Liji Kareyapath is our colleague from India who enrolled in the PhD programme at the Department of Economics and Development of Faculty of Tropical Agrisciences, CZU, in October 2022. Her research focus is analysing participatory forest management in the selected areas of the Western Ghats in Kerala, India, to understand the involvement of indigenous people in participatory forest management practices. Given its role in combating global warming and climate change, sustainable forest management has become a major focus in recent times. In addition, participatory forest management involving indigenous people and their knowledge of forest management is gaining momentum and recognises the traditional knowledge and practices that have survived, evolved and been maintained over generations.
As part of the research, Liji conducted a pilot field study in the Kurichya tribal settlements of the Kannavam forest in the Western Ghats of Kerala, India, in the summer of 2024. The pilot study began by identifying suitable settlements where Joint Forest Management (JFM) is being implemented. The field study also included a questionnaire survey of 35 households in the three different settlements, two focus group discussions with members of the community self-help group, and 4 key informant interviews with the oldest members of the Kurichya tribal community of Kannavam. It was fascinating to experience the culture of the indigenous people, which is very rich in unique taboos and customs that keep the idea of sustainability alive. However, Liji’s preliminary observation was that indigenous people do not have a close relationship with the forest in the present day, and their dependency on the forest is minimal. Hence, the contribution of valuable indigenous knowledge on environmental management and sustainable food systems among the Kurichya people has been lost.
