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The Chilgoza of Kinnaur. Influence of the Pinus gerardiana edible seed market chainorganization on forest regeneration in the Indian Himalayas.Abstract –– Context, objective and methods. In the north of India, in the Himalayas, the high-alti-tude slopes [(between 1800 and 3300) m] are covered by forests where Pinus gerardiana dominates.This pine is known for its edible seeds (Chilgoza). The recent evolution of nut harvest methods meansthat there is danger of the disappearance of natural seedlings and the ageing of the forests. Therefore,a survey was carried out from 1998 with a hundred farmers, which was supplemented with field visitsand discussions with resource people involved in the commercial chain. Results. In the 1950s, tradi-tional harvesting rules made it possible to respect trees and to allow a small portion of seeds to reachthe ground. So, in spite of particularly difficult ecological conditions, the forest was able to regenerate.During the five last decades, the roads opening have allowed an irrigated cash-arboriculture develo-pment in the valleys. The village communities have become less dependent on the Chilgoza trade andsell the nut harvest contracts to private contractors who employ foreign workers, cut many branchesand practically collect all the seeds. So, regeneration has become practically non-existent. The poorestinhabitants cannot have access to this resource anymore. In town, the retail sale of Chilgoza representsa market of (100 to 300) t·year–1, at a price from (15 to 20) €·kg, i.e., a market chain from (1.5 to6) M€·year–1. Discussion and conclusion. The authors put forward a proposal to substitute for thetwo private platforms (purchase and drying) of New Delhi an organization with a non-lucrativepurpose, concerned with a more respectful socio-economic development of the environment. This unitwould centralize Chilgoza buying, drying and storage in the production place. Then, it would ensuresales to urban sellers, at the time of the peak of market demand. This would allow for a more significantpart of the market chain added value to remain in the valley; this money at the same time would makeit possible to fight against poverty and to regenerate natural resources. The authors are campaigningto see that research and development projects, financed with national or international funds, come tosupport these proposals.India / Pinus gerardiana / Himalayan region / highlands / seeds / nonwood forestproducts / natural regeneration / sustainable land management / marketing channels
Le Chilgoza du Kinnaur. Influence de l’organisation de la filière de la graine comestiblede Pinus gerardiana sur la régénération forestière, dans l'Himalaya indien.Résumé –– Contexte, objectif et méthodes. Dans le nord de l'Inde, dans l’Himalaya, les pentes d’alti-tude [(entre 1800 et 3300) m] sont couvertes par des forêts où Pinus gerardiana domine. Ce pin estconnu pour ses graines comestibles (Chilgoza). L’évolution récente des méthodes de récolte laissentcraindre la disparition des semis naturels et le vieillissement des forêts. C’est pourquoi des enquêtesont été réalisées en 1998 auprès d’une centaine de paysans de la région ; elles ont été croisées avecautant de visites de terrain et avec des entretiens avec des personnes ressource de la filière commerciale.Résultats. Dans les années 50, la récolte traditionnelle permettaient de respecter les arbres et de laisserune petite partie des graines atteindre le sol. Ainsi, malgré des conditions écologiques particulièrementdures, la forêt pouvait être régénérée. Au cours des cinq dernières décennies, l’ouverture de routesa permis le développement d’une arboriculture irriguée de rente dans les vallées. Les communautésvillageoises sont devenues moins dépendantes du commerce du Chilgoza et ont majoritairement décidéde vendre les contrats de récolte des graines de leurs forêts à des entrepreneurs privés, qui emploientles ouvriers étrangers et font couper beaucoup de branches pour récolter pratiquement toutes les grai-nes. Ainsi la régénération est devenue pratiquement inexistante. Les habitants les plus pauvres ne peu-vent plus avoir accès à cette ressource. En ville, la vente au détail de Chilgoza représente un marché(100 à 300) t·an–1, à un prix de (15 à 20) €·kg–1, soit une filière de (1.5 à 6) M€·an–1. Discussion et con-clusion. Les auteurs font une proposition pour substituer aux deux plates-formes privées (achat etséchage) de New-Delhi un organisme à but non-lucratif, soucieux d’un développement socio-écono-mique plus respectueux de l'environnement. Cet élément centraliserait les achats, le séchage et le stoc-kage de Chilgoza sur le lieu de production. Puis, il superviserait les ventes aux vendeurs urbains, aumoment du pic de la demande du marché. Une part plus importante de la valeur ajoutée resterait ainsidans les zones de récolte; cet argent permettrait à la fois de lutter contre la pauvreté et de régénérerles ressources naturelles. Les auteurs militent pour que des projets de recherche et de développement,financés sur fonds nationaux ou internationaux, viennent appuyer ces propositions.Inde / Pinus gerardiana / région himalayenne / région d'altitude / graine / produitforestier non ligneux / régénération naturelle / gestion foncière durable / circuit decommercialisation
