In the management of renewable resources, forests have undeniably a vital role, and today, as never before, their conservation is an urgency. In view of this dire necessity the series Man and Forest tries to highlight the relevance of indigenous knowledge of various South Asian tribal communities in the sustainable management of forests/local resources – more specially against the growing challenges of economic development vis-Ã -vis environmental hazards and a rapidly declining resources base. A scientific inquiry into indigenous knowledge is an effort to discover/rediscover the tribals' traditional modes of production and conservation. For them it is the only source to cope with the problems of modernity affecting their lives and precarious environments. Forest Tribes of Orissa: The Juang is the seventh monograph in the series Man and Forest and, after the publication of an account of the forest world of the Dongaria Kondh in 2002, and the Kuttia Kondh in 2006. Being a tribal community in transition, the authors have tried to document and thus safeguard its local traditional knowledge of conservation, use and management of forests and natural resources. They give an account of how the Juang classify trees and other plants, hills, forests, crops and animals. Their subsistence economy, agricultural system, social organization, religious beliefs and other important socio-cultural aspects of forest life have been extensively treated. The lifestyle of this tribal community is finally reflected on the background of forest policy and the impact it has on their livelihood. The present book is as most of the volumes in the series, the outcome of nearly ten years' research venture involving an inter-disciplinary, intercultural team of sociologists, ethnobotanists, and social anthropologists.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR A. Rath
A. Rath is an anthropologist who was mainly responsible for the socio-cultural survey among the Juang. He is presently working in the interior of Orissa.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR A.K. Biswal
A. Biswal is a botanist who was extensively involved in identifying plants and their uses in field surveys.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR B.P. Choudhury
B.P. Choudhury was professor of botany at PG Department of Botany, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar. In association with the research project, he gave guidance and provided laboratory facilities for the identification of plants.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR D.B. Giri
D.B. Giri is an anthropologist who assisted in observation, interviewing, statistics and the recording of case histories.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR K. Seeland
Klaus Seeland is a reputed political scientist and sociologist who has been researching in South Asia on socio-cultural aspects of forests, comparative studies in resource management, perception and local knowledge for over twenty years now. Currently, he is Senior Lecturer at the Chair of Forest Policy and Forest Economics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland, and Reader in sociology at the University of Konstanz, Germany.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Nityananda Patnaik
Dr. Nityananda Patnaik, a reputed Anthropologist was born in 1927 and educated in Calcutta University. He has many publications in the form of books and papers all related to various aspects of Social Anthropology to his credit. His very recent published books are 1. Sacred Complex of Orissa and 2. Anthropological Studies on Indian Societies. Some of his forthcoming books are 1. The Santal Medicine (The Santal Worldview and Indigenous Health Practices and Herbal Medicine), 2. Torch Bearers of Vedic Traditioins: Brahmin Sasan Villages in Orissa, 3. Forest Tribes of Orissa-Vo.III, The Juang of Kendujhar and 4. Forest Tribes of Orissa-Vol.IV, The Bhuinya of Kendujhar, 5. Agricultural Practices among Tribal Communities of Orissa. He has been one of the teachers in Post-Graduate Department of Anthropology, Utkal University. Thereafter, he joined National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD) as director of Anthropology. During his tenure at the NIRD, he received a fellowship from the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, where he concentrated his efforts and brought out a publication namely, Cultural Tradition in Puri. After serving for about 13 years at the NIRD he came back to Orissa to work as the Director of Tribal and Harijan Research-cum-Training Institute, Government of Orissa. After his retirement from the Government service he established his own research institute namely, Social Science and Development Research Institute (SSADRI) at Bhubaneswar which is engaged in social service, tribal development and also in research studies.
There are no reviews yet.