Diversity, Utilization and Dependency on NTFPs – A case study of a National Park in Indian sub-Himalayan Region

Background: Non timber forest products (NTFPs) greatly contribute to livelihood, development, and poverty alleviation of indigenous and rural communities across the tropics. We also assumed that the fringe communities inhabiting Jaldapara National Park (JNP) of Indian eastern sub-Himalayan region largely rely on the NTFPs for their livelihood due to its remote and isolated location with no physical infrastructure and facilities. Methodology: Multistage sampling technique was used for the study. The sample size was 205 households selected randomly from a sample frame of 10 villages. Descriptive statistics was employed to analyze and summarize the data. Results: A total of 146 NTFP species was documented. The communities in our study area also relied on their NTFP collection/harvest for food, medicine, rewood, animal fodder, and other socio-cultural items for household use and cash income. Income from NTFPs contributed on an average 45 % of the total annual household income of the sampled households. Conclusion: NTFPs provided a natural insurance to households especially during the periods of scarcity. Focused interventions with technical and nancial support are recommended to uplift the livelihood of the forest fringe indigenous communities in JNP.

. NTFPs provide natural insurance against hunger and malnutrition during scarcity and even during famines (Endamana et al., 2016). NTFPs are thus vital for the social development of the indigenous/forest fringe and rural communities (Endamana et al. 2013).
The dependency of the indigenous forest and rural people on NTFP continues till today because of their poor economic conditions and non-empowerment towards socio-economic development (Alex et al., 2016). Unfortunately till now there are no serious efforts to analyze the revenue generated for neither livelihood through NTFPs nor any standard system of accounting its contribution towards household income exist (Endamana et al., 2016). Normally, NTFPs traded in markets are documented in studies or in accounting exercises but no such exercise have been made to record the domestic or non-commercial consumptions. Moreover, the traditional knowledge pertaining to NTFPs and its utilization is gradually eroding through acculturation and the loss of plant biodiversity along with indigenous people and their cultural background due to modernization and unsustainable development (Suresh et (Bose et al., 2015). Unfortunately, the traditional knowledge on utilization of these natural resources is now mostly restricted to the older generation in this forest community also (Bose et al., 2015). The present study was conducted to generate information required for conservation and sustainable utilization of local NTFPs resources and which can also contribute to preserve cultural and genetic diversity. The present day strategy for societal development program is to incorporate traditional items like NTFPs into local livelihood improvement system (Jeyaprakash et al., 2011). The national governments of many developing countries are now promoting the NTFPs-based activities as a developmental strategy for uplifting and empowering the rural and indigenous communities. With this view the present study was conducted to documentation of NTPFs, use pattern and process of utilization among the fringe communities of JNP.

Methods And Materials
Study area JNP is a part of Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot (Myers and Mittermeier, 2000). It is situated on the foothills of the eastern Himalayas, India (Das et al., 2003). The park is mainly savannah containing giant grasses along with mixed deciduous, wet monsoon, tropical moist deciduous, tropical semievergreen and riverine forests (Champion and Seth, 1968). The region is sub-tropical receiving average annual rainfall of 250-300 cm from south-west monsoon of which 80 % is received from June to August.
The summer and winter temperature are mild with 34°C as the highest in the month of May while the lowest temperature is 7.5°C in the month of January. The study area as measured by GPS was in between 25 0 58 ' N and 27 0 45 ' N latitude and 89 0 08' E and 89 0 55' E longitudes with elevation of 47 m above mean sea level.
The forest is inhabited by divergent Indo-Mongoloid communities of Mech, Ravas, Totos, Uraons, Tamang, Toppo, Lepcha, Rajbangsi and Mundas making it bioculturally diverse with varied socioeconomic conditions. These indigenous people are permanently settled in and around the National Park. Each indigenous community has their own distinct culture and beliefs (www.alipuarduar.gov.in). The primary livelihood activity of these communities is subsistence farming and NTFPs collection. Their standing crop is frequently decimated by wild elephants. Further the habitations are remotely located and isolated with no physical infrastructure and facilities like limited accessibility by good roads, making the whole area underdeveloped. The inhabitants of the area thus depend on NTFPs to meet their income and daily needs. The forest resources are locally managed by Forest Protection Committees under Joint Forest Management Scheme controlled by the State Forest Department (Pandey et al., 2011).

