Jaunsar: Community, Forests, and Indigenous Knowledge in the Himalayas

The book is based on Jaunsar, a tribal zone in Chakrata tehsil in Uttarakhand. Jaunsar is known for its distinctive culture, quaint customs and traditional knowledge. The book encompasses three decades of reseach of the author in the Himalayan region. Apart from presenting a detailed geographical portrait of the region, the book explores various dimensions of land forest complementarity which as helped the community adapt to the harsh environment. The book enumerates various traditional rituals, customs and resource use practices that expose the local wisdom of the community and deep understanding of environmental conditions. In the age of severe degradation of forest cover and resources, traditional wisdom can play a significant role in forest conservation and sustaining fragile ecosystems. The book also underlines the significance of modern scientific practices in amalgamation with traditional wistom in forest management.