Burning forests, drying springs: local perceptions and the changing Himalayan ecosystem in Uttarakhand, India

The change in the Himalayan Forest landscape is not just an ecological concern but also a deeply social one. Chir Pine’s (Pinus roxburghii), once planted and promoted for timber value and economically important has now disrupted the ecological balance of the region. This study investigated the rural perceptions of local residents of Himalayan villages in the state of Uttarakhand, India, revealing Chir Pine’s dominant nature and aggressive spread. The voices of villagers echoed this aggressive spread, raising concerns about its far-reaching impacts on the region’s climate-forest interactions. The study utilised qualitative ethnographic fieldwork with a theoretical framing deduced from political ecology. The fieldwork was conducted between 2023-24 in Uttarakhand, which included a sample size (n=110) across 12 Himalayan villages with a blend of in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and participant observations. The study explored how local communities interpret this ecological and climatic shift. The findings suggest that Chir Pine not only alters landscapes but also community ecological memories, rural people, agricultural patterns, and rural ecological knowledge systems. The local people’s perceptions narrate their experiences of disappearing springs, decreasing fodder availability, increasing forest fires, and the slow death of mixed forests turning into Chir-dominated forests. Rather than treating local perceptions as anecdotal, this study positions them as critical data points that offer early warning signs of broader socio-environmental and climatic stress.