1 Cirad, Es, UR 36, Tac-36 / D, 34398 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
2 Inventaire Forestier National (IFN), Château des Barres, 45290 Nogent-sur-Vernisson, France
The Chilgoza of Kinnaur. Influence of the Pinus gerardiana edible seed market chain organization on forest regeneration in the Indian HimalayasRégis PELTIER1, Vincent DAUFFY2
* Correspondence and reprints
Received 4 June 2008Accepted 24 September 2008
Fruits, 2009, vol. 64, p. 99–110 © 2009 Cirad/EDP SciencesAll rights reservedDOI: 10.1051/fruits/2009005www.fruits-journal.org
RESUMEN ESPAÑOL, p. 110
Article published by EDP Sciences and available at http://www.fruits-journal.org or http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/fruits/2009005
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1. Introduction
1.1. Context
The Chilgoza pine (Pinus gerardiana Wall.ex. D. Don), “noosa”, or “neoza” (figure 1),is native to north-western Himalaya; it is
found in eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan andnorth-western India, growing at altitudesranging between (1800 and 3300) m. It isoften associated there with the Blue pine(Pinus wallichiana) and with the cedar ofthe Himalayas (Cedrus deodara).
Pinus gerardiana is well known for itsedible seeds (figure 2), rich in carbohy-drates and proteins. These “nuts” are knownand sold locally under the name of“Chilgoza”, “Neja” (singular) or “Neje” (plu-ral). Chilgoza is known to be one of the mostimportant cash crops of the tribal peoplewho live in the district of Kinnaur, in thestate of Himachal Pradesh (HP), India1.
Chilgoza is mainly extracted from the for-ests of the State and, in a complementaryway, from trees in private ownership. InIndia, although the majority of the forestswere nationalized during British coloniza-tion, the villagers preserve traditional rightsto the use of the natural resources. There-fore, the management of the forests ofChilgoza pine falls under the broader prob-lems of the common forest management.The common property resources are renew-able natural resources used and managed bya community, such as water for irrigation,forests, pastures, etc. These resources areused by several users, each having the sameright of use, but none of them being theowner.
1.2. Aim of the study
From 1998, a study was undertaken in part-nership with the National Afforestation Eco-development Board (N.A.E.B.), an Indiangovernmental organization, in particular incharge of the restoration of degraded forests[1], with the aim of characterizing the current“systems of harvest” of Chilgoza, i.e., theorganization of harvest on a village scale.More precisely, we attempted to estimatethe impact of these harvest systems at asocial level (equity in the division of this nat-ural resource, financial dependence of thevillagers), at an ecological level (impact on
1 Conifer Specialist Group, Pinus gerardi-ana, in: IUCN 2008, 2008 IUCN Red list ofthreatened species, www.iucnredlist.org.
Figure 1.The Chilgoza pine (Pinus gerardiana Wall. Ex. D. Don), “noosa”, or “neoza”.
Figure 2.“Nuts” known and sold locally in India under the name of “Chilgoza”.
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natural regeneration) and at an economiclevel (study of the ways of marketing, impli-cation of the various actors of the marketchain).
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Zone of the study
Kinnaur is a very mountainous area at theborder between India (HP) and China(Tibet) (figure 3). This area is centered onthe Satluj Valley which crosses three highmountain ranges, with many tops exceeding6,000 m. The physical conditions of thiszone are very difficult. The climate is rela-tively dry, on average 500 mm of precipita-tions per annum, with cold, snow-coveredbut dry winters, hot and dry springs, and hotsummers marked by rare and very erosiveprecipitations of monsoon. The topographyis very broken (figure 4). Sandy slopes of30% to 80% are not very favorable to theinstallation of vegetation. All these factorsare responsible for strong erosion.
In spite of these difficult physical condi-tions, agriculture is the principal activity ofKinnaur. The cropping systems remain pri-marily based on food crops of subsistencefarming: cereals (corn, wheat, millet) andvegetables (onions, garlic, lentils, red kid-ney beans). However, the slopes of Satlujare favorable to the establishment of
orchards of apple trees. Since 1962, the con-struction of a road has allowed the openingup of the zone and facilitates the export ofthe apple production towards New Delhi,thus supporting the expansion of this activ-ity. Currently, the villagers are resolutely
Figure 3.Kinnaur is a very mountainous area at the border between India (Himachal Pradesh State) and China (Tibet).
Figure 4.Sandy slopes of 30% to 80% are not very favorable to the installation of vegetation.
