3 Review(s)

In the management of renewable resources, forests have undeniably a vital role, and today, as never before, their conservation is an urgency. In view of this dire necessity the series Man and Forest tries to highlight the relevance of indigenous knowledge of various South Asian tribal communities in the sustainable management of forests/local resources — more specially against the growing challenges of economic development vis-a-vis environmental hazards and a rapidly declining resource base. A scientific inquiry into indigenous knowledge is an effort to discover/rediscover the tribals’ traditional modes of production and conservation. For them it is the only source to cope with the problems of modernity affecting their lives and precarious environments. Forest Tribes of Orissa: The Kuttia Kondh is the sixth monograph in the series Man and Forest and, after the publication of an account of the forest world of the Dongaria Kondh in 2002, the second volume to deal with an aboriginal tribe of Orissa. Being a tribal community in transition, the authors have tried to document and thus safeguard its local traditional knowledge of conservation, use and management of forests and natural resources. They give an account of how the Kuttia Kondh classify trees and other plants, hills, forests, crops and animals. Their subsistence economy, agricultural system, social organization, religious beliefs and other important socio-cultural aspects of forest life have been extensively treated. The lifestyle of this tribal community is finally reflected on the background of forest policy and the impact it has on their livelihood. The present book is, as most of the volumes in the series, the outcome of nearly ten years’ research venture involving an interdisciplinary, intercultural team of sociologists, ethnobotanists, social anthropologists and other social scientists.