Assam University Journal of Science & Technology:

Biological and Environmental Sciences

Vol. 6 Number 1
21-27,2010

Non-Timber Forest Products of the Inner Line Reserve Forest, Cachar,

Assam, India: dependency and usage pattern of forest-dwellers
Shovan Dattagupta, Abhik Gupta and Manoranjan Ghose*
Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Assam University, Dargakoona, SiJchar - 788011,
Assam, India
* Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata

Abstract
Non- timber forest product (NTFP) plays a significant role in the lifestyle oftheforest dwellers of the Inner line
Reserve Forest (ILRF) of Ca char, Assam, India. Both tribal and non-tribal communities of ILRF depend on
several NTFPs for their livelihood and safety net. Large scale depletion of forest land and resources in the
reserve forest has endangered the safety net of the ecosystem. In this paper an attempt has been made to study
the dependency and usage pattern of the NTFPs in ILRF
Key words: NTFPs, dependency, usage pattern, safety net.

Introduction
Products derived from the forest can be
differentiated into two broad categories, viz.,
'timber' and 'non-timber forest products' (NTFP).
These non-timber forest products play a
significant role in the livelihood offorest dwellers,
communities living in the vicinity of the forest,
as wel1 as people at large in the immediate
surrounding area. Diversity of the forest bio-mass
ensures food security and protects the 'safety net'
(Shackleton and Shackleton, 2004; Babalola,
2009) of the people, especially the forest dwellers.
It is estimated that of the 6.2 bil1ion world
population, about 25 percent are dependent on
forest resources including plant and animal
products (Iq bal, 1993; WaIter, 2001). It is also
estimated that about 60 million aboriginal people
all over the world depend on the forest ecosystem
for their 1ivelihood (World Bank, 2001). Tropical
forests are considered to be important repositories
of forest resources, especially NTFPs. Women
forest dwellers alone collect products worth about
700 million US dollars (Pandey and Saini, 2007).
The forests ofIndia harbour about 3000 types of
NTFP products of which collection in individual
states varies from 5.4-55 percent (Das, 2005). A
MoEF report (1999) estimated that about 400
million people in India are dependent on NTFPs
in one way or the other, generating Rs 20 billion
as government revenue. Of these, about 50
millions offorest dwellers, most of them tribals,
harvest substantial quantities ofNTFPs for their
subsistence and low-volume trade (National
Centre for Human Settlements and Environment
1987; Shiva 1993; Poffenberger 1996; Hegde et
aI., 1996). However 200 to 300 million non tribals
are also dependent on NTFP to a lesser degree
(Shiva, 1993; World Bank, 2006).
Being located at the confluence of the palaearctic
and oriental realms, and their Indo-Malayan,
Indo-Chinese and Indian biogeographical zones,
North East India harbours a veritable plant and
animal biodiversity. The region is also known for
its rich cultural heritage and ethnic diversity,
being home to about 145 tribal groups (of which
78 have populations exceeding 5,000 people) that
in turn represents about 12% of the total tribal
population of India (Ali and Das 2003). Of the
50 species of plants belonging to 20 families
recorded in the Red
Non-Timber Forest Products of .
Data Book from North East lndia, the state of
Assam houses 45 species belonging to 19 families.
Assam also has 193 species of mammals and more
than 958 species and sub species of birds
including IUCN Red Data Book species. A large
number of these plants and animals are also used
as NTFPs since long.
Before independence, the Cachar Forest Division
included the forests of the present day Cachar,
Hailakandi and Karimganj districts and that of
the Sylhet district of Bangladesh. Cachar forests
contained large stocks of Aquilaria malaccensis
(' Agar') that was used for extraction of essence,
lac, honey, bee-wax, thatch grass, bamboo and
rattan. The forest dwellers of Ca char were known
to hunt and trap 'Metna' or 'Mithun' (hill cow)
for keeping "in a semi-domestic state" for
sacrifice in religious festivals. Ivory as well as
live elephants had high commercial value. The
other animals utilized in this area for bush meat,
skin, fir, and as trophy included wild buffalo,
sambar, boa constrictor, barking deer, barasingha,
monkeys, tiger, leopard, rhinoceros, musk rat and
civet cats, birds like pheasants, snipes, jungle
pigeon, heron, adjutant, and others (Hunter,
1879). Many of these animals are no longer found
in the forests of Barak Valley.
The Inner line Reserve Forest (ILRF) of Cachar
is the largest reserve forest in the southern part of
Assam having an area of 418.56 km-. This reserve
forest came into existence in 1876-'77 through a
gadget notification of the colonial government of
Assam (Hunter 1879). The reserve forest is
