figure 5.2 Selection Felling on Nilgiri Wynaad Plateau ................ 104 Figure 5.3 Clear Felling in Nilgiri Wynaad Plateau ................... 105 Figure 5.4 Timber Extraction Criteria on Nilgiri Wynaad ............... 106 Figure 5.5 Forest Composition Changes on Nilgiri Wynaad Plateau ....... 107 Figure 5.6 Tine Line of Subsistence Resource Use on Nilgiri Wynaad Plateau .............................................. 108 Figure 5.7 Time Line of Commercial Resource Use on Nilgiri Wynaad Plateau .............................................. 109 Figure 5.8 Landscape Changes on Nilgiri Wynaad Plateau .............. 110 Figure 5.9 Population Changes on Nilgiri Wynaad Plateau .............. 111 Figure 6.1 Rainfall Regime in the Nilambur Plains ................... 138 Figure 6.2 Timber Extraction from Natural Forests in the Nilambur Plains . 139 Figure 6.3 Timber Extraction from Natural Forests: Cumulative Extraction . 140 Figure 6.4 Rate of Expansion of Teak Plantations from Nilambur Plains ... 141 Figure 6.5 Growth of Teak Plantations in the Nilambur Plains ........... 142 Figure 6.6 Timber Extraction from Planthtions from Nilambur Plains ...... 143 Figure 6.7 Timber Extraction from Plantations: Cumulative Extraction ..... 144 Figure 6.8 Number of Commercial Species Extracted .................145 Figure 6.9 Forest Workings in Nilambur Plains ...................... 146 Figure 6.10 Time Line of Subsistence Resource Use in Nilambur Plains .... 147 Figure 6.11 Time Line of Commercial Resource Use in Nilambur Plains ... 148 Figure 6.12 Landscape Changes in Nilambur Plains ................... 149 Figure 7.1 Rainfall Regimes on Attappadi Plateau ................... 176 Figure 7.2 Growth of Forest Plantations on the Attappadi Plateau ........ 177 Figure 7.3 Revenue from Minor Forest Produce on Attappadi Plateau ..... 178 Figure 7.4 Population Growth on Attappadi Plateau .................. 179 Figure 7.5 Time Line of Subsistence Resource Use on Attappadi Plateau ... 180 Figure 7.6 Time Line of Commercial Resource Use on Attappadi Plateau . 181 Figure 7.7 Land Use Changes on Attappadi Plateau .................. 182 Figure 7.8 Landscape Changes on Attappadi Plateau ..................183 Figure 8.1 Rainfall Regimes on the Nilgiri Plateau ................... 226 Figure 8.2 Access Regimes on the Nilgiri Plateau .................... 227 Figure 8.3 Growth of Forest Plantations on the Nilgiri Plateau .......... 228 Figure 8.4 Growth of Commercial Plantations on the Nilgiri Plateau ...... 229 Figure 8.5 Area under Food Grains on the Nilgiri Plateau .............. 230 Figure 8.6 Population Changes on the Nilgiri Plateau ................. 231 Figure 8.7 Population Changes among the Indigenous Groups on the Nilgiri Plateau .............................................. 232 Figure 8.8 Area Under Potato Cultivation on the Nilgiri Plateau ......... 233 Figure 8.9 Time Line of Subsistence Resource Use on the Nilgiri Plateau . 234 Figure 8.10 Time Line of Commercial Resource Use on the Nilgiri Plateau . 235 Figure 8.11 Landscape Changes on the Nilgiri Plateau ................. 236 Figure 9.1 Rainfall Regime in the Coimbatore Plains .................261 Figure 9.2 Fuelwood Extraction