Upheaval in the Nomad's Trail: Survival in the Forest Commons of Northern India

Abstract

"The Gaddi shepherds of the alpine tracts are in the eye of a storm brewing in the foothills of the Himalayas. Dams, National Parks and expanding infra-structure are changing the nature of nomadic trails. At stake is the survival of both indigenous 'managers' and their self-governing systems of customary rights in natural resources. "The paper attempts to establish that transhumance has been an occupational technique to make possible the optimal use of the geo-morphological relation of the Himalayan range to the riverine plains of north India. Such has been the character of nomadic pastoralism practised by two distinct people--the Gujars and the Gaddis."

Description

Keywords

IASC, common pool resources, forests, nomads, Himalayas, pastoralism, reciprocity, Workshop

Citation

Collections