Forest Resources Use for Building Livelihood Resilience in Ethnic Communities of Jharkhand

The study documents forest resources use for building livelihood resilience among ethnic communities (Munda, Oraon and Lohara) of Bundu block in Ranchi district of Jharkhand, India. The findings revealed that the ethnic households make extensive use of 11 different plant parts namely, fruit (28 species), leaf (32 species), bark (2 species), flower (6 species), seed (9 species), twig (5 species), stem (30 species), tuber/root (7 species), floss (1 species), exudates (4 species) or whole plant (6 species) of about 64 important plant species belonging to 54 genera and 36 families to meet their daily livelihood needs from forests. The plant resources utilized by the ethnic people were mostly represented by trees (37 species) followed by herbs (9 species), shrubs (8 species), climbers (6 species), bamboos (2 species) and fungi (2 species). The ethnic people in the area frequently consume animal resources, viz., red ants, termites, rats/mouses, fishes, frogs, toads, snakes, small wild animals, birds, crabs, slugs, snails, wild honey and bee wax as food to supplement their nutrition and health needs. The traditional knowledge on the use of forest resources by the tribes is dwindling due to urbanization and fast development. Hence, the findings of the study will be helpful in strengthening the forest resources based livelihoods for socioeconomic improvement and poverty alleviation of the ethnic communities of Bundu block in Ranchi district of Jharkhand.