Traditions and Traditional Knowledge of Central Himalaya

Contents: Foreword. Preface. 1. Conservation strategies of traditional crops of Himalayas/Rajesh Singh and V.P. Mani. 2. Traditionally potential plants of western Himalaya for IPR value and utility of biotechnological tools for their conservation/K.R. Arya. 3. Agroforestry in hills/J.K. Bisht, S. Chandra and Ila Bisht. 4. Plants of ayurvedic importance from Kumaon Himalaya/Shraddha Joshi. 5. Biodegradation and conservation of ancient cultural heritage/Manju Tewari and H.C. Pande. 6. Role of informatics in traditional knowledge system/Durgesh Pant and Deepak K. Pande. 7. Land management and agricultural economy in ancient period in Uttaranchal/Nirmal K. Joshi. 8. Forest resource : The key to the economic development of Uttaranchal/Deepa Bhaskar Dubey. 9. Fibre yielding plants in relation to the economy of the hilly region to the Kumaon Himalaya/Hema Joshi and P.C. Pande. 10. Traditional and modern horticulture crops: conservation and utilization/Rajesh Singh, S.S. Gahalain and Anita Gahalain. 11. Biodiversity conservation and its utilisation in vegetable crop in central Himalaya/S.S. Gahalain, Rajesh Singh, Kanchan Bisht and Anita Gahalain. 12. Off-season traditional vegetable production and their export potential in Uttaranchal/S.S. Gahalain and Anita Gahalain. 13. Changing pattern of land use in Almora and Bageshwar Districts with particular reference to traditional and modern techniques/S.K. Singh, Santosh Kumar Singh and Dhananjay Singh. 14. Plants associated with the folk songs of Kumaon Himalaya/Bheema Manral and P.C. Pande. 15. Methods and strategies related to exploration and collection of land races and other important traditional crop genetic wealth of Himalayas/Rajesh Singh. 16. Adulteration in Saffron - a review/R.B. Saxena. 17. Basic information for obtaining 'Patent' under The Patents Act, 1970/P.C. Joshi.

"Traditional knowledge systems are multi-faceted area of wisdom gained through millennia of experience, direct observation, and the word of mouth. These systems are better preserved in the Himalayan region. Traditional knowledge awaits its currently relevant wider application for human benefit.

This volume gives an account of folk medicine, agroforestry, traditional land management, conservation of monuments, plants used in folk-culture, legal aspects of traditions, role of informatics in TKS, conservation, storage and biodiversity of traditional vegetable, horticultural crops and other economic plants. Articles on adulteration in Saffron and basic methods for obtaining 'patent' are also included.

This book will hopefully be of interest to ethnobotanists, pharmacologists, anthropologists, horticulturists, lawyers and planners." (jacket)