Abstract
Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary lies within 10o 15' and 10o 22' North latitude and 77o 8' and 77o 18' East longitude, in Devikulam Taluk of Idukki District, Kerala State. The Sanctuary covers an area of 90.44 km2 in the Western Ghats of India and was established in 1984. The major vegetation types of the area are dry deciduous forests, thorny scrubs, riparian forests, shola forests and grasslands. The Sanctuary is also the abode of 11 tribal settlements of which 4 are of Hill-pulayas and 7 are of Muthuvas. Muthuva settlements are Thayannan-kudi, Iruttala-kudi, Vellakkal-kudi, Pathu-kudi, Olla-vayal, Oli-kudi and Mangappara, where a total of 642 Muthuvas reside at present. Traditionally, Muthuvas were hunter-gatherers, fully dependent on the forest resources of the area. Over-exploitation of several species by them coupled with degradation of the forests of the area due to various factors, the plant diversity of the Sanctuary had drastically declined.
In order to rehabilitate the biodiversity of the area by artifical regeneration of the species excessively exploited and rendered rare by the tribals, a study was undertaken to identify all the ethnobotanical species related to the traditional life of the Muthuvas. The survey had revealed that 83 species of wild plants are exploited by the tribals at present for their domestic use or for marketing. They also cultivate Lemongrass (Cymbopogon flexuosus Wats.) on a large scale in addition to few other crops for sale of their products to meet their financial needs. Among the 83 ethnobotanical species of Muthuvas in the Sanctuary, few are excessively exploited by them and based on their role in the ecosystem functioning and also social linkages with the triabls, they have been designated as key-stone species in the context of biodiversity rehabilitation. The paper deals with the traditional lifestyle of Muthuvas, ethnobotanical species, their habit, part used, tribal uses, distribution in different settlement areas and also key-stone species identified for artificial regeneration and rehabilitation of the biodiversity of the Sanctuary.
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