presently bounded by the state of Mizoram in the
east and south and Hailakandi district of Assam
in the west. Large scale anthropogenic activity in
the reserve forest and its surrounding areas that
began after the British annexation of Cachar in
1832, followed by the establishment of tea
gardens in this area in the 1850s (Hunter 1879),
and timber based forest management followed by
the forest department both before and after
independence, have largely changed the original
subtropical evergreen-semi evergreen forest type
of the reserve forest. Nevertheless, ILRF still
harbours a diverse forest type including riparian
forest growing along Sonai and Rukni rivers - two
major tributaries ofR. Barak - which flow through
this forest. Besides, a number of small springs,
streams, marshes and other water bodies are also
common. The human population comprises
several tribes, viz., Halem, Jaintia (P'nar), Riang,
Mizo, H'mar, Dimasaand Kuki. Non-tribals have
also been settled by the Assam Forest Department
from time to time since 1903 to serve as labour
for maintaining and managing the forest
resources. Poverty is rampant among the forest
dwellers of ILRF due to inadequate infra
structure, lack of communication, poor
agricultural productivity, and lack of services like
safe drinking water, health, family planning,
education and irrigation. This in turn has
challenged the safety net of the ILRF ecosystem,
which leads to more unsustainable harvesting of
forest resources particularly NTFPs. In this paper
an attempt has been made to study the NTFP
dependency and usage pattern of the forest
dwellers ofILRF.
Materials and Methods
The study was conducted in the Inner Line
Reserve Forest of Cachar district (Fig 1). Cachar
district lies between 24° 22/N and 25° 8INLatitude
and 92° 24/E and 93° 1YE Longitude. Of the 22
forest villages notified by the forest department
in ILRF, 7 are inhabited solely by tribal groups
such as Halem, Jaintia (P'nar), Reang, Mizo,
Hmar, Dimasa and Kuki; 5 solely by non tribals
like Bengali Hindu (Scheduled Caste), Bengali
Muslim, north Indian and ex tea garden labour;
and the remaining 10 by a mixed population of
tribals and non tribals. Accordingly, 9 villages (3
tribal forest villages, 2 non tribal forest villages
and 4 mixed population forest villages) were
selected for the study of utilization and
dependency on NTFP of the forest dwellers. Data
were collected through door to door interview
using structured and semi structured
questionnaire as well as focal group discussion.
Interview and focal group discussion were made
involving interviewees from different cross
sections of the community such as NTFP
collector, trader, traditional medicine practitioner,
knowledgeable person, hunter and head man
(chief) of the forest villages. Special efforts were
made to involve women in the exercise. A total
of 654 households were surveyed during 2007 to
2008.
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Non-Timber Forest Products of .
Results and Discussion
The major livelihood categories in the 9 forest
villages of ILRF comprise settled agriculture,
agricultural labour, non-timber forest product
(NTFP) collection and trade, betel leaf cultivation
(pan-jhum), shifting cultivation (jhum), wage
labour, traditional medicine and others. Of these,
betel leaf cultivation is solely practiced by the
P'nar or Jaintia (mistakenly called 'Khasia' in
Barak Valley) community in 3 villages, viz.,
Fig 1. Inner line Reserve Forest of Cachar, Assam, India.
in conservation of several NTFP-yielding species
such as Canarium resiniferum, C. bengaiensis,
Mesua ferrea and others. In contrast, slash-and-
burn, shifting cultivation (jhum) is practiced by
H'mar and Reang communities, which inhabit the
villages of Borosalganga and Chotosalganga.
NTFP collection and trade are important
livelihood options, especially in Nagathal,
Nagathal, Santhochera and Chotosalganga. The
inhabitants of Santhochera are almost solely
dependent on this livelihood activity, with less
than 10 % of the population engaged in any
activity other than betel leaf cultivation. The local
term pan-jhum is in fact a misnomer, as unlike
jhum or shifting cultivation, betel leaf cultivation
does not involve any slash-and-burn of forest.
Instead, the mature trees in a pan-jhum plot are
conserved to serve as support for the entwining
betel creeper. This form of cultivation also results
s
Map not to scale
Baluchuri and Borosalganga, besides agriculture.
A large proportion of the villagers also work as
agricultural labour in villages like Baluchari,
Ekorthal, Khulichera and Khulichera (Mizo
Section). Land holding size is relatively high
among the settled agriculturists, betel leaf
cultivators and shifting cultivators, although in
the other groups it is low. Livestock rearing is
also an important livelihood option in the study
villages (Table 1 and 2).
Non-Timber Forest Products of .