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engaged in fruit-orchard activity: apple treesprimarily, and almond trees secondarily. Inspite of this major change in agriculture, thevillagers remain dependent on the commonnatural resources which provide them withinputs in their systems of production (fod-der, mulching), and of firewood, but also ofthe marketable products (mushrooms andspices modestly, and primarily Chilgoza).
2.2. Methods of investigation
Our study was based at the same time onthe forest management and on the Chilgozaharvest. The informal preparatory phases ofthe survey made it possible to identify theproblems and to select the inquiry methodsto be used [2]. Then, a survey was carriedout with a hundred farmers of the area, todetermine what their perception of the evo-lution was and what improvements or alter-natives they could propose. The investiga-tions were supplemented with field visitsand discussions with resource peopleinvolved in the commercial chain.
Work was centered on four complemen-tary topics:– an analysis of the various systems ofChilgoza harvest in the villages of the studyzone,– an evaluation of the financial dependenceof the villagers with respect to the Chilgozaseed harvest,– an analysis of the Chilgoza market chain, – an evaluation of the ecological impact ofthe seed harvest on the regeneration ofthese forests.
In order to fulfil these objectives, a socio-economic survey was carried out with var-ious actors. These investigations primarilyproceeded in the district of Kinnaur, in theHimachal Pradesh state (HP), located on thebuttresses of the Himalayas, in the North-West of India. The investigations concerningthe market chain were carried out betweenKinnaur and the city of New Delhi, locateda little more than 500 km from the study zone.
2.3. Stratification of the investigations
A first series of semi-directive inquiries wascarried out with Forest Department officers,
at various hierarchical levels. Then, surveyswere carried out in the villages.
3. Results
3.1. The Chilgoza market chain: from production to marketing
The development of the Chilgoza marketchain has accelerated since the opening upof the study zone and the Chilgoza price risein the 1960s. Great changes have affectedthe modes of harvest and the ways of mar-keting. This market chain is still undergoingprogressive transformations even today.
3.1.1. Techniques of seed harvest
In September–October, the still green conesof Chilgoza pines are collected. The menclimb up the pines, and by means of a sicklecut the ends of the branches supporting thecones; those which are out of reach are lefton the tree. The cones are piled up for2 weeks in a shaded place in order to facil-itate the extraction of seeds which is thencarried out by means of a slicing tool: thecone is cut into four, and the seeds areextracted from each quarter. The harvest ofChilgoza seeds is a taxing activity: the pinesare located on very steep slopes often diffi-cult to access, the height of the pines is per-ilous and tiring, and, finally, the extractionof seeds is long and tiresome: to extract 3 kgof seeds requires approximately 1 work-hourfor an experienced person. The techniquesof harvest are identical over the whole of thestudy zone, but the organization of harveston the village level is variable.
3.1.2. Various systems of collection
There exist various systems of collection ofChilgoza seeds, according to the level ofdecision. That means that the collection canbe organized, in each village, either (1) onthe village level, (2) on the “district” level,or (3) on the level of each household.
In the first system (1), on the village level,the Chilgoza forest attached to the villagepreserves its integrity. The organization ofthe harvest is decided either by the members
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of the village council (panchayat), or by themembers of a traditional council when itexists, or by a mutual consensus betweenthe villagers. In all the cases, the opinion ofthe villagers clearly influences the organiza-tion of harvest. There exist three subsys-tems: (a) the harvest is carried out via con-tractors; the forest is divided into plots,allotted by increasing public auctions tocontractors who manage the harvest.(b) The villagers collect the cones alltogether and equitably divide them: this isa more traditional system of collectionwhich is tending to disappear, replaced bythe modern system of the contractors. (c) Inthe last case, now abandoned for more than3 years, one period of harvest was fixed atthe village level during which each house-hold could send three members into the for-est to collect the cones. Then, the collectedquantity depended only on the agility andthe labor of the workers.
In the second system (2), on the “district”level, the forest is divided into as many com-partments as “districts” exist in the village;then, a “district” is associated with each for-est compartment. The villagers of a districtchoose by consensus the system of harvestof the cones. Two subsystems coexist:(a) each compartment of the forest isdivided into several plots allotted by publicauction to contractors. (b) The villagers col-lect the cones collectively and equitablydivide them between themselves on thelevel of each harvest compartment.
Lastly, in the third system (3), on thehousehold level, a portion of the forest ofChilgoza pine is allotted to each beneficiaryhousehold. Each family manages the harvestas it likes, either by using the family labor,or by using seasonal salaried labor, or byyielding one's share in the form of a con-tract, generally with a neighbor, given thesmall size of the forest plots.
