| This thesis describes and analyses the filtering effects of informal institutions on the globalisation of Non Timber Forest Product livelihoods in Madhya Pradesh, India. It pays particular attention to the influence of class, caste, gender and corruption as they mediate the processes of globalisation represented in increasing market integration and bureaucratic reform. Field research from September to December 2004 and January to April 2006 was primarily focused in villages located in the districts of Betul and Shahdol. The research used a multi-sited, multi-scalar methodology to investigate the value chains of six Non Timber Forest Products as they are transformed from raw materials to finished product in their journey from the forest and fields to both national and international markets. Research methods included household surveys, semi-structured interviews, participant observation, focus groups, mapping exercises and transect walks. The researcher has constructed a political ecology and value chains integrated analytical framework to analyse how economic, political, social and environmental factors shape Non Timber Forest Product livelihoods. This study has found that processes of globalisation have moved unevenly across the physical, social, economic and political spaces of Madhya Pradesh producing significantly varying impacts on the forest environment and across India's social space. |
