Presentation F&P07

7/31/2019 Presentation F&P07

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Forest Management and Sustained

Livelihood Strategies- With special reference totribals of Kerala.

Geo Basil Paul(2010-17-109)

Dept. of Forest Management and Utilization

Kerala Agricultural University


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Past System of management

Till 19th century, local communities used the forest lands as common huntingand food gathering ground

Ownership of the forest land was either communal or vested with vague

forms of sovereign rights

The forest management was highly decentralized among communities singleor groups of households usually controlled forests except in cases of huntingor food gathering areas

Traditional forest management systems in most part of the country endedwhen the Britishers in the mid 19th century declared forest lands as Govt.lands


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Changing relationship between community and natural resources

commercial exploitation and popularization of monoculture led tomassive deforestation

Majority of Indias rural population living in the forest rich regions are

poor

Sustainable management and proper utilization of forest resourcesheld great potential to alleviate their poverty

Govt. ownership and restrictions on the collection and use of forest

products have rendered these resources inaccessible to villagecommunities


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Decentralization and devolution are dominant themes in contemporary

discussion of forest policy and management

In 2004, world-wide 370million ha. of forests were being conserved byindigenous communities, with almost half of that are approx. 170 millionha. In Asia( molnar et al 2004)

India was a fore runner in developing policy for involving peoplesparticipation in forest management; Forest Policy of 1988

MoEF, Govt of India issued guidelines for the involvement of villagecommunities under PFM called Joint Forest Management


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Joint Forest Management


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In India, failure of social forestry in meeting the objectives of easing

pressure on forests led to the formation of JFM

Central government issued the first JFM guideline in ,1 June1990

JFM cell and the JFM unit were created under MoEF

In Kerala JFM was introduced in 1998 with a synonym of PFM, Ithas become mandatory as per the NFP to change the bureaucratic

FM system to local need oriented management


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VSS, (forest conservation society) the organization of the forestdependent community are instrumental in implementing the JFMapproach in Kerala

Various forms of JFM institutions apart from VSS like AVSS, EDC,ULO and HS are in operation by the state forest department atpresent

TVSS (Theerasamrakshana vanasamrakshana samithy in

collaboration with fisheries dept.) and JFMC (JFMC of AHADS) areinstitutions where forest dept. is involved in JFM


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The PFM program in Kerala consists of three models: Fringe model,NTFP model, separate model for Cardamom Hills Reserve

Difference between Fringe and NTFP models is- former involvespopulation outside forests while the latter is applied to the tribalminorities still living inside the forests and making their livelihood byNTFP collection.

Fringe Area

Reserved ForestSettlement of non tribal people

Settlement of tribal people

The area managed by VSS

Scheme of Fringe and NTFP model

NTFP Model

Fringe Model


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The outline of the fringe model :

The maximum area to be transferred to a VSS is 300 Ha. of

reserved forests

Each VSS is in charge of the core fund, credibility fund for officework, and operational fund for activities, which are provided by theKFD based on the allocated forest area and the number of VSSmembers, and will be in the custody of forest officers at a divisional

level

Each VSS can sell NTFP from the allocated reserve forest or fineforest offenders, and can add the revenue to the core fund, togetherwith other subsidies.

As per the guidelines of the JFM program, at least 33% of the totalexecutive members of the VSS must be women


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Organizational Structure of

JFM Institutions in Kerala


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Forest Development Agency (FDA)

Confederation of JFM committees and their representatives fromgeneral body, 33 FDAs

Objectives: To arrest and reverse the trend of forest degradation by making the

community responsible for monitoring removals from the forest

To provide sustainable employment opportunities to the tribals and otherweaker sections of the population

To create durable community assets which would contribute to overallvillage development

To involve the forest dependent community in the execution of the program

For the better implementation of various schemes of the MoEF

To liaison with other Govt. Dept. and agencies to develop and implementeco- friendly village development program


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Vana samrakshana Samithi (VSS)

Basic organisation instrumental for the implementation of JFM in territorialforest division of Kerala

These samithies are registered under charitable societies act andrecognized by the forest department

At present there are 277 VSS constituted throughout the Kerala

Maximum number of households in a VSS is 365


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Adivasi Vana Samrakshana Samithi (AVSS)

AVSS are constituted entirely of forestdependent tribal communities

These JFM committees have the rightto collect, process and market NTFP inaddition to the duties and rightsbestowed up on the Fringe VSS

The most important distinction withFringe VSS is that the area allotted isconsiderably larger covering all tractsfrequented for NTFP collection

At present there are 63 AVSSconstituted in the state


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Eco Development Committees (EDC)

EDC is a JFM institution created inprotected areas of the state

Major activities are eco tourism andserving as guides for visitors apartfrom the activities undertaken by theVSS and AVSS

Any forest dependent person can be amember

193 EDCs operating in the protectedareas of the state


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Unit Level Organizations (ULO)

