Forest Resource Depletion

It is certainly remembered. Our people are destroying forests. As a result, when they go to the forest, no forest products, including food items, can be found. It would have been better if forests were not destroyed.

— jitendra khila · Lachery, Malkangiri, Odisha

In the past, various types of forest products, fruits, and roots were available, but now it requires effort.

— Padmalochan Majhi · Ratachua, Rayagada, Odisha

Forests are disappearing, livelihoods are being destroyed. Forests are also getting depleted, herbs are disappearing. It's not like it used to be.

— Chanda · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

What our ancestors used to obtain, now 90% of the forest has been destroyed. With the destruction of forests, the hills have also been destroyed. Whatever materials we used to find, especially food items, are no longer available.

— jitendra khila · Gandhinagar, Rayagada, Odisha

The disappearance of medicinal plants and herbs; earlier, medicinal herbs could be found in forests, but now everything is disappearing.

— VEER SINGH SIJUI · Kharasawan, Seraikela-Kharsawan, Jharkhand

In the olden days, our parents and we used to gather and eat a lot of Barada Saga (a type of leafy green) from the forest. But now, due to deforestation, we no longer find Barada Saga. We hope to eat Barada Saga again.

— swornalata nayak · Gandhinagar, Rayagada, Odisha

Our ancestors used to live, grow and maintain trees, and collect fruits and roots. Now, with all the trees gone, many conveniences are being lost. Let us all plant trees again.

— Bisendra Naik · Kasipur, Rayagada, Odisha

Today, when we talk about forest products, things like root vegetables and fruits such as Kendu, Baheda, and Harida, which also had medicinal properties, are no longer available. They have now become extinct or are found in very small quantities.

— Debendra Suna · Gandhinagar, Rayagada, Odisha

In this village, the forest has been damaged a bit more than before this time. Herbs cannot be collected, and because of that, we...

— Padmini Bhoi

Our medicinal herbs, vegetables, fruits, and trees are depleting from the forests.

— Kachala Choudhary

Yes, earlier, we used to eat various kinds of wild fruits and food from the forests. But now, nothing like that remains. The government some.

— Rakesh kumar Kumar

People have been living here in Amangara for many years. The forest has been much more damaged now than before. Because of this, we could not collect any medicinal herbs from the forest.

— Padmini Bhoi

Death's auspicious and inauspicious beauty. Previously, we used to sustain our livelihoods by collecting various roots from the forest. Now, roots are not available, and animals...

— Sasmita Mallick · Gandhinagar, Rayagada, Odisha

Large trees have been cut down, due to which it is becoming difficult to find forest vegetables and herbs.

— Kachala Choudhary

We used to get honey and resin from our forest, but now we don't.

— Upendra Kumar Mahananda

Nowadays, forests are being cleared. We used to get food from the forest, but now we are not getting it. Instead, we are consuming food grown with chemical fertilizers.

— jitendra khila · kudumulugumma, Malkangiri, Odisha

Earlier, in our village's forest, we found many abundant herbs. But unfortunately, the roots of these herbs in the forest are being severely destroyed. So, we will try to keep them alive for this. I will go a bit.

— Devisingh Solanki · Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh

Herbs, vegetable trees, medicinal plants are becoming extinct from our forests.

— Kachala Choudhary

Due to deforestation, our medicinal herbs, like chirata, are diminishing, which in ancient times greatly contributed to people's health.

— upendra sunani

Fruit trees and vegetable plants have disappeared from our forests.

— Kachala Choudhary

In the past, we used to eat various things from the hills, such as Kangu Jona Ganthia, and lived well because of them. Things that grew without fertilizer used to ripen quickly. Now, nothing is ripening from the hills, and they are not cultivating them anymore.

— Prakash ch Pradhani · Karubai, Rayagada, Odisha

Earlier, everything used to be found in the jungle, but now it's not. For example, banana greens, chakora greens... no, everything is gone now.

— Rupesh Maravi

Old, traditional foods are not available. As a result, the forest was also destroyed. The food that should be available is not available.

— Keshab Majhi · Gandhinagar, Rayagada, Odisha

Due to the cutting of trees and plants in the village, various herbs and food items are becoming extinct. We can protect them.

— Mohan AHARI · Sarera, Udaipur, Rajasthan

The situation we are in now is that the food we used to get to eat in the past has gradually disappeared.

— swornalata nayak · Gandhinagar, Rayagada, Odisha

Earlier, our house was next to a forest. We used to collect medicinal herbs from it. Now, it's just a forest line, as if the forest has become hidden.

— Padmini Bhoi

The various types of fruits that used to be found in the forest are no longer available.

— KARUKAR MURMU · SKIP NO LOCATION

The forests, animals, birds, and springs that used to be in our forest are slowly disappearing.

— Batakrushna Sahoo

They have been living there for a long time. Now, there have been changes in the forest. Valuable trees are not found. Animals and birds are no longer in the forest. Everything is gone.

— Trinath badanayak · Malakanagiri, Malkangiri, Odisha

Oh, there is also a distinct language of our Gonda society. And no one speaks that language anymore, slowly it has also disappeared. And now what we used to get from the forest, we are not getting it from the forest anymore, all the forests are cut down.

— RINA BEHERA · Hemagiri, Sundargarh, Odisha

Now, honey, resin, Aainla (Indian gooseberry), Harada (chebulic myrobalan), and Baahada (beleric myrobalan) are no longer found in our forest.

— Upendra Kumar Mahananda

In our ST community, everything has changed for the people of this district. Before, we used to bring tamarind, mahua, and all kinds of forest products to eat and drink.

— Puspanjali Nag

We have been living in this village for approximately 100 years. Our tribe originated in this surrounding area. There have been many changes in the forest; valuable trees, herbs, and animals have all disappeared. If we do not protect it, then within the next 20 years, along with the destruction of the forest, all types of wild animals, medicinal plants, and creepers will disappear. Camps should be organized to teach traditional forest and tribal knowledge from elders to the younger generation, transfer it to the next generation, and preserve it.

— Kumudini Chhanchan · Bhojpur, Sambalpur, Odisha

Earlier, we used to keep seeds in earthen pots with neem leaves, but now those pots are not available. Their traditional profession is slowly coming to an end, and we are also forced to move towards modernity.

— Upendra Kumar Mahananda