3.1.3. Equity in the redistribution of the income resulting from the sale of Chilgoza seeds
By the term “equity” we understand “anequal access of each household to thisresource”, and, therefore, to the financialincome arising from it. This equity depends
on the harvest system and on “what isshared”, either “the money” resulting fromcontracts with contractors, or “cones” in thecases of a villagers’ collective harvest, or“the forest” when a forest plot is allotted toeach household.
When it is about money [the cases of sys-tem (1) with subsystem (a), and system(2) with subsystem (a)], often the division ismathematical: the money is divided into asmany shares as there are households, butwithout taking account of the size of thefamily unit. Moreover, the earned moneydoes not depend on the involvement of thevillagers in harvest and, therefore, eachhousehold can claim the same income.When it is about cones [the cases of system(1) with subsystem (b), and system (2) withsubsystem (b)], often the division is equita-ble between households, but by takingaccount of the contribution in labor of eachhousehold. An equal number of workers isrequested for each household (very oftentwo) to carry out the harvest; if a household,for various reasons, is not able to providethese two workers, its share of cones is pro-portionally reduced, except if it presents afarm laborer in replacement.
In the two preceding cases, often the divi-sion is relatively equitable because themoney and the cones are quantifiable ele-ments and therefore easy to divide. Never-theless, if a forest plot is allotted to eachhousehold, equity in the division is defi-nitely less easy to obtain since it dependson the richness of the plots in cones. Thiswealth is a function of the mature treenumber, their respective productivity, theiraccessibility, etc.
For these reasons, very often, a system ofplot attribution change exists to restore cer-tain equality in the access to this resource:it can be a question of a lottery system. Inthe case of a village, a system of attributionchange does not exist: the village is dividedinto twelve segments, and the twelve corre-sponding compartments of forest are veryunequal, according to the panchayat chair-man (pardhan) of Roghi. This absence ofequity currently generates conflicts amongthe villagers, which explains the movement,today, towards a system of collection bycontractors.
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3.1.4. Pre-eminence of a new system of organization of harvest based on commercial contracts
A new contract system (calling upon con-tractors) is beginning to be used for theChilgoza seed harvest; at the time of an auc-tion, all the contractors, the majority fromthe village concerned, are brought together.Each plot is put up for bidding, and the con-tractor who proposes the highest bid dealswith harvest on the plot concerned. He man-ages the labor and, often, calls upon Biharior Nepalese non-local laborers.
Currently, it arises from the survey that asignificant number of villages has beendirected towards this contract system duringthe ten last years.
The development of fruit-bearing treecultivation (apple tree orchards) seems to bethe leading cause of this development. Theexplosion of this very remunerative cashcrop in the study zone has had two funda-mental effects, responsible for the disinter-est of the villagers with respect to theChilgoza seed harvest. First, the apple har-vest takes place simultaneously with theChilgoza seed harvest, which implies a lackof time available on the part of the villagers.Moreover, the success of apples in the studyzone has generated a rise in the monetaryincomes of the households; whereas in thepast the Chilgoza represented the singlemonetary source of revenue since the major-ity of the crops were intended for familyconsumption, the apple has become theindependent source of monetary incomes.Therefore, the dependence of the villagerswith respect to Chilgoza seed sale has con-siderably decreased, so that the need for get-ting a maximum profit from Chilgoza seedharvest has disappeared, which explains whya great number of villages turned, and con-tinue to do so today, to the contract system.
However, it appears from our semi-directed surveys that the poorest villagersmiss the traditional system of collection,which was certainly more lucrative for them.
3.1.5. A declining dependence of the villagers with respect to Chilgoza
By “dependence” with respect to theChilgoza, we understand “the part ofincome imputable to the Chilgoza in the
household budget”. The downward trend ofthis dependence is correlated with a rise inthe villagers’ income. This rise is not onlydue to the success of the apple productionbut it is also explained by the creation ofmany governmental supplementary pro-grams in the study zone which give priorityof employment to the lower-caste villagers,often the poorest. Governmental programsto install electricity and running water pro-vide remunerated employment for the locallabor. Therefore, in the majority of the vil-lages, the Chilgoza lost its essential place:only 30 years ago, it acted as the only mon-etary resource of the villagers [3]. Currently,the improvement in the villagers’ livingstandard is accompanied by a progressivedisinterest, above all of the wealthiest vil-lagers. Moreover, the abundance of cheapforeign labor for the agricultural workaccentuates this disinterest.
