Minor forest products' management: problems and prospects in remote high altitude villages of Central Himalaya

SUMMARY Problems and prospects of minor forest resource uses and management in three remote high elevation villages in the Indian Central Himalaya were studied. Of the 45 species constituting the minor forest product resource base, medicinal plants (14 species), wild edibles (ten species) and bamboos (four species) were important both for local use and for the rural economy. A range of tree species had fodder and organic manure value. The management practices differ in the government-owned forests and village community-owned forests. Local communities are more conscious of sustainable utilization of the forests they own and manage. Indirect economic benefits from Forests were much higher than the direct benefits. The margin of profits to the villagers from minor forest resources could be improved by appropriate changes in the extraction, regeneration and marketing systems, together with improvement in traditional knowledge in terms of the industrial values of the products and empowerment of local communities.