TheImprovement ofTropical and Subtropical Rangelands

OHANGING PATrERNS IN THE BEDTHI·AGHANASHINI VALLEYS
S09
has been a rapid decline in the plant biomass cover of such lands.
The reserved forests, sacred groVell, minor forests, par&c/uJlIat forests,
and leaf manure forests have all undergone such depletion to varying
extents. In reserved forests, there has been an accelerating pace
of clear felling of natural plantations for raising not only teak, but
E.cal1/Ptus plantations aa well. There has been vociferous protest
against Eucal1/Ptus plantations from farmers who believe that the
runoff from these plantations affects their crop yields. The local
taboos against the violation ofsacred groves have rapidly disappeared
since independence, resulting in accelerating exploitation of many of
them. Minor forests have suffered most severely with unchecked
fellings by local communities and many others. In Masur, one of the
villages where we have been working, for instance, the local leaders
of the Patagar and Halakki communities did make an attempt to
impose some social restraint on fellings from minor forests, but were
rebuffed by their own women.
Par&cha,ltJt and leaf manure forests are two categories of forests
with some continuing tradition of management by local communities,
clans, or individual households. Many of these, too, have been
overexploited, although others are well managed and retain good
plant cover. However, bureaucracy haa attempted to take over many
of these, and the resulting uncertain atmosphere has led to indiscriminate
fellings in many ptJr&chtJlIat and leaf manure forests. For
instance, there are two JHlr&challat forests close to the town of Kumta.
The government served notice on both for takeover aa reserve forest.
One of the ptJr&chtJlItJu has contested this in court; this forest is still
fairly intact. The other par&chtJlIat agreed to the takeover; within
a few months, the forest had been totally destroyed by the local
residents.
RECENT TRENDS
The Syltem
The pace of nonsustainable utilization and consequent degradation
of the resource base of waters and uncultivated land has by
now reached a magnitude serious enought to compel response from
all segments of the society. The response of the Ambigaa, Halakkis,
Patagars, Naiks, and Havugallas, the still largely illiterate communities
being further and further impoverished has been to abandon
whatever traditions of social restraints on overuse of resources that