Role of informal institutions in biodiversity conservation: Perspective of the Santhal tribe of India

Abstract

The study provides insights into the role of an informal institution of the Santhal tribe of India in the conservation of biodiversity. The data has been collected from 124 Santhal key informants from six tribal districts from the states of Jharkhand (Dumka, Pakur and Sahibganj) and West Bengal (Birbhum, Bankura and West Medinipur) through the methods of stratified sampling, chain-referrals, personal interactions, and focussed group discussions. The taboos associated with biodiversity conservation have been categorized into six categories such as segment taboo, specific-species taboo, life-stage taboo, temporal taboo, habitat taboo and method taboo.