Sociology

Sociology

The thrust areas at the Department of Sociology are action research programmes involving traditional forest-based income-generating activities, including bamboo crafts, NTFP collection and marketing, eco-tourism, etc.

The Sociology Department also prepares plans for voluntary resettlement and social impact assessments of development and conservation programmes. The department also takes up policy research focusing on the historical process of policy-making and policy implementation.

Considerable attention is being paid to community forestry in the country today regarding afforestation, watershed development, raising energy plantations, etc. Kerala has also launched an ambitious Participatory Forest Management Programme, the main thrust of which is to share incentives for sustainable use of forests, including responsible tourism, with local people. The department has been involved in the implementation and evaluation studies of the PFM.

Another significant area of research in our department is Agroforestry. Interestingly, people in Kerala have been practising agroforestry long before the term was coined by 'experts'. Most of the home gardens in Kerala contain a large number of tree species that provide various resources, forming an important component of the farming system. The intensity of tree cropping varies between agro-climatic regions and households, primarily due to the socio-economic environment. Our department has been actively working to identify the relationship between the socio-economic status of households and tree cropping intensity.

Research highlights of the Sociology Department:

  • Assessment of the rural institutions for the development of appropriate forestry enterprises: a case study of traditional reed industry in Kerala.
  • Developed five agroforestry models that are economically and socially suitable and environmentally viable in the State.
  • Developed site-specific landscape-livelihood approach to Protected Area management to reduce the resource use conflicts and depletion of natural resources.
  • A multidisciplinary programme on 'Rehabilitation of degraded forests through landscape-based participatory action programme' emphasized the human interface as a critical part of the landscape and highlighted the need to consider the social dynamics in any rehabilitation programme of the forest ecosystems.
  • Coding and indexing systems for more than 400 Indigenous Knowledge in the State (of which 40 were related to knowledge and the use of trees) were collected and developed for storage and easy retrieval.
  • Prepared a Participatory Forest Management Primer for practitioners and planners.
  • linking conservation and forest management with sustainable livelihoods and resource use conflicts.
  • Promoted bamboo cluster development by developing sustainable livelihood through organization, training and people-centered institutional setup.
  • Developed relocation plan of tribal settlements in Wayanad Wildlife sanctuary.
  • Establishment of a model watershed with peoples’ participation.

Ongoing Research Projects

  1. Preparing a Roadmap for the Revival of the Bamboo Sector in Kerala: Unlocking Sustainable Development Opportunities

    Project No.GOK RP 887/2024   Funding Agency: Kerala Bureau of Industrial Promotion (K-BIP), Govt. of Kerala
    Principal Investigator: Dr. M Amruth 

Dr. M Amruth

Kerala Forest Research Institute
Peechi 680653, Thrissur, Kerala, INDIA

Tel: +91-487-2690301

e-mail: sociology@kfri.res.in

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