Due to the rapid expansion of well since 90s, commercial crops which requires
more water than conventional crops widely introduced in Tamil Nadu state,
India. However, villages disadvantaged in water resources failed to transform
its agriculture to commercial-based one. As a result, a number of cultivatable
lands left as fallow, drought-tolerant tree species, such as Prosopis juliflora,
rapidly invaded into these fallow lands.
These species were originally introduced in 1877 by the British Colonial
Government, and began to expand from the 1960s. Charcoal and law wood is
conventionally used as an energy resource of small-scale industries, and
recognized as an economical safety net for rural livelihood. On the other
hand, this tree is recognized as a threat of biodiversity, because of its
high invasiveness. This research aims to assess the effect of Prosopis
tree on the rural livelihood, from the viewpoints of economy and ecology.
