ACHIEVING NATURAL RESOURCE RESILIENCE THROUGH PEOPLE'S SCIENCE-A CASE STUDY OF HOT ARID ZONE OF INDIA

M.K. GAUR¹*, R.K. GOYAL^2
1ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI), Jodhpur, 342003, Rajasthan?, India
²ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI), Jodhpur, 342003, Rajasthan?, India
* Corresponding Author : maheshjeegaur@yahoo.com

Received : 01-04-2022     Accepted : 27-04-2022     Published : 30-04-2022
Volume : 14     Issue : 4       Pages : 11221 - 11227
Int J Agr Sci 14.4 (2022):11221-11227

Keywords : Thar Desert, Rajasthan, Droughts, Desertification, Traditional water harvesting structures
Academic Editor : Rajib Das, Er Prabhat Kumar Dhara, Sabita Mishra
Conflict of Interest : None declared
Acknowledgements/Funding : Authors are thankful to ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI), Jodhpur, 342003, Rajasthan?, India
Author Contribution : All authors equally contributed

The Great Indian Desert, is a large arid region in the north-western part of the India and is named as Thar Desert. It covers around 6% of the country’s total geographical area and forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan. Scarcity of water (annual rainfall 100-500 mm yr-1), extremes of temperature (highest of 47-49°C) and high population density of human as well as livestock make this region as most vulnerable deserts of the world. Droughts are very frequent to this region. However, local dwellers with centuries of experiences have evolved themselves to deal with local environments. Communities have aligned their livelihood in harmony with local resources. Very sound, time tested water harvesting structures like tanka, khadin, Nadis, kund, Jhalaras, kui etc. were developed to meet water requirement. The region is bestowed with several miracle plants of immense food and medicinal value to modern civilization. Nature has provided very unique, hardy and useful animals to this region to support the survival of human being here. The local people have developed art of harvesting maximum from livestock without harming the animals and nature. Traditional cultural and socio-religious values are fast dwindling under the impact of materialistic approach, industrialisation and development. This paper endeavours to illustrate the need to assist and propagate indigenous rural livelihood systems rather than mindlessly to replace or abandon them as a result of so called modernization