Abstract
Oran is a traditional biodiversity management system unique to Rajasthan, locally known as Devbani. Orans are common preserved sections of forest protected by villages in the name of gods or goddesses. Common pool resources such as Orans are usually managed under a mixture of open access (i.e. no effective owners or secured rights) and loosely defined common property regimes. The desert ecosystem, particularly in western Rajasthan, is very rich in livestock; hence, Orans are very important in the economy and the livelihood security of rural people and play an important role in promoting a flourishing livestock-based economy. Ancient laws utilized for the management for the Orans are based on a common belief in a divinity, and the entire community has an equal stake in the exploitation of the available resources. The conservation of resources and enforcement of the rules is the result of female dominance in managing Orans. The management committee comprises a general body that oversees the management of the forest as well as issues such as framing rules, resolving conflicts, taking action against offenders and distributing benefits. Utility maximizing behaviour, social pressure and cultural norms form a complex equation in Oran management. However, a comprehensive and well-tested approach to Oran management and conservation has not been developed or widely applied, and the rehabilitation of Orans needs proper planning and execution of a technically feasible package, tailored to suit their unique edaphic, climatic, vegetation, social and legal status.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Agarwal, B. (2001). Participatory exclusions, community forestry, and gender: An analysis for South Asia and a conceptual framework. World Development, 29(10), 1623–1648.
Agrawal, A., Chhatre, A., & Hardin, R. (2008). Changing governance of the world’s forests. Science, 320(5882), 1460–1462.
Ahuja, L. D. (1977). Improving rangeland productivity. In Deseretification and its control. New Delhi: I.C.A.R.
Andersen, K. E. (1995). Institutional flaws of collective forest management. Ambio, 24, 349–353.
Bahunga, V. K., Luthra, V., & Rathore, B. M. S. (1994). Collective forest management in India. Ambio, 23, 269–273.
Bhalla, L. R. (1992). Physiography of Rajasthan. In H. S. Sharma & M. L. Sharma (Eds.), Geographical facets of Rajasthan (pp. 14–24). Ajmer: Kuldeep Publications.
Bose, P., Arts, B., & van Dijk, H. (2012). ‘Forest governmentality’: A genealogy of subject-making of forest-dependent ‘scheduled tribes’ in India. Land Use Policy, 29, 664–673.
Bromley, D. W. (2004). Reconsidering environmental policy prescriptive: Consequentialism and volitional pragmatism. Environmental and Resource Economics, 28(1), 73–99.
Carlsson, L., & Berkes, F. (2005). Comanagement: Concepts and methodological implications. Journal of Environmental Management, 75, 65–76.
Chaudhry, P., Bohra, N. K., & Choudhary, K. R. (2011). Conserving biodiversity of community forests and rangelands of a hot arid region of India. Land Use Policy, 28(3), 506–513.
Cousins, B. (2007). More than socially embedded: The distinctive character of “communal tenure” regimes in South Africa and its implications for land policy. Journal of Agrarian Change, 7(3), 281–315.
Fischer, R. (1995). Collaborative management of forests for conservation and development. Gland: IUCN/WWF.
FSI (Forest Survey of India). (2003). The state of forest report. Dehradun: FSI.
Gadgil, M., & Guha, R. (1995). Ecology and equity: The use and abuse of nature in contemporary India. London: Routledge.
Gadgil, M., & Vartak, V. D. (1975). The sacred groves of Western Ghats in India. Economic Botany, 30, 152–160.
Gadgil, M., & Vartak, V. D. (1994). The sacred uses of nature. In R. Guha (Ed.), Social ecology (pp. 90–119). Delhi: Oxford University Press.
GoI (Government of India). (2008). India 2008: A reference manual. New Delhi: GoI, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Gokhale, Y., Velankar, R., Subash Chandran, M. D., & Gadgil, M. (1998). Sacred woods, grasslands and waterbodies as self-organized systems of conservation. In P. S. Ramakrishnan, K. G. Saxena, & U. M. Chandrashekara (Eds.), Conserving the sacred for biodiversity management (pp. 365–398). New Delhi: Oxford and IBH.
