Geographic Area: India

Focal Question: Does the Establishment of Joint Forest Management Facilitate the Rejuvenation of Degraded Forest Land:

(1) World Bank, 1998. World Bank Project Brief. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

(2) Percy, Steve. "Villagers Will Have a Stake in Indian Forests" New Scientist Vol.13

No. 1770 (1991): 16.

Reviewer: Amie Mallett, Colby College, ‘00

It has been shown that property rights make a substantial difference in forest management decisions. If land is believed to belong to an individual for an extended time, land is managed in a sustainable manner. Forests surrounding villages in India have been managed by government, without regard for future or even current needs. Forests were harvested for timber production, cleared for grazing and agricultural purposes, and used as a fuel wood source. Even if local villages had been practicing sustainable forest practices the incentives for such practices were gone. Effectively the forests became a common pool resource, a race began to see who could obtain the greatest benefit from this vanishing resource. Everyone felt that they must get their share of the resource, before someone else took it from them .

The solution to this problem is to involve local people to manage the lands that greatly benefit them. As a joint manager, land management rights are given back to those that receive benefit from a sustainable forest. Exactly this has method of management has been employed with great success in India. The local citizens are given the means with which to protect the forests. In return they receive the benefits associated with a sustainable forest ecosystem.

In a large state on the eastern coast of India, Andhra Pradesh, a substantial transformation in forest management has been undertaken. A new approach to protecting forest resources known as joint forest management has been used with much success. Joint forest management focuses on forestry promotion oriented to meeting local people’s needs. The joint forest management project is outlined as follows.

Local people living on the periphery of the forests are forming organizations called Vana Samrakshna Samithi (VSS), to protect forests. These local people are joining the state forestry department in a combined effort to rejuvenate their degraded forests. The gains from this collective effort have been substantial. "The Forestry Department is responsible for organizing and providing technical and administrative support to the VSS. The primary purpose of the VSS is to protect the forest from encroachment, grazing, theft, and fire, and to improve the forest in accordance with an approved joint forest management plan." (Issue Brief, 5)

The degradation of India’s forest is a result of over a century of overexploitation, increasing human and livestock pressures, and inadequate conservation. The landscape became littered with dying stumps and scorched bushes. Forest area only accounted for 0.07 hectares per capita, one of the lowest proportions in the world. For the villagers who had been the most reliant on these natural assets, mere existence was at stake.

In 1988 the Government of India introduced a new forest policy that called for significant change in the management of forestland. The aims of forest management were refocused toward ecological necessity and providing resources for local populations. Forest policy aim was redirected from a commercial and industrial focus to meeting the basic needs of people living near the forests. Finally the rights of people living in and around forests were accounted for. Past management strategies, which focused on timber production and government enforced protection failed miserably.

Initially, the management program had a very slow start. Historic relations between the government agencies and citizens were filled with hostility and distrust. Previously, government was seen as a rule making force, acting without regard for local needs. Many years of rigid government rule made citizens very hesitant of government organizations. Forestry Department staff had to change their methods and learn to involve citizens as equal partners. After these initial barriers were surpassed, participation by villagers has soared. During the four years between 1994 to 1998 the number of VSS has increased to over 5,000. At the beginning much time had to be spent convincing people of the value of the program. Today the situation is very different, citizens are demanding that programs be set up in their villages.

The essential difference between earlier attempts and joint forest management is the promotion of the forests as a means in which to meet people’s needs. When the forest is viewed as an asset possessed by the people, the forest becomes their responsibility. The motivation to participate is best describe by the leader of one VSS: "My village is my country, my backyard is my forest, my wealth is my trees, my people, and I will protect them." The participation of the people is absolutely necessary to protect the forest from encroachment. "Between 1983 and 1993, 45 percent of the forest in Adilabad district was lost to agricultural encroachment. Since joint forest loss management launched, this trend has been reversed, and there have been no reports of forest loss in any areas managed by the VSS." (Issue Brief 6) As partners government and citizen are realizing great accomplishment.

In one region of India the benefit sharing policy is very generous. The VSS members share all of the nontimber forest produce (grasses, fuelwood, fruit, and medicines) amongst themselves, and they also receive 100 percent of the income from the harvest of timber and bamboo, providing that they set aside half of this income for future development and maintenance of the forest. This policy ensures that there will be resources for the long-term sustainability of the forest. "VSS management of funds and accounts contributes to the sense of ownership and responsibility for the sustainability of the program."(Issue Brief, 7)

Because it will be many years before great benefits from the regeneration of forested land will be realized, the Forestry Department provides initial financial support to current village development. This support helps to motivate the people and at the same time fills some very pressing needs. The general welfare of the entire region has increased as a result.

According to the World Bank Issue Brief;

The lessons that have emerged from the first five years of the program include:

· Managed natural regeneration, together with effective protection from fire and grazing, provides a cost-effective means of rejuvenating large areas of degraded forests.

· Rapid natural regeneration provides a major incentive for increased participation in joint forest management.

· Sharing benefits and responsibilities for forest management can provide sufficient incentive for people’s participation in the restoration of forests.

· Committed leadership, particularly at the political level, makes a huge difference to the pace of reform.

· Forest conservation and development need to be undertaken in conjunction with village development in order to improve rural livelihoods and reduce poverty, and strong linkages need to be built between these two related objectives in order to sustain people’s commitment to forest management.