Cultural ecosystem services nexus with Socio-Cultural attributes and traditional ecological knowledge for managing community forests of indian western Himalaya

Cultural ecosystem services (CES) of community forests (CFs) contribute to human welfare. However, limited information is available about the relationship between traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and households' attributes with CES. The present study evaluates the relationship between TEK and socio-cultural values of households with CESs across community forests (CFs), specifically Van Panchayats (VPs), in the western Himalayan region, India. The perceived relevance of six CESs attributes (Intellectual, Inspirational, Cultural, Recreational, Spiritual and Aesthetic) was collected from 104 randomly selected households, followed by eight focused group discussions (8 FGDs) and ten Key Informant Interviews (10 KIs) in VPs of two different forest types (Himalayan Moist Temperate Forest, HMTF, and Sub- Tropical Pine Forest, STPF). The Garret ranking analysis reveals that local communities in the HMTF valued cultural attributes, such as folk and nature rituals, and pristine essence and serenity of aesthetic attributes as the most important CESs. However, the communities in the SPTF valued Recreational attributes, such as Ecotourism, and intellectual attributes, such as VPs management meetings more highly. Out-migration, forest degradation and human-wildlife conflict were identified as major threats to the socio-ecological systems and were adversely affecting the CESs, particularly aesthetic, sense of belongingness, and community harmony. The Kruskal-Wallis's test showed a significant influence (p < 0.005) of socio-demographic variables on the prioritization of perceived CES. The research underscores the importance of acknowledging and appreciating the cultural services of the local communities. This recognition of CES is crucial for enhancing and refining the forest management for achieving conservation and sustainable development of forests.