Gold, A. G., & Gujar, B. R. (1989). Of gods, trees and boundaries: Divine conservation in Rajasthan. Asian Folklore Studies, 48, 211–229.
GoR (Government of Rajasthan). (2007). Economic review 2006-07. Jaipur: GoR, Directorate of Economics and Statistics.
Gupta, A. K. (1986). Socioecology of stress: Why do common property resource management projects fail? In Proceedings of the conference on common property resource management. Washington: National Academy Press.
Gupta, J. P. (2003). Management of community grazing lands for security and improved living. In Proceedings of the workshop on “Development of suitable strategies for rehabilitation of Oran Gauchar in Rajasthan” (pp. 9–19). Jodhpur: AFRI.
Jodha, N. S. (1986). Common property resources and rural poor in dry regions of India. Economic and Political Weekly, 21(27), 1169–1181.
Kanodia, K. C., & Patil, B. D. (1983). Pasture development. In A. Singh (Ed.), Desert resources and technology (Vol. I, pp. 263–305). Jodhpur: Scientific Publishers.
Khare, A., Sarin, M., Saxena, N. C., Palit, S., Bathla, S., Vania, F., & Satyanarayana, M. (2000). Joint forest management: Policy, practice and prospects: India country study. Policy that works for forests and people (United Kingdom), no. 3/(London) (United Kingdom), IIED/WWF-India.
Krishnankutty, N., & Chandrasekaran, S. (2007). Biodiversity hotspots: Defining the indefinable? Current Science, 90, 1344–1345.
Larson, A. M., Barry, D., Dahal, G. R., & Colfer, C. J. P. (2010). Forests for people: Community rights and forest tenure reform (p. 263). London: Earthscan.
Lodrick, D. O. (1994). Rajasthan as a region: Myth or reality? In K. Schomer, J. L. Erdman, D. O. Lodrick, & L. I. Rudolph (Eds.), The idea of Rajasthan (Vol. 1, pp. 1–44). New Delhi: Manohar.
Luintel, H., & Chhetri, R. B. (2008). Understanding tenure security in community forestry. Journal of Forest and Livelihood, 7(1), 1–5.
Mbile, P., Pa’ah, P., & Degrande, A. (2009). Cameroon forum on community organizations & networks – Sharing lessons and experiences on governance. Cameroon forum on community organization and networks, Yaounde, 5–7 Mar 2009.
Milton, S. J., Dean, W. R. J., Duplesis, M. A., & Siegfried, W. R. (1994). A conceptual model of arid rangeland degradation – The escalating cost of declining productivity. Bioscience, 44, 70–76.
Mitra, A., & Pal, S. (1994). The spirit of the sanctuary down to earth, 31 Jan. Available at: http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/spirit-sanctuary
MoRD and NRSA (Ministry of Rural Development, India and National Remote Sensing Agency, India). (2005). Wastelands atlas of India. New Delhi/Hyderabad: GoI MoRD/NRSA.
Ostrom, E. (1990). Governing the commons: The evolution of institutions for collective action. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ostrom, E. (1999). Self-governance and forest resources (Occasional paper series, Vol. 20). Bogor: CIFOR.
Robbins, P. (1998). Authority and environment: Institutional landscapes in Rajasthan, India. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 88, 410–435.
Saigal, S., Dahal, G. R., & Vira, B. (2008). Cooperation in forestry: Analysis of forestry cooperatives in Rajasthan, India. Bogor: Centre for International Forestry Research/Rights and Resources Initiative.
Savory, A. (1988). Holistic resource management. Washington: Island Press.
Schlager, E., & Ostrom, E. (1992). Property-rights regimes and natural resources: A conceptual analysis. Land Economics, 68(3), 249–262. University of Wisconsin Press.
Shankarnarayanan, K. A. (Ed.). (1988). Desert ecology. Jodhpur: Scientific Publishers.