Sampling procedure
Multistage sampling procedures were applied in this study. JNP and the villages were selected purposively while the respondents were selected randomly. The selection of the study area was purposive because it is a National Park important for its Rhinoceros conservation and inhabited by the indigenous communities depending on it for NTFP resources. The villages were located in the designated forest area and are termed as Forest villages. The Indian Forest Act permits the inhabitants of these villages access and resource use rights over collection of NTFPs from the park as the country is a signatory of the United Nation Convention on Biological Diversity of 1992 (CBD 1992). Major ten villages located in and around the National Park which has more than 50 households were also selected purposively and from the each village, one tenth of the total households (205) were randomly selected (Lepcha et al., 2018).

Data collection
The data were collected from the sampled households by the lead author assisted by a trained enumerator with the help a pre-tested structured questionnaire through personal interviews and focus group discussions (FGD) guided by a checklist of questions (Frechtling et al., 1997;Dey et al., 2017 a, b ).
The questionnaire was pre-tested for elimination, addition and alteration with non-sample respondents of the study area. In pre-testing, care was taken not to include respondents who were selected as sample for nal interview. On the basis of experiences in pre-testing, appropriate changes in the construction of item and their sequence were made. Prior to starting the interviews, a few days were devoted in each selected village to establish rapport with the respondents. The questionnaire was administered to the respondent in local language and the responses were recorded in English. On the basis of the objectives of study, questionnaire was designed with two sections. The rst section was on socio-economic attributes of the respondents like literacy, occupation and total monthly household income, while the second section was on collection and utilization including processing of NTFPs, value of NTFPs consumed and sold by the households and contribution of NTFPs to total monthly household income.
Occupation indicates the economic activity of a household and thus is a source of income. We hypothesised that as our study villages are remotely located and isolated with no or very little basic infrastructure facilities, there will be limited or no livelihood options except dependency on its forest resources or subsistence farming as was also reported in earlier studies (Daneji and Suleiman, 2011).The limitations of our study area mentioned above also lead us to hypothesize that the inhabitants will be mostly illiterate and thus will have no other livelihood options except for relying on subsistence farming or on its forest resources. Studies have shown that education results in lesser dependency on forest or farming activity and more inclination towards alternative employment opportunities (Newton et al., 2016). Our last hypothesis was that the study area would have very low or marginal total household monthly income because of illiteracy and limited livelihood options rendering the inhabitants with no other livelihood options other than to depend on subsistence farming and NTFP collection from the forest (Vedeld et al., 2004).
Generally, head of the household was taken as the respondent. The society of the study area is patriarchal, so the husband is the head of the family. In case when the husband is absent the wife, eldest son, or the daughter was interviewed on behalf of the head. A total of 10 FGDs were conducted, one in each selected village. There were about 15-20 participants in the discussions which included the village chief, senior citizens of the village, some prominent NTFP collectors, members of Forest protection committee and representative of State Forest Department. The information gathered from these discussions supplemented the household surveys which were nally used for interpretations of the results.

Data analysis
Data collected were statistically analysed using descriptive technique (frequency, percent and bar chart).
We classi ed our respondents as literates and illiterates. According to Indian standards a person who has only basic '3Rs' knowledge i.e. can read and write his/her name and can perform simple arithmetic is literate and otherwise not. Literacy of the respondents is expressed as per cent of total respondents. Monthly total household income is calculated as the sum total of income a household was earning from different sources (if any). Generally the total household income (THI) is summation of agricultural (AI), non-agricultural (NAI) and forest income (FI) or THI = AI + NAI + FI (Endamana et al., 2016). The households were classi ed as low, medium and high income group (Kochhar, 2015) based on their total monthly household income and then expressed as per cent of total respondents. USD to Indian rupee exchange rate during the study period was USD1 = INR60.

