Traditional knowledge and land use management in Indian Central Himalayas

Abstract

The inhabitants of rain fed zone of Indian Central Himalayas have survived on their traditional management practices for their daily needs. A survey of 5 villages of the Garurganga-Bhetagad watershed, Indian Central Himalayas was made through personal interview schedules of farming community. By the documentation and assessment of the different land resources in the watershed area it was noticed that the rain fed agriculture is one of the sensitive and risky land uses for crop cultivation. These rain fed agriculture lands have been categorized by farming community according to variation in soil behaviour as per agriculture land. Such land categorization of the rain fed agriculture is more relevant to scientific knowledge (in terms of land capability). Furthermore the forest and grassland of the study area are also used and managed by these farming people in view of maximum utilization. Thus, the traditional land management practices are closely related with modern scientific tools and techniques i.e. soil depth, physiography, climatic conditions, accessibility, approaches, etc.