Singh, A., & Bahl, R. (2006). Oran land issues: A livelihood concern for pastoralists in Rajasthan. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=981506 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.981506
Singh, A., & Gupta, A. (2010). Conserving Orans for sustainable livelihoods. LEISA India, Mar, 2010, pp. 18–21. Available at: http://www.agriculturesnetwork.org/magazines/india/1-livestock-for-sustainable-livelihoods/conserving-orans-for-sustainable-livelihoods/at_download/article_pdf
Singh, G., & Singh, B. (2010). Assessment of growth and biomass production of Cenchrus setigerus based silvipastoral system in community pasture land in Bhilwara district of Rajasthan. Indian Forest, 136, 898–909.
Singh, A., & Sisodia, P. (2003). Oran – A traditional biodiversity management system in Rajasthan. LEISA India, 5, 19.
Singleton, S. (1998). Constructing cooperation: The evolution of institutions of comanagement. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Tewari, V. P., & Arya, R. (2005). Degradation of arid rangelands in Thar Desert, India: A review. Arid Land Research and Management, 18(1), 1–12.
Thomas, F. G. I., Ros-Tonen, M. A. F., Hoogenbosch, L., & Acheampong, E. (2012). Addressing forest degradation and timber deficits in Ghana. ETFRN News, 53, 230–239.
Timmer, V. (2004). Community-based conservation and leadership: Frameworks for analyzing the equator initiative. CID graduate student working paper no. 2. Cambridge, MA: Science, Environment, and Development Group, Center for International Development, Harvard University.
Vandergeest, P. (1997). Rethinking property. The Common Property Resource Digest, 41, 4–6.
Westoby, M., Walker, B. H., & Noy-Meir, I. (1989). Opportunistic management for rangelands not at equilibrium. Journal Range Management, 42, 266–274.
World Bank. (2003). Land policies for growth and poverty reduction (Policy research report). New York: Oxford University Press/World Bank.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Annex 1
Annex 1
Nature of species | Name | Used as |
|---|---|---|
Tree | Acacia leucophloea | Most of the trees are used for collection of leaves, fruits, flowers, fuel wood and fallen timber |
Albizia lebbeck | ||
Anogeissus pendula | ||
Acacia tortilis | ||
A. nilotica | ||
A. senegal | ||
Azadirachta indica | ||
Mimusops hexandra | ||
Prosopis cineraria | ||
P. juliflora | ||
Salvadora oleoides | ||
Salvadora persica | ||
Tamarix aphylla | ||
Tecomella undulata | ||
Small trees and shrubs | Calligonum polygonoides | Many of the shrubs are used for fuel wood and fodder |
Capparis deciduas | ||
Acacia jacquemontii | ||
Balanites roxburghii | ||
Ziziphus nummularia | ||
Calotropis procera | ||
Crotolaria burhia | ||
Aerva tomentosa | ||
Clerodendrum phlomidis | ||
Leptadenia pyrotechnica | ||
Lycium barbarum | ||
Grewia populifolia | ||
Commiphora mukul | ||
Euphorbia nerifolia | ||
Cordia rothii | ||
Herbs and grasses | Ephedra foliata | Most of them are used as fodder for animals. However, some have miscellaneous uses for medicine, thatching material, extraction of perfume, as vegetables, and for extraction of gums and resins |
Asparagus racemosus | ||
Corchorus spp. | ||
Arnibia spp. | ||
Euphorbia hirta | ||
Sida cordifolia | ||
Sueda fruticosa | ||
Heliotropium spp. | ||
Eleusine compressa | ||
Dactyloctenium scindicum | ||
Cenchrus biflorus | ||
Cenchrus ciliaris | ||
Cenchrus setigerus | ||
Cynodon dactylon | ||
Desmostachya bipinnata | ||
Dichanthium annulatum | ||
Lasiurus hirsutus | ||
Panicum antidotale | ||
Panicum turgidum | ||
Phragmites species | ||
P. turgidum | ||
P. antidotale |
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Singh, D., Choudhary, M.K., Meena, M.L., Roy, M.M. (2016). Oran Dynamics: A Community-Based Biodiversity Management System in India’s Arid Zone. In: Bose, P., van Dijk, H. (eds) Dryland Forests. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-19405-9_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-19405-9_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-19404-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-19405-9
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)