0406-C1
Diwakar Sinha[1]
Forests in India used to be considered primarily as productive entities. They were looked upon as sources of fuel, fodder and timber, together with minor forest produces. In the late 1970s, the adoption of the concept of sustainable management of forests led to a growing interest in the regulation functions of forests. The National Forest Policy of 1988 introduced the concept of participatory forest management on usufruct sharing basis. Adaptation of the latest management and innovative technologies for optimum utilization of available resources became the key factors in forest management planning. To weave environmental considerations into the fabric of national life and development programmes, the Government of India formulated the Technology Policy Statement and adopted the National Conservation Strategy in June 1992. This identified population control, conservation of natural resources, including land, water, atmosphere, biodiversity and biomass, as the priority areas needing specific concerted action.
This resulted in the development of Joint Forest Management (JFM) programmes in 22 states. To date, about 36 130 Forest Protection Committees are managing a total of about 10.25 million ha of forests. Additionally, National Watershed Development Projects for Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA) and other programmes were launched, covering 25 states and two union territories. These programmes aimed at sustainable biomass production and restoration of the ecological balance in rainfed areas. In this framework, international donors assist watershed and agricultural development projects. Most projects provide incentives and training to the villagers to bring about changes in attitudes towards the use of forests and the environment.
This paper highlights forest management issues, problems, attempted solutions and their impact, and success stories. The greatest challenge was to bring about an attitudinal change. Problems and issues were tackled through awareness programmes, demonstrations, training and incentives for adopting new technologies. This system of forest management may be of great significance to other countries having similar problems and biophysical conditions.
In June 1992, at Rio de Janerio, the leaders of the world communities collectively endorsed the fundamental principle that environment and development policies had to be seen as part of a larger collective whole. The Agenda 21 of the Rio summit calls for integration of environmental aspects with developmental aspirations. There should be no conflict between conservation and development. Both UNCED and the Stockholm Conference of 1972 recognized that sovereign state have the right to develop their own resources in accordance with their own political judgments. The pressure on every nations land are such, that land use optimization has to be a universal goal. Sustainable Development was defined by the Brundtland Commission as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (WCED, 1987). The Convention of Biological Diversity also emphasized that this pattern was such, which every sovereign state should adopt for itself. It should be supported and helped by wider world community.
In India, till late seventies, the forests were looked upon primarily as a source of supply of fuel, fodder, timber, grasses, fibers and the like. Environmental aspects did not receive much attention. It was in the recent past that the people started realizing the multiply significant role of forests. Then crept in the idea of scientific forest management. At this juncture, adaptation of innovative approaches became significant and Transfer of Technology was emphasized. One of the objectives of the Ninth Five-Year Plan of India was to ensure environmental stability through social mobilization and participation of people at all levels. The strategy for the environment sector has been drawn up in accordance with the development needs of the nation. The measures required to protect the environment would aim at sustainable development. A number of enabling conditions have already been created for harmonizing economic growth and environmental conservation. Human resource development and improvement in the quality of life are the ultimate objectives of planning. The policies and programmes aims at promoting both equity and excellence.
The National Conservation Strategy and policy statement on Environment and Development was formulated and adopted by the Government of India in June 1992. It lays down strategies and actions for integration of environmental considerations in the development activities of various sectors, thus paving way to achieve sustainable development. The strategy has identified population control, conservation of natural resources including land, water, atmosphere, biodiversity and biomass as the priority areas needing specific concerted action. Integration of environmental considerations in the policies and programmes of development in sectors like Agriculture, Irrigation, Animal husbandry, Forestry, Energy, Industry, Mining, Tourism, Transport and Human Settlements have been emphasized in the National Conservation Strategy. This also highlights the role of international co-operation, and need for support policies and systems for strengthening the institutional set up, legislative instruments and enforcement mechanism, research & development, mobilization of financial resources, creation of public awareness and training of professionals.
Under the Programme, Natural Resources Data Management Systems (NRDMS), database centers have been set up in selected districts of the country for the development of databases, useful in formulation of district level developmental programmes and schemes. Several research and development projects have also been carried out in areas like Watershed Management, Ground Water Budgeting, Bio-mass Utilization and the like. This has helped to demonstrate the utility of NRDMS approach in micro level planning. Emphasis is laid on training the potential users of this emerging technology. Accordingly specialized training modules have been developed.
