Assessing farmers’ perception on criteria and indicators for sustainable management of indigenous agroforestry systems in Uttarakhand, India

The main objective of this study was to investigate and analyse the farmers’ perceptions on criteria and indicators for sustainable management of indigenous agroforestry systems in Uttarakhand state of India. The present study was conducted to document the traditional knowledge and considered five broad categories including agriculture management, livestock management, forest sustainability, social benefits, and policy inputs along with 16 criteria and 34 indicators were identified. Traditional uses of 48 agroforestry species were documented along an altitudinal gradient from 800 to 1800 ​m above sea level (m asl). Perceptions and responses of 150 farmers of three village clusters located at different agroclimatic zones viz., Saknidhar, Jakhand and Dagar based on their demographic characteristics were documented towards the possible factors for deterioration and viable options for sustainable management of indigenous agroforestry systems. The results of the present study are valuable to local farmers and policy planners to examine the current policies and improved for sustainable energy supply in the Himalayan context through utilization of indigenous agroforestry species. The findings will help to refine and enrich the knowledge among the stakeholders to provide an effective framework for decisions and policy making to sustain and maintain agroforestry strength and services. Keywords: Agroforestry, Farmers’ perception, Traditional knowledge, Criteria and indicators, Himalaya