Table I. Ranges of socio-economic variables in different occupational classes in the forest villages
(FV s) of ILRF, Cachar, Assam.

QnpItiat AVEf'8IJ:J AVEf'8IJ:J Wit LP LardtDdlll Uvesta:k Nlattiy

Pcmly si2e crea (sq ft.) (ha) lJ'e
Pg;aJtlre1 4.9-6.6 460.9-561.1 0.7-1.0 1.9-3.3 2683.00-3361. 00
/lgiaJtlra 1ct:n.J2 5.0-6.1 361.8-397.5 0.07-0.1 2.1-2.6 1735.00-1912.00
NTFPcdle::iim 4.9-6.3 380.5416.7 0.03-0.7 0.0:>-2.3 1500.00-2250.00
BEtale:t aJtivctiar(A:r7 5.6-6.3 389.1-002.9 0.3-1.12 1.5-5.0 1874. 00-2912. 00
ihnl
Siftirg aJtivcticrf (JIIrr) 5.8-6.2 454.2-580.0 0.42-0.44 1.2-3.0 1720.00-2625.00
~Ia:n.f' 5.0 383.3 0.02 0.33 1683.00
Tra:iticra rre::idn:f 5.8 410.0 0.20 1.00 1000.00
Qt-aS 4.0-5.7 383.3-500.0 0.2-1.2 0-0.3 1700.00-1900.00

I In all FVs except Santhochera; 2 In all FVs except Borosalganga and Santhochera ; 3 Only in
Nagathal, Santhochera and Chotosalganga; 4 Only in Borosalganga and Chotosalganga; 5 Only at
Khulichera; 6 Only at Sheorarthal; 7 Only at Nagathal and Baluchuri - includes small trader and
teacher.

Table 2. Extent of dependence on NTFP offorest village (FV) households in ILRF, Cachar, Assam.
NclTedthe Tctal rnd Patial NTFPdlpnu t f/~ FtJI NTFP
fcrest villaga tuse-rdd; • : (Old
PgiaJtLre PgiaJtl.fa BEtelle:t Siftirg Qh:rs
Iletnr cutivakn aJtivctim
N:n:ttB FV 93 17(17.7) 29(30.2) 11(11.5) - 4(4.2) 35(36.4
Blu::tui FV 91 18(19.8) 37(40.6) - - 2(2.2) 34(37.4)
EkattB FV 33 10(30.3) 18(54.5) - - - 5(15.2)
~i-daaFV 107 23(21.5) 42(39.3) - - 12(11.2) 30(28.0)
~i-daa(Mzo 65 17(26.:ZO/~ 34(52.3o/~ - - - 14(21.5)
sa:::tim)FV
Smcr-ttB FV EX:> 17(25.8 °/~ 32(48.5°/~ - - - 17(25.8)
B:rosa!lnJ3 FV 33 4(12.1) 6(18.2) - 5(15.2) - 18(54.5)
Srtod1era FV 37 - - 34(91.9) - - 3(8.1)
Otio-saC9ll3 FV 126 22(17.5) 40(31.7) 23(18.3) 13(10.3) - 28<22.2)
Tctal 654 128(19.6) 238(36.4) 68(10.4) 18(2.8) 18(2.8) 184(28.1)

The study further reveals that in the forest villages,
184 (28.1 %) households were totally dependent
on the NTFPs for their livelihood (Table 2), while
470 (71.9%) were dependent to a lesser degree
as their primary occupation comprised agriculture,
agricultural wage labour, betel leaf cultivation
(pan jhum), shifting cultivation (jhum), wage
labour, petty jobs, small business and others. In
spite of having an occupation other than NTFP
collection, they also depend on the forest for
resources required for shelter, food in the lean
season, fodder for livestock, house hold herbal
medicine, agricultural hunting tools, etc. Among
all the forest villages, the highest percentage
(54.5%) of households depend on NTFP in
Borosalganga FV, followed by Baluchuri FV
(37.4%) and Nagathol FV (36.4%). In West
Bengal, 26% forest dwellers primary occupation
is NTFPs collection and trade (Das 2005). In
Andhra Pradesh, Adilabad district has 67 % of
its people dependent on NTFPs, Visakhapatnam
has 62%, and Chittor 64%, respectively
(www.teriin.org). According to a World Bank
report (1993), 30% of the diet of tribal people in
Maharashtra is met by the forest. In
Non-Timber Forest Products of .

