Traditional Knowledge Associated with Tropical Fruit Tree Genetic Resources: Comparison of Upper-Ghat and Coastal Situation of Central Western Ghats, India

The study was taken up in two representative villages each from upper-Ghat and coastal bioclimatic zones of Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka, India with an objective to document the total tropical fruit tree species diversity and the associated traditional knowledge. About 43 tropical fruit tree (TFT) species, were recorded. Seventy four traditional knowledge associated with TFTs were recorded from the study sites. It was noted that traditional knowledge related to culinary uses and processing of TFTs were practised even today. However, traditional knowledge related to medicinal uses showed a decreasing trend, where traditional medicines are being replaced with modern medicines. Cultural Importance (CI) value was calculated for all the 42 TFT genetic resources recorded. Mango showed highest value for CI when considered for each bioclimatic zone as well as when the data was pooled over all the village. Further, other two species that showed relatively higher values of CI were jack fruit and Garcinia indica. There was a positive association of the frequency of TFTs and their CI values. Documentation of such invaluable traditional knowledge would establish the rights of local communities over their traditional knowledge and its use. It is suggested that community biodiversity register (CBR) could be effectively adopted to empower local people.