Socio-economic attributes
The main occupation of the indigenous communities of the sampled villages in and around JNP is subsistence farming and collecting/harvesting of NTFPs supplemented with some temporary activities like daily paid manual labour or petty business. According to our classi cation made on the basis of total monthly household income there was only two income groups. Almost all the respondents i.e. 95.33 % were in low income group living on USD 2-10 daily and rest were in medium income group living on 10-20 USD daily. The contribution of NTFP towards total monthly household income varied widely in the range of 1-70 % with an average of 45 %. Around 60 % of the respondents in the study area were literate; atleast had spent two years in formal education and had the tendency to search for an alternate occupation other than farming or collecting NTFP.
NTFPs diversity/richness vomiting, nausea and blood pressure. Azadirachta indica was used round the year for treating various diseases like eye infection, allergy, skin infection and also used as tooth stick. Oroxylum indicum is also used round the year to control jaundice and blood pressure.
The indigenous communities of JNP were rich in ethnopharmacological knowledge to properly use NTFPs. A total of 49 diseases/ailments were cured with the help of locally available plant resources. Fever, cough and cold were documented as most common disease suffered by the community. For remedy the community used 12 different plant species. Other common disease was dysentery and 10 plant species were used for its treatment. Skin and stomach problem was treated with eight and seven species, respectively. Diabetes, vomiting and diarrhoea were treated with ve species each, while four species each were used for treating indigestion, mouth ulcer, rheumatism and blood pressure. Similarly, three species each were used to treat asthma and allergy while two species each were used as remedy for urine infection, jaundice, kidney problem, heart problem, eye problem and burn.
Diseases/ailments like cut, wound, snake bite, fracture, swelling/pain, body pain, arthritis, pneumonia, loss of appetite, liver aliments, stomach worm, cholera, gastroenteritis, ring worm, boil, sexual disorder, hypertension, conjunctivitis, tooth pain, small pox, reducing weight, leprosy, bleeding control, cystitis, hiccup and nerve disorder were each treated with single species. Young twigs of Azadirachta indica and Pongamia pinnata are used for dental care. Honey secreted by Trigona spp. is mixed with black pepper powder and consumed for relief against cold and cough. Even mouth disease of domestic animal was documented to be treated and Ficus racemosa was used for it.
Proper selection of species, parts, as well as preparation and administration methods were given very important in traditional health care systems. Generally fresh part of the plant is used for the preparation of medicine except for the underground parts which were used in dried form. Ethnomedicinal formulations were administered both externally (skin, nasal, eye and dental) and internally as oral doses.
Most of the preparations were mixture of different plant species and in few cases only one plant species was used. Different parts of a single species were also used to cure different diseases. Almost all plant parts were used to prepare different medicinal formulations: roots, rhizomes, tubers, bark, leaves, owers, fruit, seeds, young shoots, whole plants, and gum and latex. Doses of these preparations were not standardized but administered on the basis of age, physical appearance and intensity of the illness. Children were usually administered with smaller doses than adult. The course of frequency of treatment is decided by the type of disease and its severity. The majority of formulations were prepared as juice followed by paste and decoction. Mode of preparation included juice, paste, decoction, powder, infusion, and chewing raw plant parts. The administration of the therapy is raw, dried form in small pieces or powdered, solution or mixed with water/milk/honey and paste/lotion. The preference for roots and rhizomes were preferred to prepare traditional remedies.

