Khazan Ecosystems of Goa: Building on Indigenous Solutions to Cope with Global Environmental Change (Advances in Asian Human-Environmental Research)

This book elaborates on the __Khazan__ ecosystems of Goa, India. __Khazans__ are human-managed ecosystems, which are reclaimed from coastal wetlands, salt marshes and mangrove areas, where tidal influence is regulated through a highly structured system of dykes, canals, furrows, and sluice gates using resources that are amply available locally. __Khazan__ ecosystems are marvels of tribal engineering. They are a simple architectural design, which operate at a very low running cost using tidal, hydro, and solar energy. The design contributes to a highly complex but eco-friendly ecosystem integrating agriculture, aquaculture and salt panning. . __Khazan__ ecosystems have been functional for the last 3500 years. The history of __Khazans__ is very ancient and can be traced to the transition from food gathering to food growing, which has been regarded as the biggest step in the history of human civilization. __Khazan__ ecosystems thus have a high historical and world heritage value. They are also repositories of global biodiversity, with unique flora suitable to their unique and highly variable environment. They are endemic and heritage ecosystems of Goa and ultimately reservoirs of history and heritage. Using the example of the __Khazan__ lands, the book analyzes and comments on traditional ecological knowledge and indigenous technology. It presents the evolution of __Khazan__ management institutions over a period of more than three thousand years, as well as factors that have contributed to its decline in recent years. It develops a conceptual framework for ecosystem performance and suggests strategies for conservation of __Khazans__ as well as strategies to build on these indigenous adaptation mechanisms to cope with the global environmental change. Front Matter....Pages i-xii Indigenous Ecological Knowledge and Global Environmental Change....Pages 1-14 An Introduction to Goa and Khazan Ecosystems....Pages 15-31 Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Environmental Sustainability in Khazans ....Pages 33-60 Management of Khazan Ecosystems: Contested Environments, Competing Interests and Changing Institutions....Pages 61-74 Erosion of Indigenous Resource Base: Causes and Challenges....Pages 75-93 A Framework for Ecosystem Performance Using Khazan Example....Pages 95-109 Building on Indigenous Resource Management Systems: Key to Finding Solutions....Pages 111-129 Back Matter....Pages 131-137