Abstract
This study was performed to assess how local inhabitants in two tropical watersheds value forests and perceive both forests and their own capacity to influence the hydrological cycle. Both service and productivity functions were strongly valued, particularly forests' rain-bringing capacity. The view that forests are directly responsible for increased precipitation was especially strong in low rainfall areas. Forests were also seen as important for their ability to retain soil water. The human activity most often mentioned as affecting water availability was tree planting while water conservation structures were not seen as detrimentally affecting others. Water was pictured very strongly as being part of a cycle so that which is used by humans or trees is not considered lost but only displaced to return again as rain.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abdul Rahim N., 1987: The impact of forest conversion on water yield in Peninsular Malaysia. Paper presented at the Workshop on Impact of Operations in Natural and Plantation Forests on Conservation of Soil and Water Resources. Serdang, pp. 23–26.
Agrawal A., 1995: Dismantling the divide between indigenous and scientific knowledge. Development and Change Vol. 26, 413–439.
Bosch J.M., 1979: Treatment effects on annual and dry period streamflow at Cathedral Peak. South African Forestry Journal 108: 29–38.
Bosch J.M., Hewlett J.D., 1982: A review of catchment experiments to determine the effect of vegetation changes on water yield and evapotranspiration. J. Hydrol. 55: 3–23.
Botkin D.B., Talbot L.M., 1992: Biological diversity and forests. In: Narendra P. Sharma (ed.), Managing the worlds forests: Looking for balance between conservation and development. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co.
Bruijnzeel L.A., 1990: Hydrology of moist tropical forests and effects of conversion: a state of knowledge review'. Faculty of Earth Sciences, Free University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Bruijnzeel L.A., 1996: Predicting the hydrological effects of land cover transformation in the humid tropics: the need for integrated research. In: Gash J.H.C., Nobre C.A., Roberts J.M., Victoria R.L. (eds), Amazonian Deforestation and Climate. J. Wiley, Chichester, pp. 549–576.
Bruijnzeel L.A., 2000: Tropical forests and environmental services: not seeing the soil for the trees. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment (In press).
Calder I.R., 1998: Water-resource and land-use issues. SWIM Paper 3. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute.
Chambers R., 1983: Rural development: Putting the last first. Longman, Harlow.
Chomitz K.M., Kumari K., 1998: The domestic benefits of tropical forests: A critical review. The World Bank Research Observer 13:13–35.
Daniel J.G., Kulasingam A., 1974: Problems arising from large scale forest clearing for agricultural use - the Malaysian experience. Planter, Kuala Lumpur 51, 250–257.
Garrity, D.P., 1998: Participatory approaches to catchment management: some experiences to build upon. Paper presented at The Managing Soil Erosion Consortium Assembly, 8–12 June, Hanoi, Vietnam, 44 pp. 347
Henderson-Sellers A.R.E., Dickinson T.B., Durbridge P.J., Kennedy P.J., McGuffie K., Pittman A.J. 1993: Tropical deforestation: Modelling local to regional-scale climatic change. Journal of Geophysical Research 98: 7289–7315. (dy1993).
Henderson-Sellers A., Zhang H. and Howe W.,1996: Human and physical aspects of tropical deforestation. In: Giambelluca T.W. and Henderson-Sellers, A. (eds), Climate Change: Developing Southern Hemisphere Perspectives. J. Wiley, Chichester, pp. 259–292.
McGuffie K., Henderson-Sellers A., Zhang H., Durbridge T.B., Pitman A.J., 1995: Global climate sensitivity to tropical deforestation. Global Planet Change 10, 97–128.
Myers N., 1995: The worlds forests: Need for a policy appraisal. Science 268, 82–83.
Mwendera E.J., 1994: Effect on the water yield of the Luchelemu catchment in Malawi of replacing indigenous grasses with timber plantations. Forest Ecology and Management 65, 75–80.
Sandell K., 1988: Ecostrategies in theory and practice: Farmers' perspectives on water, nutrients and sustainability in low-resource agriculture in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. PhD thesis. Linköping, Sweden.
Sandström K., 1995: Differences in groundwater response to deforestation - a continuum of interactions between hydroclimate, landscape characteristics and time. GeoJournal 35, 539–546.
Sillitoe P., 1998: The development of indigenous knowledge: A new applied anthropology. Current Anthropology Vol. 39, No. 2.
Subhadhira S., Apichatvullop Y., Kunurat P., Hafner J. 1987: Case studies of human-forest interactions in Northeast Thailand. The Northeast Thailand Upland Social Forestry Project.
Wilk J., Hughes D.A., 2001: Land use and climate change scenarios: impacts on hydrology in a south Indian catchment. Submitted to Hydrological Sciences Journal.
Wilk J., Andersson L. 2001: Modelling of hydrological impacts of forest removal in a large river basin in Northeast Thailand. Hydrological Processes (In press).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wilk, J. Local perceptions about forests and water in two tropical catchments. GeoJournal 50, 339–347 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011012420808
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011012420808