In the Garhwal of Uttarakhand, India, the Bhotiya, an ethnically and culturally distinct tribal group, were historically engaged in seasonal migration(i.e. transhumance) to take advantage of scarce mountain resources ...In the Garhwal of Uttarakhand, India, the Bhotiya, an ethnically and culturally distinct tribal group, were historically engaged in seasonal migration(i.e. transhumance) to take advantage of scarce mountain resources and trade relations with Tibet. This livelihood practice has all but disappeared.Households are adapting to these changing circumstances by engaging in the collection and sale of the valuable alpine medicinal fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis, widely known as Cordyceps. The collection of this fungus has exploded, emerging as a lucrative yet high-risk livelihood strategy for many Bhotiya communities.The Bhotiyas' historic herding and trade-based interactions and knowledge of these alpine environments where Cordyceps are found uniquely positions them to access this valuable biological resource. Elsewhere in the Himalayan region, some households are earning as much as two-thirds of their income from the collection of Cordyceps; in China Cordyceps is now listed as an endangered species due to intense over-exploitation in the Tibetan Plateau.This paper seeks to fill the void in the scientific literature on the social, ecological and economic aspects of the emerging Cordyceps trade in the Garhwal. Our study investigates the socio-spatial dimensions of Cordyceps collection in the high alpine meadows. We document how a fusion of local knowledge and practice with alpine mountain systems has served to reinvigorate the economic integrity of mountain communities at a time of rapid socioeconomic change and to reimagine a new relationship between alpine resources and community well-being.The article offers suggestions to address the sustainability of both Cordyceps collection and livelihood activities which hinge on this fungus population. We find a need for(1) community-based conservation measures that are rooted in(2) secure resource access rights for local communities to continue sustainable collection and sale of Cordyceps and(3) participatory-and science-based processes for determining appropriate local collection numbers.展开更多
Two opposing intellectual traditions and their contem-porary developments regarding the relations among population, available resources, and quality of life as reflected in economic growth are reviewed. What is at iss...Two opposing intellectual traditions and their contem-porary developments regarding the relations among population, available resources, and quality of life as reflected in economic growth are reviewed. What is at issue is whether population growth is detrimental to or beneficial for economic development. Neither of the extreme views gives a complete picture of the interplay among population, resources, and quality of life. Following previous literature on the topic, this paper establishes a more balanced approach that considers the function linking population and quality of life not constant but variable and regards the limitedness of resources as not absolute but relative to regions and societies. The proposed approach is more flexible in better explaining the relation between population and economic growth. China is examined as a case in point to shed light on the interaction of population growth, economic development, and available resources, and its recent post-economic reform experiences showcase the appropriateness of the synthetic approach.展开更多
基金funded in part by the College of Forestry and Conservation at the University of Montana,MissoulaThe logistical support and research assistance provided by the Mountain Shepherds Initiative and the Nanda Devi Campaign based in Uttarakhand were paramount
文摘In the Garhwal of Uttarakhand, India, the Bhotiya, an ethnically and culturally distinct tribal group, were historically engaged in seasonal migration(i.e. transhumance) to take advantage of scarce mountain resources and trade relations with Tibet. This livelihood practice has all but disappeared.Households are adapting to these changing circumstances by engaging in the collection and sale of the valuable alpine medicinal fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis, widely known as Cordyceps. The collection of this fungus has exploded, emerging as a lucrative yet high-risk livelihood strategy for many Bhotiya communities.The Bhotiyas' historic herding and trade-based interactions and knowledge of these alpine environments where Cordyceps are found uniquely positions them to access this valuable biological resource. Elsewhere in the Himalayan region, some households are earning as much as two-thirds of their income from the collection of Cordyceps; in China Cordyceps is now listed as an endangered species due to intense over-exploitation in the Tibetan Plateau.This paper seeks to fill the void in the scientific literature on the social, ecological and economic aspects of the emerging Cordyceps trade in the Garhwal. Our study investigates the socio-spatial dimensions of Cordyceps collection in the high alpine meadows. We document how a fusion of local knowledge and practice with alpine mountain systems has served to reinvigorate the economic integrity of mountain communities at a time of rapid socioeconomic change and to reimagine a new relationship between alpine resources and community well-being.The article offers suggestions to address the sustainability of both Cordyceps collection and livelihood activities which hinge on this fungus population. We find a need for(1) community-based conservation measures that are rooted in(2) secure resource access rights for local communities to continue sustainable collection and sale of Cordyceps and(3) participatory-and science-based processes for determining appropriate local collection numbers.
文摘Two opposing intellectual traditions and their contem-porary developments regarding the relations among population, available resources, and quality of life as reflected in economic growth are reviewed. What is at issue is whether population growth is detrimental to or beneficial for economic development. Neither of the extreme views gives a complete picture of the interplay among population, resources, and quality of life. Following previous literature on the topic, this paper establishes a more balanced approach that considers the function linking population and quality of life not constant but variable and regards the limitedness of resources as not absolute but relative to regions and societies. The proposed approach is more flexible in better explaining the relation between population and economic growth. China is examined as a case in point to shed light on the interaction of population growth, economic development, and available resources, and its recent post-economic reform experiences showcase the appropriateness of the synthetic approach.