However, according to in-depth surveyscarried out in two villages, it arises that this“level of dependence” varies much from onevillage to another. In the villages of the Eastof the study zone, on slopes exposed to thesouth, the villagers are still relativelydependent on Chilgoza, which representsmore than 25% of the budget for certainhouseholds. In this zone, very restrictedwater availability did not allow a very sig-nificant development of arboriculture. Inthis precise case, the contribution of thefinancial income resulting from apple salesis less significant.
Overall, in the zone, the share of thefinancial income due to the Chilgoza in thetotal financial income of the household var-ies between 5% and 25%; this share canexceed 25% for the poorest villagers.
3.1.6. The marketing of Chilgoza nuts
The Chilgoza nut market chains are multi-ple. The villagers sell their production in pri-ority to itinerant merchants, either inRekong Peo, the main town of the Kinnaurdistrict, or directly in their own village pros-pected by the itinerant merchants; it is themost current case with Jangi, the most dis-tant village from Rekong Peo. Since theyhave a larger quantity of Chilgoza nuts, thecontractors, just as the itinerant tradesmen,prefer to directly sell them in New Delhi,
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where two agents of commission ensure thissale. It is about a redistribution platform: allChilgoza nuts produced in Kinnaur gothrough these two agents, subtracting aminor share (probably lower than 10%)directly sold by the villagers in a fair in Ram-pur during the religious holiday of Lavi.
The intermediaries, who then buy theChilgoza nuts, only carry out a single trans-formation in the market chain: nuts arequickly brought up to a very high temper-ature, in order to harden the mantle to stopa rapid and significant loss of moisture. Thismoisture loss explains why the first part ofthe marketing is very fast, and why the mar-gins which the itinerant tradesmen allow aresignificant. After this transformation, theretailers can buy the Chilgoza nuts and sellthem without the risk of weight loss, andthus profit loss.
Chilgoza is primarily marketed in thenorth of India, at a high price, varying from(15 to 20) €·kg–1. The marketing of Chilgozanuts is seasonal: they are primarily sold dur-ing the religious holiday of Divali, duringwhich all kinds of dried fruits are offered aspresents to the family. Chilgoza nuts arebought by rich consumers, especially in NewDelhi. The increasing demand for Chilgozanuts started a strong price increase; conse-quently, many tradesmen are interested inthis market. Although the “monetarydependence” of the villagers with respect toChilgoza has been reduced, the harvest ofthis expensive nut remains very lucrative.
3.2. The degradation of the pine forests
Currently, from the inventories carried outduring our study, we observe that naturalregeneration in Chilgoza pine forests isalmost non-existent. Declarations of ForestDepartment civil servants corroborate thisobservation and this irrefutable fact hasalready been underlined since 1960 [3]. Theonly factor harmful for the Chilgoza pineregeneration, which has increased consid-erably since the fifties, is the over-harvestingof this pine; the seed overexploitation isresponsible for the low current level of nat-ural regeneration. Very few cones, and
therefore seeds, reach the ground and allownatural regeneration.
3.2.1. Impact of the harvest system on natural regeneration
For the Chilgoza pine forests, anthropicpressure is directly correlated with the nutharvest system. Indeed, it emerges from sur-veys led in the villages having preserved atraditional harvest system that the harvestcarried out by contractors is more “destruc-tive”. Villagers who collectively lead harvestare often less available and involved thanthe contractors. In addition, to preserve theresource, they limit in particular the dis-branching (pruning) which is usually car-ried out to reach inaccessible cones. On thecontrary, often the contractors have fewerscruples: in all the cases, the harvest thatthey carry out is more harmful for naturalregeneration than a traditional harvest car-ried out by villagers.
The movement of the traditional collec-tion systems towards a contract systemexplains why this phenomenon of overex-ploitation, already a key factor, can onlyworsen in the years to come. Moreover, theopening up of the villages towards contrac-tors coming from outside can be currentlyobserved, even made aware of their respon-sibilities regarding this problem of naturalregeneration degradation. A contractoroften is concerned only with his annual con-tract without concern for the future coneproduction, with more powerful reasonswhen he does not belong to the village. Inaddition to these principal factors, other fac-tors accentuate the Chilgoza natural regen-eration problem.
3.2.2. Factors responsible for the low level of natural regeneration
The persons in charge of the Forest Depart-ment of the state of Himachal Pradesh esti-mate that natural regeneration is not suffi-cient for a renewal of the forest, except invery sloped zones, which would account foronly 5% of the surface covered by theChilgoza pine. This confirms the observa-tions made in Pakistan [4, 5]. To its overex-ploitation, other biotic and climatic factorsare added which accentuate the poverty ofnatural regeneration.
