Forests and national park areas have become increasingly significant because they contain various biological resources. Recent conservation interventions by the State with the creation of national parks governed by rules and regulations entailed a loss of use and access rights to forest areas and produce for the local people. This also led to a change in the perceptions of the local people in the context of conservation of forests and wildlife as it created socio-economic and cultural vulnerabilities. This paper examines the causal factors which influence the changing perceptions of the local people towards state-created national park areas. The main aim of the study is to identify the significance of non-wood forest products for forest dependent people living in rural ecosystem spaces. The case study here is of Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh.