Bastar area of Madhya Pradesh, about 75% people
depend on NTFP in one way or the other (Saigal
et al., 1996).
NTFPs in ILRF were found to have 23 types of
uses (Table 3). It is also observed that the highest
number (28 - 18.51 %) of species of plants and
animals are used as food, mostly for domestic
consumption, followed by those used in
traditional medicine (26 -17.21 %). Among the
edibles, 19 species ofwild animals, including both
vertebrates and invertebrates are used as food to
meet the animal protein demand of the forest
dwellers. A considerable number of species are
also used for house construction (14 - 9.27 %),
for supply of fire wood (13 - 8.6 %), and as trophy
(10- 6.62 %). Forest dwellers ofILRF consume
bush meat of several animal species (15.78%) and
use the culms of bamboo and rattan (15.78%) for
various purposes (Table 4). Twigs and branches
(9.21 %) also comprise an important item used as
fuel, medicine and for magico-religious purpose.
Unselective hunting of animals for food, medicine
and magico-religious purpose involves several
endangered species like hoolock gibbon (Hoolock
leuconedys), sambar (Rusa unicolor), peacock-
marked softshell turtle (Aspideretes hurum) and
hornbill (Bucerous bicornis). Fruits, roots and
resins comprise the most important items in trade.
However, domestic consumption accounts for 52
% ofNTFP use.
Thus the forest resources in the form of NTFPs
play an important role in protecting the socio-
economic and ecological safety net ofthe forest
dwellers. The study reveals that almost all of the
forest: dwellers depend on the forest products
other than timber to varying degrees. It is also
observed that 28.1 % of forest dwellers depend
on the forest even for their cash income. Research
has indicated that NTFPs is a possible solution
to release the dependency on timber and can be a
sustainable source of income for the people living
in the forest and its near vicinity (Poffenberger
1993; Hegde et al. 1996; Shackleton and
Shackleton 2004; Babalola 2009). The rich NTFP
resource of ILRF, therefore, calls for further
research on various aspects and a framework for
sustainable utilization.

Table 3. Types of use of plant and animal NTFPs in ILRF, Cachar, Assam.

Purpose No. of species % of total

Fire wood 13 8.60
Medicine 26 17.21
Edible 28 18.51
Essence 7 4.63
House construction 14 9.27
Magico-relizious 7 4.63
Religious 2 1.32
Condiment 2 1.32
Insect repellent & Fish 5 3.31
poison
Dye 4 2.64
Bath sponge 1 0.66
Hunting tool 8 5.29
Container and packing 3 1.98
material
Essence stick pulp 1 0.66
Traditional beverage 1 0.66
Natural detergent 1 0.66
Rope 1 0.66
Broom 1 0.66

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Non-Timber Forest Products of .

Handle 2 1.32
Traditional wine making I 0.66
Agricultural tool 8 5.29
Pet 5 3.31
Trophy 10 6.62
Total 151 100 (99.99)

Table 4. Pattern of use of various parts of plant and animal NTFPs in ILRF, Cachar, Assam.

Parts Domestic (Self Trophy Medicinal Cottage Trade Others

consumption) Industry
Bark 2 (2.5%) 2(14.28%) 2(8.33%)
Culm 12(15.2%) 12(100%)
Flower and 2(2.5%) 2(8.33%)
inflorescence
Fruit 11(13.9%) 1(7.14%) 6(25.00%)
Seed 1(1.3%) 1(4.16%) 1(8.33%)
Leaf 4(5.1%) 4(28.57%) 2(8.33%) 1(8.33%)
Resin 4(5.1%) 5(20.83%)
Root 5(6.3%) 1(7.14%) 5(20.83%)
Twig and 12(15.2%) 1(7.14%) 1(8.33%)
branch
Bush Meat 19(24.1%) 4(28.57%) 1(8.33%)
Porcupine 1(9.09%) 1(8.33%)
quill
Bird bill 1(9.09%) 1(8.33%)
Horn and 3(27.27%) 2(16.66%)
Skull
Feather 1(9.09%)
Skin 4(36.36%) 2(16.66%)
Whole animal 7(8.9%) 1(9.09%) 1(7.14%) 1(4.16%) 2(16.66%)
Total 79(52%) 11(7.2%) 14(9.2%) 12(7.9%) 24(15.8%) 12(7.9%)

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