Food and nutrition
Many plant, animal and fungus based NTFPs were collected by the indigenous communities from JNP for food and nutrition (table 1). Plant based resources used for food and nutrition was represented by 42 species. Animal based resources used for food were represented by sh with 13 species and a honey bee species. Fruiting bodies of seven species of fungus were also used as food. Among the plant resources more than 50 % of species were used as vegetable and fruits. Honey and fungus collected was mostly used for food and medicine purposes. All the mushrooms were used for culinary purposes and sometimes as snacks and value added to pickle as well. Fish supplements protein in the diets of the collectors. Leaves/foliage, root, rhizome, tuber, fruit and ower/in orescence of the plants were collected from the forest and either cooked or consumed fresh. The communities were collecting these plant resources round the year or when available. Fruits are also consumed ripe as dessert or as vegetable and also processed as pickle or chutney. Herbs are generally consumed as leafy vegetable. Some tubers, rhizomes, pods, fruits are also consumed as vegetable. Edible plants are generally important both for humans and domestic animals during the time of scarcity.
The indigenous communities of JNP were collecting different type of wild edible and cultivated fruits from the forest for both self consumption and sale for cash income. The community collects fruit of 17 species for food, vegetable, spice and also value add into product like pickles (table 1). Maximum amount of fruits collected were consumed directly either as raw or ripe. Fruits of Artocarpus hetrophyllus were either used as vegetable and pickle or consumed ripe. Fruits of Mangifera indica were also both consumed as ripe or raw after preparation of chutney. Fruits of Syzygium cuminii, Baccaurea sapida, Aegle marmelos and Artocarpus lakoocha were consumed as ripe only whereas, Ziziphus mauritiana and Dillenia indica were used for preparation of pickle or 'chutney' Wild vegetables were collected for self consumption and also sold in the local market to earn cash income. A total of 26 NTFP species were used as vegetable (table 1). Among these, 19 were plants and seven mushrooms. NTFPs for vegetable purpose were daily collected for household needs. Leafy part of the species were mostly preferred by the communities as vegetable and collected round the year from the forest. Some of the common species used as vegetable for both home consumption and sale were Diplazium esculentum, Basella alba, Mussa endatreutleri and Colocasia esculenta. Rhizome and tender shoots of the Colocasia and Basella were collected during the rainy season for self consumption and bulk of the amount was sold at local market. Flower of Mussa endatreutleri is used for culinary purpose and consumed with rice. This cuisine is locally known as 'Mocha' and consumed for supplementing the iron de ciency. Tender upper leafy part of Chenopodium album is cooked as vegetable and consumed with 'chapatti' during winter season. Young shoot of Bambusa vulgaris were either consumed as vegetable or processed as pickle.
Products from six species of plants were used as spices or aroma for preparation of locally made pickles either for self consumption or sale (table 1). These species are Capsicum annum, Cinchona o cinalis, Cinnamomum camphora, C. tamala, Flumaria indica and Murraya koenigii. Leaves of C. tamala and bark of C. camphora are used for making black tea and also used with rice. Leaves of M. koenigii were used for aroma and as condiment. Fish and mushroom were collected both for self consumption and sale as well. Fishes like Cirrhina mrigala, Labeo rohita, Mystus vittatus and Puntius ticto were caught from the river, ponds and other perennial water sources round the year except Catla catla which is caught during the rainy season only. The species is costly and used generally during ceremonial occasions. The fringe communities are highly dependent on these shes for nutrition and energy along with cash income from sale in the local market. Seven type mushrooms were also collected from the forest during the rainy season to prepare different culinary items for consumption with rice.

Animal feed
Plant leaves/foliage, fern, herb and leaves of shrubs are collected from the forest as a supplement to the conventional fodder for domestic animals and for this purpose 36 plant species were used (table 1). Some of the preferred species as fodder were Artocarpus, Ficus and Dillenia sp. as these species are almost available round the year. Leaves of Ziziphus mauritiana and Syzygium cuminii were also used as fodder especially for goat. Leaves and foliage were mainly collected as fodder during summer and winter seasons when there is acute shortage of normal fodder. Fruits of Dillenia indica were also collected as feed for animals.

Other uses
The inhabitants of JNP largely depend for their domestic energy consumption on fuelwood collection from the forest and they mainly use dead and dried wood of 26 species collected from the forest (table  1). Apart from using it as domestic energy, rewood is sold in the local market and is a major contributor in the household income. Maximum consumption of rewood was documented during winter and rainy season as compared to summer season. The area experiences cold temperature during the winter season which necessitates rewood burning for heating. The rewood species preferred were Albizia lebbeck, Anthocephalus cadamba, Pongamia pinnata, Schima wallichii, Lagerstroemia parvi ora and Mangifera indica as compared to other documented species. Dried leaves of Tectona grandis is also collected during summer and used as fuel.
The fringe communities also make different type of craft and decorative items from the plant resources for decorating house during festival, marriage and other traditional rituals. Eighteen plant species were listed which were in use for this purpose (table 1). The decorative or craft items were also sold in the local market for earning money. Some of the common species for this purpose are Cassia stula, Delonix regia, Oroxylum indicum and Sterculia villosa. Leaves, foliage, owers, fruits and twigs of six plant species were used for religious purposes (table 1). Leaves of Aegle Marmelos and Mangifera indica were sacred and used as offering to God during rituals. Fruits of Datura metal, Saussurea lappa ower and seeds of Elaeocarpus sphaericus were also used while performing a religious ritual. Ficus religiosa is considered sacred by the fringe community. Three plant species were used to fence the homestead for protection against stray animals (table 1). Bambusa vulgaris and Bambusa bamboos and Lantana camara were used for fencing around the animal shed and in crop elds. Bamboo thatching is also commonly used for fencing the house and animal shed.
NTFPs were also used for other purposes like agriculture implements, construction work (bridge, house, animal shed), furniture, osses, gum, honey, katha, ladder, pole, mosquito repellent, plate, rope, soap and shampoo (table 1). The branches of Tetrameles nudi ora and Anthocephalus kadamba were used for making small agriculture implements (handle of spade, plough). Shorea robusta is used for furniture and house construction while its dried leaves are burned as mosquito repellent. Its leaves are also used for plate making. Small root pieces of C. camphora are also burned along with rewood as mosquito repellent. Bambusa bamboos and Dendrocalamus strictus is used for making ladder and construction of small temporary bridge. Twigs of Cissus repanda is used for making rope, heart wood of Acacia catechu for katha, leaves of Dillenia pentagyna for plate, Ficus elastica for gum, Bombax ceiba for oss ( oss of Bombax is locally known as 'Tula') and Sapindus rarak for soap and shampoo. collection and contribution in house hold economy of these NTFPs vary from region to region and forest to forest due to change in locality factors including socio-cultural domains (Bauri et al., 2015). Studies have also indicated that due to poorly developed market network, transportation absence of quality assurance, price xing mechanism and processing, most of the NTFPs are consumed in household to satisfy daily needs (Ingram and Bongers, 2009). It is reported that the more isolated and remotely the area is located, the higher is the contribution of NTFPs to non-cash income (