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Although the branches of adult Chilgozapine are not edible by cattle, the youngseedlings are attractive to and grazed bydomestic cattle, which cause the mortality ofan already established regeneration. Twoother biotic factors are added to theseanthropic factors: (1) two parasitic insects,Dioryctria abietivorella (Grote), the Fircone-worm [6], and Euzophera cedrela, theCedar cone-moth [7], lay in the cones andtheir larvae consume seeds rich in proteins,and (2) various rodents, birds (Nucifragacaryocatactes subsp. multipunctata), theEurasian nut-crackers [8] or lizards consumeseed fallen on the ground, not allowingestablishment for regeneration. Because ofits epigeous germination, the cotyledons ofseed, just after germination, can be con-sumed by certain birds.
Moreover, the climatic conditions arevery harsh, and springs (and sometimessummers) very dry. This is why a Chilgozapine spends two years establishing its rootsystem. During its first two years, it remainsexposed to climatic risks and sensitive tosevere dryness. Once its top root is estab-lished, the pine is able to resist dryness.
3.2.3. Actions of the forest department to stop this phenomenon
Since the sixties, the Forest Department hasbeen interested in the problem of Chilgozapine regeneration. Its forest policy is reso-
lutely directed towards the conservation ofthese forests. However, rather than stickingto the roots of the problem, the overexploi-tation of seeds, the Forest Departmentturned to artificial pine plantations. Thetechniques of seedbeds and transplantationhave gradually improved during the lastthirty years. Today, these techniques makeit possible to grow the pine in seedbedsmore easily, and to transplant it by disturb-ing the root system as little as possible. How-ever, the plantations continue to encountera relative failure even today (figure 5). Thecost of these plantations (from the sowingof seed until planting) has increased,because they require a lot of labor: produc-ing a seedling and planting costs approxi-mately 0.25 €. After planting, the Chilgozapine requires follow-up for 2 years, in par-ticular regular irrigation and partial weed-ing, to facilitate the establishment of its rootsystem. Nevertheless, the Forest Depart-ment, on the zone level, does not have thefinancial means to ensure the follow-up.Moreover, the involvement of villagersremains weak, even non-existent; often theyare ready not to let their cattle graze in theplantations carried out, but do not feel abso-lutely concerned by their conservation.Thus, in many villages, the farmers do notallow the Forest Department to use waternecessary for the plantation irrigation, fromtheir own private channels.
4. Discussion
4.1. How to stop this process of degradation
Any project intended to stop or slow downthis process of forest degradation must benecessarily based on the participation of thevillagers. Indeed, the Forest Departmentdoes not have financial and human meansto lead projects without their agreement,because, with regard to the Chilgoza coneharvest, the beneficiaries do not have arestriction, and their participation is alsonecessary in projects of participative affor-estation, for example. Therefore, it wouldbe necessary to initially estimate up to whatpoint the villagers are conscious of the
Figure 5.The forest services of the State have carried out some plantations but those have a very limited surface area and rate of success, due to a lack of means.
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impact upon their environment which thisdeficit of natural regeneration wouldinvolve in the long term, i.e., a progressiveageing of the forest in place, then its disap-pearance, with the erosion problems thatwould be involved.
After this preliminary study, variousprojects could be set up. A rotation systemin harvest could be established, i.e., at thelevel of each village, part of the Chilgozapine forest would not be exploited eachyear, in order to allow a maximum of seedsto reach the ground. In order to promotenatural regeneration, this forest manage-ment had already been tried by the ForestDepartment, but the villagers had beenopposed to this action and had notrespected it. The seed protection could besupplemented by some plantations of zoneswithout seed-bearing trees and by grazingprohibition for four to five years.
4.2. Proposal for an establishment of a regulatory organization at a key point of the market chain
The study of the Chilgoza market chain, inparticular of the ways of marketing, madeit possible to isolate a key point: in NewDelhi, the basic essentials of the productionproceed by two commission agents beforeundergoing a transformation intended tostop the seed moisture loss. A key idea ofa project would be to substitute, for theseprivate distribution platforms, a non-lucra-tive organization (NGO type or cooperative)concerned with a more balanced and morerespectful socio-economic development ofthe environment. This organization, whichwould centralize the production of Chilgozaseeds, would ensure drying at high temper-atures. This unit could be establisheddirectly in the production place [the totalproduction of Chilgoza seeds consumed byNew Delhi represents from (100 to 300) tper year].
The aims of this establishment would bemultiple:
– First of all, to improve the remunerationof the inhabitants of Kinnaur, by limiting thenumber of intermediaries in the marketchain, by reducing the seed weight loss due
to transportation to Delhi, and by improvingthe distribution system of Chilgoza seeds.
