Biodiversity: Used as weather indicator and coindicator by people through perception and long experience in thar Desert

摘要

A field study has been carried out during 2005-06 in the western Rajasthan. It is evident from the preliminary investigations carried out in this study on subjects like animals and plants as weather indicator, animals as coindicators and uses of plants and animals by local people. A critical insight of these issues suggest that people's knowledge of biodiversity in this part is very old and for centuries local population have been exploiting nature's products in a very systematic and judicious way bydeveloping through understanding of animals and plants and society's profile based on nature's support system. It is probably because of clear perception of the desert people that the scare biodiversity could survive in spite of vagaries of climate andresource crisis. The behaviour of animals and interpreting them as weather forecast tools specially for rains, received utmost attention of the people who believed as authentic compared to present day forecast system. It was found in this study that a good section of society still depend on animal and plant based weather forecast system and undertake agriculture and other activities in the villages accordingly. In this study a large number of animal based systems were recorded of which 13 of mem were found to be relevant based on behaviours of small red mites to our national bird peacock. No such precise forecast system operates on the basis of animal behaviour is available from any other desert in the world.