The article first appeared in Scroll.in on June 1, 2022.
Saraswatibai Tekam is one of the 1,200 inhabitants of Waghdara, a small hamlet located in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district. Positioned near the edge of a dry, deciduous forest, this area is renowned for its growing tiger population, including the notorious tiger Avni, who gained infamy for killing 13 people before being shot in 2018.
Like many forest-dwelling communities in India, Waghdara’s residents depend heavily on the forest for their livelihoods. They gather non-timber forest products (NTFP) such as mahua flowers, gum, honey, and wild vegetables, either for personal consumption or sale in nearby markets. Under the Forest Rights Act of 2006, the village has secured “community forest rights,” which legally recognize their access to these forest resources.
In July of the previous year, Tekam hosted a meeting at her house for members of a self-help group to discuss climate changes observed in the forest ecosystem. Among them, the sole man present, a member’s husband, listened attentively from the verandah. The women expressed growing concerns: mahua flowers and seeds, used to produce edible oil and country liquor, were appearing in much smaller quantities. Charoli fruits were being destroyed by unseasonal rains, and trees were falling prey to diseases at an alarming rate. The declining quality of gum had also caused its market price to drop.
These observations are not unique to Waghdara. Similar climate changes have been reported in six villages across eastern Maharashtra, where the altered flowering and fruiting patterns of key tree species have disrupted the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities. This unpredictability significantly affects their ability to plan for crucial summer income, especially when other job opportunities are scarce.
Nailabai Tekam, the president of a self-help group in Awalgaon, a village 40 kilometers from Waghdara, remarked, “Our village has over 500 mahua trees. Some trees would yield more flowers, others less, but I’ve never witnessed such low quantities in my lifetime.” Amit Kulkarni, founder of Navi Ummed, an organization supporting community forest rights in Yavatmal’s Pandharkavda town, observed a similar trend, highlighting fewer new saplings and reduced yields from older trees.
These ecological shifts are closely linked to significant changes in Central India’s climate patterns. A 2017 study by Roxy Mathew Koll of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology reported a 10–30% rise in extreme rainfall events in the region between 1950 and 2015. Maharashtra has also experienced frequent hailstorms, which have damaged both crops and forest resources. The Mausam journal, published by the Indian Meteorological Department, recorded 11 hailstorms in the state between February and April 2014.
Despite the widespread impact of these changes, limited research exists on how climate variability influences forest product quality and yields. The Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment has pointed out that approximately 60,000 villages across Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Maharashtra—with a combined population of 6.26 crore—are eligible to claim community forest rights under the Forest Rights Act of 2006.
Seema Yadav’s research, conducted in Madhya Pradesh’s Hoshangabad and Madla districts between 2013 and 2018, similarly reported declines in tree populations and fruit production. Her findings revealed that 91% of respondents believed tree species numbers had reduced, while 86% noted a decrease in healthy fruit-bearing trees. Physical measurements confirmed shrinking tree heights and girths, with older trees failing to reach their previous sizes.
For millions of Adivasis who rely on forest products, these environmental changes threaten a vital source of income, jeopardizing their economic stability and way of life.
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