– To have an impact on the upstream of theindustry, i.e., on the Chilgoza seed harvest:if the organization really manages to estab-lish a monopoly, it would consequentlyhave the means of exerting a pressure onproducers, or at least of adopting a strategyof incentive (premium for the “harvest qual-ity”, premium for respecting the quotas). Allthese activities of incentives could be com-municated by public awareness campaignscarried out directly for the villagers orconcerned associations, but also for thecontractors and farm laborers,
– To have an impact downstream fromthe market chain while trying to stabilizethe market, while controlling each year theChilgoza marketed quantities, in particularby a quota policy. Moreover, an improve-ment in the capacities and in storage effec-tiveness could allow running the Chilgozaseed production only during the peak ofconsumption of the Divali festival, in orderto obtain the best possible value for theproduct.
– Finally, such a unit could deliver to theproduct a label of sustainable managementand equity, knowing that urban consumersand those most financially secure areincreasingly concerned about this type ofcertification.
4.3. Proposal based on the Indian and African experience of village associations for sale of Non-Wood Forest Products (NWFP)
In India, in 2003, a decade after initiating theJoint Forest Management (JFM), evaluationsof this program indicated that huge progresshad been made in terms of the number ofForest Protection Committees (FPCs) formed(nearly 63 000) [9], which covered an areaof about 15 Mha. Nevertheless, the numberof FPCs functioning is very low. Lack ofcommunity participation, ineffective leader-ship, lack of statutory institutional support,and tenurial security are the major concernsthat need to be addressed to make the JFMeffective. Capacity building is an issue thatneeds strengthening. The evaluation reports
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have shown a huge potential for generatingemployment in the JFM program, which, inturn, will reduce seasonal migration of lan-dless labor. However, the income-generat-ing activity in the JFM was not improved tothe expected level, perhaps due to the poorlinks between produce availability and mar-ket channels. The focus of the individuals hasto be changed from the short-run to the long-run concerns by providing them with a suit-able alternative means of livelihood [10].
In addition, concerning the market chainupstream organization of the NWFP in com-mon property, the experience gained by theFrench Agricultural Research Center forInternational Development (CIRAD) in Cen-tral Africa, as by many organizationsthroughout the world [11], shows the possi-bility for solutions which could beattempted in Kinnaur.
The African examples relate to variousproducts such as, for example, the leaves ofthe Doum palm tree in Niger [12] or shea treebutter in Cameroon [13]. In these cases, theinhabitants were organized in village asso-ciations (VA) in which all the groups are rep-resented (traditional authorities, farmers,stockbreeders, women, young people, richfarmers, poor landless peasants, etc.). TheState delegated to these associations the for-est management, provided that those forestsare managed in a sustainable way, aresocially equitable, and that the regeneration
of the natural resource is assured [14]. TheNWFP are marketed in a way grouped intoa storage and sale common purchasingagency where they receive a first transfor-mation, easily realizable in the village. Thismakes it possible to sell a higher value prod-uct when the market is high. A more signif-icant part of the added value thus remainsin the harvest zones. Taxation raised directlyby the village associations on the sale ofNWFP allows, on the one hand, financingthe government officials in charge ofcontrol; and, on the other hand, carrying outforest regeneration actions; and, finally,carrying out various local developmentactions, freely chosen by the village associ-ation assemblies.
The authors hope that research and devel-opment projects, financed with national orinternational funds, will come to supportthese proposals, by organizing the chain ofChilgoza seeds, in order to ensure the regen-eration and the sustainable management ofthe Kinnaur forests and to reduce poverty(figure 6).
5. Conclusion
Currently, there is not sufficient naturalregeneration in the Chilgoza pine forests,and plantation programs led by the ForestDepartment are not widespread enough andespecially not yet effective enough to con-sider a renewal of the forest. This forest hasnot yet come to a stage of senescence, butsuch a catastrophic scenario is envisageableif no project makes it possible to restore suf-ficient natural regeneration. Our study hasattempted to analyze exactly the context ofthe harvest of Chilgoza seeds. Moreover, itmade it possible to alter the preconceivedidea, certainly true in the past, that the vil-lagers remained very dependent on thefinancial income of the Chilgoza product.The knowledge of all this economic contextof Chilgoza upstream of the market chainmust make it possible to choose suitablemodes of action to carry out a more adaptedproject.
Complementary studies must be carriedout to this end. For a deeper understanding,
Figure 6.The sustainable management of the Kinnaur forests (India) could reduce poverty.
The Chilgoza of Kinnaur (India)
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they could be in particular directed aroundtwo main research areas:
– a real estimate of the settlement age, andof the regeneration level necessary and suf-ficient to ensure the renewal of the forestsof Pinus gerardiana, perhaps by assessinga minimal number of healthy cones to pre-serve on the tree each year by takingaccount of all the other factors affectingregeneration,
– a feasibility assessment of the establish-ment project for a cooperative or a NGO inthe marketing and organization chain ofproducers in village associations.
