Land Cover/Land Use Change: Exploring the Impacts on the Sahariya Tribe of Rajasthan, India

The present study explored the changes in forest cover in one tribal region, village of Khanda Sharol, within the state of Rajasthan, India; and examined how these changes have affected access to and the use of Non-timber Forest Products (NTFP) by Sahariya tribal households. The study also examined the implications of changes in the access to and use of NTFP on the livelihood of tribal members and the feasibility of continuing a community-based management system for the sustainable production of NTFPs. This was a descriptive study. Historical, as well as current data was collected through surveys and interviews. A family information report survey covering various dimensions was administered to each of 365 households of the Khanda Sharol village. Individual interviews and focus groups with tribal members were conducted to gather information regarding NTFP collection patterns (past and present) and details of forest proximity. This collective study indicates that there was a decline in forest cover which resulted in a loss of compilation of NTFP. Furthermore, there was a decline in the livelihoods of the residents of the village, although a direct and unequivocal link between change in forest cover and livelihood patterns cannot be established. These relationships are complex and simple causal relationships cannot easily be drawn. Nonetheless, this research has been able to identify how changes in the forest cover over the past 50 years have affected access and use of NTFP of the tribal households in the village. In turn these changes suggest shifts in household economic production which then can be tied to poverty, health and education of tribal members