NTFPs Diversity
Documentation of 146 NTFP species indicates that the JNP is a rich reservoir of NTFP species of immense potential for human well being. This documentation of NTFP species from JNP may play a pivotal role in the utilization and conservation of this natural wealth. Further studies on phyto-chemical principles including extraction of different active constituents on a scienti c scale will lead to recognition and preservation of the NTFP species unknown to the outer world. Among the enlisted 146 NTFP species, 116 species were not assessed or not evaluated, 26 were least concern and two species were under data de cit category according to the IUCN priority list of species, (IUCN, 2017). Enlisting the species comparing with IUCN priority list indicates the status of population of a particular species in an area. Such documentation will ensure future conservation of these species in the wild through their sustainable utilization and promoting its domestication. IUCN status of the JNP NTFP species warrants more vigorous and systematic research to gather accurate and complete information on population status of the species in the area for its sustainable management and conservation for their continuous exploitation.
The ethnobotanical plant species which were documented as cultivated (24 species) or both cultivated and wild (27 species) were actually been planted by the respondents in their home garden and it was found during the survey that almost all the respondents were maintaining a home garden contributing to conservation of the species they were using. Identi cation, documentation, collection/extraction and conservation of indigenous traditional knowledge about the plants are very essential to be used in near future for ever increasing population to ensure food and nutritional security (Basumatary et al., 2014). No new food, particularly the wild food, will be accepted by the urban population without proper testimony from specialists. It will be no wonder if some plants used by the indigenous community as food may on analysis prove rich in nutrition. Others however may come out to poorer or even nutritionally almost useless. But that too, would not minimize the utility of recording whatever information can be gathered on the botanical folklore of these fast disappearing cultures (Endamana et al., 2016).
Information generated from this study will be helpful to understand the human-forest relationship in terms of livelihood options and scheduling sustainable harvest procedures for the indigenous communities and thereby increasing their participation in conservation and sustainable management of

Conclusion
The indigenous fringe communities of JNP with their traditional life style relied on NTFPs for their daily subsistence needs and also as permanent source of cash income. The sale of NTFP was contributing on an average of 45 % to the total annual household income. NTFPs also provided a safety net particularly during the periods of scarcity and lled the gap of food de cit especially when their subsistence standing crops were destroyed by wild elephants. We documented 146 NTFP species from our study area. In this list, 95 species were wild, 24 species cultivated and 27 species were both wild and cultivated. Some wild plant species were also grown in the home gardens thus aiding conservation of these species. However, there is very less or no information available for these documented species as 116 species were not assessed or not evaluated, 26 were least concern and two species were under data de cit category in the IUCN priority list of species. More research is required to update information on population status of these NTFP species. Systematic accounting the volume of NTFPs collected/harvested along with cash and non-cash income should be initiated. Policies supporting ex situ conservation programs through capacity building the communities with improved cultivation techniques of commercially viable NTFP species and value addition of NTFP products will enhance their income and relieve pressure from the forest. Storage, grading, processing and value addition through linking with existing development schemes should be created or promoted. Institutional intervention is required to empower the communities with information on policy, nance, market and products to enable them trade NTFPs with better returns. Diversi cation of livelihood options along with education, skill and basic infrastructure development is also recommended.

Declarations
Ethics approval and consent to participate: NA Consent for publication: All the authors are agreed for the submission of paper.
Availability of data and material: Data will be provide as on request.   Mode of NTFP use