Acknowledgement
The authors wish to thank Prof. ParvinderKaushal from the University of Horticultureand Forestry of Solan (HP) and the NationalAfforestation Eco-Development Board ofIndia, for their help during this work.
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[6] Sehgal R.N., Sharma P.K., Chilgoza, theendangered social forestry pine of Kinnaur,Tech. Bull. FBTI, 1989.
[7] Beeson C.F.C., The ecology and control offorest insects of India and the neighbouringcountries, Vasant Press, Dehra Dun, India,1941,1007 p.
[8] Jonsson L., Les oiseaux d’Europe, d’Afriquedu Nord et du Moyen-Orient, Nathan, Paris,France, 1994, 559 p.
[9] Murali K.S., Jagannatha Rao R., Sudha P.,Sangeetha G., Murthy I.K., RavindranathN.H., Evaluation studies of Joint Forest Man-agement in India: social and institutionalimplications, Int. J. Environ. Sustain. Dev. 2(1) (2003) 19–35.
[10] Zakir H., Rabindra N.B., Attitudes and insti-tutions: contrasting experiences of JointForest Management in India, Environ. Dev.Econom. 9 (2004) 563–577.
[11] Anon., Non-Wood Forest Products for ruralincome and sustainable forestry, FAO, Non-Wood Forest Products, Vol. 7, Roma, Italia,1995, 117 p.
[12] Peltier R., Serre Duhem C., Ichaou A., Valori-ser les produits du palmier doum pour gérerdurablement le système agroforestier d’unevallée sahélienne du Niger et éviter sa déser-tification, VertigO– Rev. Electron. Sci. Envi-ron. 8 (1) (2008) 15 p.
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El Chilgoza del Kinnaur. Influencia de la organización de la filial de la semillacomestible de Pinus gerardiana en la regeneración forestal, en el Himalayaindio.
Resumen –– Contexto, objetivo y métodos. En el norte de la India, en el Himalaya, laspendientes de altitud [(1800 y 3300) m] están cubiertas de bosques donde domina el Pinusgerardiana. Se conoce este pino por sus semillas comestibles (Chilgoza). La reciente evolu-ción de los métodos de cosecha hace temer la desaparición de las siembras naturales y elenvejecimiento de los bosques. Po resta razón se llevaron a cabo sondeos en 1998 a cerca decien campesinos de la región; se han mezclado con otras tantas visitas de terreno y con entre-vistas a personas que son recurso de la filial comercial. Resultados. En los años 50, la cose-cha tradicional permitía respetar a los árboles y dejar una pequeña parte de las semillasalcanzar el suelo. A causa de esto, y a pesar de las condiciones ecológicas particularmenteduras, el bosque lograba regenerarse. A lo largo de las cinco últimas décadas la apertura derutas permitió el desarrollo de una arboricultura irrigada de renta en los valles. Las comunida-des lugareñas se volvieron menos dependientes del comercio del Chilgoza y decidieronmayoritariamente vender los contratos de cosecha de semillas de sus bosques a los empresa-rios privados que contratan obreros extranjeros, ordenan podar muchas ramas para cosecharprácticamente todas las semillas. De este modo, la regeneración se ha vuelto prácticamenteinexistente. Los habitantes más pobres ya no pueden tener acceso a este recurso. En la ciu-dad, la venta minorista de Chilgoza representa un mercado de (100 a 300) t·an–1, a un preciode (15 a 20) €·kg–1, es decir una filial de (1.5 a 6) M€·an–1. Discusión y conclusión. Losautores hacen una propuesta para sustituir ambas plataformas privadas (compra y secado) deNueva Delhi por un sólo organismo sin ánimo de lucro, preocupado por un desarrollosocioeconómico más respetuoso con el medioambiente. Dicho elemento centralizaría lascompras, el secado y el almacenamiento de Chilgoza en el lugar de producción. Asimismosupervisaría las ventas a los vendedores urbanos, en el momento pico de la demanda delmercado. Una parte más importante del valor añadido permanecería de este modo en laszonas de cosecha; este dinero permitiría a la vez luchar contra la pobreza y regenerar losrecursos naturales. Los autores militan para que proyectos de investigación y de desarrollo,financiados por fondos nacionales o internacionales, vengan a apoyar estas propuestas.
India / Pinus gerardiana / región Himalaya / zona de montaña / semilla /productos forestales no lenosos / regeneración natural / ordenación de tierrassostenible / corrientes de mercadeo
