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Centre
for Ecology, Development and Research (CEDAR) CEDAR is a not for profit organization registered in 2006 under the Societies Act of 1860. The registered office of CEDAR is located in Delhi while the main operations office is based in Dehradun. CEDAR was established when a group of academics and development practitioners came together to bridge the gap between applied research and field based interventions or, to put it differently, ‘balance theory and practice’. The development sector has, for long, been caught in the divide between theoreticians and practitioners. This divide has set the sector back and deprived it of the opportunity to continuously assess and improve its work. This has also had implications for policy formulation whereby the lack of a right blend of lessons from the field, properly documented and analyzed, has led to information gap in policy formulation. CEDAR sees its role to straddle this divide and help fill the information gap in policy formulation. The research activities of CEDAR essentially focus on generating, monitoring and interpreting socio-ecological field-data that can improve the management of natural resources. Central to CEDAR’s ideology is the recognition that local communities must participate in conservation. Therefore, in addition to building core research competence in forestry, ecology and social sciences, the organization works towards strengthening links between communities and ecosystems by networking with grass-root organizations. Website: http://www.cedarhimalaya.org Possible volunteering opportunities
Students can volunteer in a number of projects conducted by CEDAR, details of which are given below: 1. Understanding the impacts of Climate change and Forest Degradation on Carbon stocks and population dynamics in the Oak zone of the Central Himalayas The study aims to better understand the functioning of the central Himalayan forest ecosystems and its response to climate change and chronic human disturbance. Estimating the shift in altitudinal zones of important tree species due to changes in climate is important to be able to predict the future composition of forests and their utility to local people. Mountains are a suitable habitat to study the altitudinal shifts of sedentary life forms such as trees as a result of climate change. Rapid changes in climatic zones due to altitude make the process of study of a shift in ecological zones less dependent on random factors. Concurrently, better estimates of carbon sequestration rates, particularly in disturbed zones, will greatly enhance our ability to provide accurate carbon data for the Himalayan forests. This assumes great importance as a result of REDD+ which is currently being debated in the International arena. Finally, permanent plots have largely not been established for the central Himalaya. Early plots established by the forest department to look into growth rates do not focus adequately on regeneration and the impacts of human disturbance, and this study aims to establish plots that take into congnizance a range of disturbance regimes that typify the Himalayan forests today. 2. Standardising a technique for the rapid and accurate measurement of Carbon assimilated by Himalayan forests Leaf area index (LAI) is a measure of the total leaf area in a given unit area. It can be estimated by using certain simple to use devices. Research has shown that LAI is very closely correlated to estimate tree growth and carbon sequestration. Research done by CEDAR researchers has found this relationship to work very accurately for Himalayan forests and it is able to easily capture the effects of forest degradation (lopping of trees) and site quality. This project will aim to develop standard values between LAI and carbon sequestered for various types of Himalayan forests (oak, pine and sal). LAI will be measured using a LAI-meter. Traditional measurements of biomass increase will be made through accurate measurements of tree diameter at one year intervals. The relationship between LAI and biomass increase will be worked out for various forest types in the Himalaya as standard tables. 3. Assessing the impact of fodder development on forest and livelihoods in central Himalaya In the densely populate mid-elevations of the central Himalaya (1600-2200m) tree leaves, mainly from banj oak (Quercus leucotrichophora), constitute the main source of green fodder for cattle during the winter and spring season. From December to May, the availability of grasses and other fodder is sparse and the leaves of banj are lopped from trees and fed to cattle. This lopping of green leaves is the single greatest cause of forest degradation in the Himalaya. Trees are pruned and loose most of their branches assuming a ‘telephone-pole’ like morphology. The tree, depleted of over 90% of its leaf and branch biomass, gradually looses the ability to produce enough photosynthate to sustain its critical life support activities and becomes susceptible to disease, drought or other factors which eventually cause its mortality. Programmes to grow a variety of fodder grass, many of which stay evergreen and others which provide sufficient nutritious dry fodder to last the winter have been piloted over the past several decades. The study attempts to determine the impact of the fodder programme on both the lives of local people and on ecosystem recovery. Socioeconomic surveys, to monitor impact on women and cattle; and forest sampling to determine growth rates of tress in forests subject to lopping are the tools used to determine the impacts of the fodder programme. 4. Assessing the Ecosystem Services flowing from the Himalayan Mountains This would be a project based largely on secondary data. Students would be supervised by Prof S.P.Singh, the Chairman of CEDAR and would be encouraged to develop a report on Himalayan ecosystem services. The region is an important contributor of ES and water and sediments flowing from these mountains help sustain the billion or so people living in the Indo gangetic plains. As development of infrastructure, migration from rural to urban areas and forest degradation occur, there are changes in the quantum and flow of ES from the region. Assessing these changes, based on available literature (and some speculation) on various changes occurring would help develop an understanding of ecosystem services. While some level of quantification will also be encouraged, this would be the secondary objective. Preferred skills Open to students with both social sciences and natural sciences backgrounds. Students would be encouraged to spend a good part of their time in the field, making measurements and learning about the ecosystems where they are working. Work will be supervised by the Executive Director of CEDAR (Dr. Rajesh Thadani) and the Coordinator of CEDAR (Dr. Vishal Singh).
Approximate cost £1400 for eight weeks, including flights (costed at £500, to be booked by volunteers), visa costs, board and lodging, local travel and Camvol administrative fee.
NOTE: Estimated costs for placements assume that flights to India are £500. However, applicants should note that flight costs can vary greatly depending on airlines and time of bookings, and adjust their budget estimates accordingly. Similarly, vaccination costs have NOT been included in estimated costs, and applicants should take this into account while planning their budgets.
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Camvol is a UK registered charity, no. 1120190
