Abstract

The Askote conservation landscape, located in eastern Kumaun, State of Uttarakhand, represents an enlarged version of the Askote Wildlife Sanctuary, encompassing within, minor landscape, which is part of the adjoining Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve. Of a total land area of 4,463 km², about 103 km²or just 2.31% of the area is cultivated land. The present study however, confines itself to the summer habitations of the Bhotiya community lying within the valleys-Darma, Vyas and Johaar, and delves into the factors that sustain the very livelihood of the stakeholders. Trade with Tibet was the prime occupation of Joharis and Darmis until 1962, when the Sino-Indian war brought an immediate end to this thriving lifeline. The concomitant loss of trade brought about drastic changes in the transhumant lifestyle- (i) fewer households arriving at their summer homes, (ii) a smaller livestock population, (iii) disappearance of traditional handicrafts, and (iv) increased exploitation of wild medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs), with traditional crops being replaced by more remunerative crops such as chives (Allium stracheyi) and caraway (Carum carvi), among others. The present study is an attempt to highlight the causal factors behind changes in the lifestyles of these traditional people, as described above, and concludes with proposals for possible alternatives for a sustainable future for these people.

Key words: Agro-biodiversity, biodiversity, grazing pressure, livestock population, medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs), transhumance.