biodiversity

During our extensive transect trails, senior Munda and Ho elders identify species by the sound of a leaf crunch, the tilt of a flower, or the smell of freshly scraped bark. They explain how certain insects indicate soil health, how particular bird calls precede weather shifts, and how the forest regenerates itself when left untouched.

LIVE FOUNDATION honours and records these indigenous conservation practices—especially their in-situ preservation systems, such as sacred groves, selective harvesting rules, rotational use of forest patches, and non-intrusive grazing methods. These practices are aligned with modern ecology’s emphasis on minimal disturbance and habitat integrity.

What emerges from this union of science and tradition is a biodiversity register that is not merely a list, but an ecological narrative—precise, dynamic, and community-rooted. It serves as both a conservation instrument and a living testament to the forest’s resilience, ensuring that flora and fauna continue to thrive under the guardianship of its original custodians and a committed organization that walks the forest slowly, respectfully, and scientifically.

 LIVE Foundation engaged local communities directly in forest resource mapping, emphasizing the blend of ecological expertise with everyday practical knowledge. Community members led the identification, documentation, and mapping of forest resources, sharing vital traditional information about resource use, seasonal patterns, and cultural value. Working alongside facilitators, they demarcated boundaries, gathered ground-level data, and built a sense of collective ownership over results. This hands-on involvement strengthened community capacity for sustainable forest management and planning. Through this approach, the maps and strategies produced genuinely reflected daily needs and dependencies, ensuring solutions were both scientifically rigorous and locally informed, further empowering communities to conserve biodiversity and secure their livelihoods.

 At LIVE Foundation, we conduct forest transect walks through diverse forest zones alongside community members, observing and documenting landscapes, vegetation patterns, soil conditions, water sources, and resource profiles.  Community elders and knowledge-holders identify key ecological indicators—areas rich in medicinal plants, wildlife-preferred sites, host-tree growth patches, and degradation zones. Their lived experience delivers unmatched depth and accuracy that external assessments cannot match.  This participatory approach integrates traditional knowledge with scientific data, fostering community trust, ownership, and sustainable forest management plans grounded in local realities. 

LIVE Foundation conducted a focused forest resource inventory to complement the transect walks and deepen understanding of local biodiversity. 

During this Transect Walk and forest resource inventory, the team systematically documented key forest resources such as medicinal herbs, shrubs, and other useful plant species that community members regularly use or recognize as important. Community elders and knowledge-holders guided the identification of recurring medicinal plants and shrub species across different patches, helping to map where identical or similar species clusters occur within the landscape. This process generated a grounded picture of species distribution and availability, which can feed into more informed, community-led decisions on sustainable use, protection zones, and future forest management planning.