Category Archives: Trees

“When we [members of the Bettakurumba tribal community in the Nilgiri Biosphere] have to cut trees, we won’t cut all the trees; we will cut only what we need.” – Wildlife conservationist Ramesh in “Bomman thatha and his forest”, a conversation with his grandfather on “bonding between adivasi people and the forest” (At the Edge of Existence, 29 October 2014)
https://cultureandconservation.wordpress.com/2014/10/29/bomman-thatha-and-his-forest/
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=8262

“[T]rees were being felled, and poaching rose considerably, threatening the delicate ecosystem of the tribe. The developmental authorities turned deaf ear to the protest of environmentalists, anthropologists and the Jarawas themselves.” – Surabhi Sinha in “Save Jarawa” (Times of India, 2 June 2021)
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/phases-of-life/save-jarawa-32818/
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=14820

“We also have to get rid of the mistaken notion that complex natural ecosystems, once destroyed at one place can be easily created elsewhere. Such a notion is evident in government’s compensatory afforestation programmes that implicitly assume first that natural ecosystems such as forests can often be created de novo. Policy makers need to distinguish between a stand of trees and a natural forest with diversity of species, and a myriad of ecological interactions and processes, evolved over millions of years.” – Kamaljit S. Bawa in “Our biodiversity, our life, our future” (Survey of the Environment, The Hindu, Sci-Tech / Energy & Environment, 2 August 2010)
https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/Our-biodiversity-our-life-our-future/article16148419.ece
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=5026

“She, in tribal myth, lives in palmyra fruit trees. To the tribals, palmyra juice is the breast milk of Tallur Muttai. She, therefore, is the earth mother. But then there is the massive Hindu-isation of the tribal myth and the earth mother is made to sit on a tiger as Hindus prefer their goddesses on the tiger. I have a problem with this makeover. If the tribal gods are comfortable on the trees, let them be…why make them a Hindu?” – Niranjan Mahawar, author of a book titled Bastar Bronze, interviewed by Suvojit Bagchi (The Hindu, 24 October 2012)
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=16409

“[D]eforestation and landscape change [have] negatively impacted communities [and led to the] death of toddy palm trees, because toddy tapping was no longer practiced.” – Vikram Aditya in “”Displaced from the hills: Livelihoods of tribal communities in Eastern Ghats under threat” (Down to Earth, 24 February 2021)
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/forests/displaced-from-the-hills-livelihoods-of-tribal-communities-in-eastern-ghats-under-threat-75657
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=29829

“Small community harvesting has given way to large scale commercial cash crop cultivation. Teak has replaced traditional trees in the jungle and resorts are coming up along the river bringing tourists and plastic. The natives of Wayanad feel uncomfortable with the change around them; however, they seem to be in little control of the situation.” – Bikas Mishra about Sunanda Bhat’s award winning documentary feature film on Wayanad’s treasure trove of flora and fauna “Have you seen the Arana?” (DearCinema.com, 21 April 2013)
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=11104

“The Small and Marginal Tribal Farmers Mutually Aided Cooperative Society of Paderu (SAMTFMACS), formed in 2007 as a coffee processing and marketing enterprise, has successfully changed the socio-economic and geographic landscape of the region by creating a steady source of income to its members apart from greening the forests […] The best part is the community is following up on the plantation and taking care to nurture the sapling till it grows into a full-fledged tree. In case any plant withers away it is replaced by another one and its growth monitored.” – “Citibank award for Paderu tribal coffee collective” (The Hindu, Visakhapatnam, 29 January 2013)
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Visakhapatnam/citibank-award-for-paderu-tribal-coffee-collective/article4356508.ece
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=10704