Indigenous Communities' Knowledge of Local Ecological Services

Forest planners and forest departments have long ignored local ecological services provided by forests, of which forest communities, have knowledge of, and on which the economic, social and political life of the area is dependent. Joint Forest Management (JFM) is restricted to management of forests as providers of forest and non-timber forest products. This paper investigates in detail the extensive indigenous knowledge of such local ecological services among a forest community. It argues that local ecological services are the missing link in designing plans for successful decentralisation and sustainable management of forests. Enlisting such local knowledge, as is done in this paper, is the first step to incorporating it in the management of forests.