Unit level organizations are basic JFM implementers in Cardamom hillreserve area

The cardamom tract in the High Ranges of Idukki District has a century oldhistory in cardamom cultivation

The Cardamom rules 1935 prescribed the rights and privileges, the dutiesand responsibilities of leaseholders towards cardamom cultivation andforest protection

At present there is complex tenure system existing , with land underrevenue, trees with forest Dept. and crops owned by farmers

Over the years these rules have been violated and forest cover hasextensively degenerated

The cardamom farmers have formed ULOs for checking deforestation andencouraging afforestation, 33 ULOs


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Haritha Samithies (HS)

Kerala Govt. started Participatory Habitat Management (PHM) to undertake

environmental protection and conservation outside forest areas throughpeoples participation

Designed for areas outside reserved / vested forests facing ecologicaldegradation

Micro level organizations under PHM are:

Grama Haritha Samithy : operating at village level

Panchayat Haritha samithy : Operating at grama panchayath level

Block Haritha Samithy : Operating at block panchayat level

District co-ordination committee : Operating at district level


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Haritha Theeram (Green Coast)

Haritha theeram is a program aimingat afforestation of coastal areas

This program is operationalisedthrough TSVS

These institutions are created alongthe coastal line Kerala with theobjectives of protection of naturalecosystem by establishing a bio shieldalong the coast and minimize coastalerosion

These institutions were created underthe Tsunami Rehabilitation program(TRH) of Kerala Govt. as a jointprogram of forest dept. and fisheriesdept.


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Role of Institutions of AHADS


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Attappady is the only tribal block in Kerala.


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AHADS started functioning in 2000 for the implementation of

Attappady waste land comprehensive environmental conservationproject

Objectives-

Ecological restoration of degraded wastelands of Attappady

Development of replicable models of participatory eco-restoration

Prevention of further degradation

Promotion of sustainable livelihood options in harmony with there

resource base and with special focus on tribals


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The project implementation wasplanned in such a way that theproject benefits directly reach thetribal community

The activities such as

Total Hamlet DevelopmentProgramme, EnvironmentalLiteracy Programme, and theconstruction of communityResource centers are exclusivelyfor the development of tribal

population


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Ooru Vikasana Samithi (OVS) (Hamlet Development Committee)

166 committees

13 members Executive committee(minimum- 6 Women)

These are exclusive tribal committees. Hamlet development committs are formed in166 out of 187 Hamlets of Attappady

Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMC)

9 members (minimum 3 women), priority given to SC/ST members

These committees are meant for taking up afforestation and protection works in thestate forestlands. There are 54 JFMCs under the project

Thaikula Sangam (TKS)

111 Groups

12 Members Executive Committee

These groups of tribal women have emerged as a result of their empowerment as asocial corrective force


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Income Generation Activity Group (IGA)

219 Groups

Groups with 12 to 15 members

These groups are meant to take up sustainable income generation activities throughpromotion of micro credit among members in the project area.

Association for Revitalization of Tribal Medicine in Attappady (ARTMA)

AHADS has organized the leading tribal healers of Attappady to form this association andprovided them space to function


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JFM Envisages Movement

From ToCentralized management Decentralized management

Production motives Sustainability

Large working plans Micro-plans

Unilateral decisionmaking Participatory decision making

Controlling people Facilitating people

Department Peoples institution

Achieving single, pre-set objective Fulfilling multiple, need basedobjectives

Timber production Multiple products combined withbio-diversity

Plantation as first option Low input management andregeneration


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Conclusion

JFM institutions can make impact on the livelihood of its members

Joint forest management activities can positively influence the attitudetowards forest department and forests

Kerala started JFM later than most of the states. However, the state hasevolved unique models like JFMC of AHADS, PHM, TSVS integrating forestmanagement with community development and total ecologicaldevelopment


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ReferenceChundamannil, M., 1993 history of forest management in Kerala, Kerala forest

research institute, Peechi, Kerala. 67pMaheshwar, D; Masuda, M and Mishra, J Implementation of participatory

forest management in Kerala. Graduate school of life science andenvironmental sciences, University of Taskuba

Molnar, A.Molnazr, Scherr,S.J. and Khare, A. 2004 who conserves the worlds

forests? Community Driven Strategies to Protect Forests and RespectsRights. Forest Trends.(http://www.foresttrends.org/documents/who%20conserves_final_rev.pdf accesses on 15/10/2007)

Santhoshkumar, A.V 2008. Joint forest management in Kerala- an analysis ofinstitutions, impact and constraints. Phd thesis, Forest Research InstituteUniversity, Dehra Dun, Uttaranchal

KFD (Kerala Forest Department). 2010 KFD home page (on line). Availablehttp://www.keralaforest.org (18 Nov. 2010)

Gupta K.H. 2006 Joint Forest Management Policy, Participation & Practices inIndiaIInternational Book Distributors, Dehra Dun
http://www.keralaforest.org/http://www.keralaforest.org/


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Presentation F&P07

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