This was formulated with the basic objective of developing indigenous technology and ensuring efficient adaptation and absorption of imported technology appropriate to national priorities and availability of resources. It aims at attaining technical competencies and self-reliance. This is important for reducing vulnerability particularly in strategic and critical areas for optimum utilization of indigenous resources. It emphasis the use of traditional skills and capabilities making them commercially competitive. Several other measures through technology intervention are envisaged to optimize demand on energy and ensure harmony with the environment.
At present there are 261 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK’s); 42 Institute Villages Linkages Programme (IVLP) and 60 Centers of Technology Evaluation and Impact Assessment. A total of 11,365 farmers training courses were organized by KVK’s in crop production, plant production, livestock production and management, soil and water management, farm machinery & tools and home sciences. Eight zonal workshops were organized with participation of KVK’s to review the work done. A total of 1,095 training programmes were conducted for the grass root level extension functionaries working under government and non-government organizations. This upgraded their skills in transfer of technologies. Extension activities like field visits, farmer’s fairs, kishan goshties, agriculture exhibitions, clinical camps and video films shows, were organized to update the knowledge of farmers regarding latest technologies in farm and forest management.
National Watershed Development Projects for Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA) was launched in 1990-91 and covers 25 States and Union Territories. The objective of the project was restoration of ecological balance in rainfed areas and sustainable biomass production. Besides forestry, under this project, soil & water conservation activities, agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, promoting alternate and non-conventional energy sources for fuel, fisheries development, sericulture, agro-processing and the like are some of the diverse activities which have also being taken up.
The Integrated Watershed Development Project (Hills) has been in operation from 1991-92 in States of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab. The main objectives of the project are to retard and reverse, degradation of natural environment using appropriate soil and moisture conservation technology to improve productivity. Under this project an area of about 1.50 lac hectare is being treated with an estimated cost of Rs.187.41 crore. In plains this project is being taken up in State of Gujrat, Orissa & Rajasthan with a total cost of Rs.183.43 crore covering an area of about 2.60 lac hectare.
Danida Aided Integrated Watershed Development Projects have been launched in the States of Karnataka, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh. The various Danida aided projects have been named as Comprehensive Watershed Development Project.
Swiss Development Corporation has three projects in Watershed Management Sector under implementation. The Indo-Swiss Participative Watershed Development Project aims at developing watersheds in Karnataka in line of the ongoing Participatory Integrated Watershed Development Project (PIDOW). The project aims at developing the watershed with the active participation of farmers through self-help groups and active collaboration of NGO’s.
Following the adoption of National Conservation Strategy in June 1992, Government of Uttar Pradesh ventured into a unique project named as Doon Valley Integrated Watershed Management Project in the year 1993. This is a joint venture of Government of Uttar Pradesh and European Economic Commission. The project period is 1993 to 2001. This is fundamentally an environment project with various components providing external impetus to achieve uniform speed for optimum utilization of the forest resources on sustainable basis that might lead to socio-economic development and environmental conservation. Guidelines were laid for selection of micro- watersheds and villages. Nearly 303 villages were chosen in 25 micro watersheds. For planning purpose, workers were trained for Participatory Rural Appraisal Techniques (PRA). The village plans made from the PRA technique include the components like forestry, animal husbandry, horticulture, minor irrigation, agriculture, soil & water conservation, energy conservation and community participation.The involvement of local communities and the transfer of low cost technology were emphasized. The project activities specifically focused on the agriculture and social forestry-related sectors. The objectives of the project were detailed in the logical frame and summarized below:
There are three long-term objectives:
a) Arrest, and as far as possible, reverse the on-going degradation of the Doon Valley Eco-system.
b) Improve the living conditions of the rural people.
c) Ensure active involvement of rural people in managing their environment.
There were five immediate objectives:
a) Management of the natural resources in a sustainable manner.
b) Increase productivity from land and water.
c) Strengthening community participation.
d) Improvement in the socio-economic conditions of disadvantaged groups, especially women.
e) Motivating people to understand the concept and there by bringing about attitudinal changes by providing extrinsic motivations. This in turn can be utilized to induce intrinsic motivation which is of utmost importance to the project, country and universe at large. This being the back bone of a sustainable model, was the dream of project for which it is looking forward to come true.
The project emphasized adaptation of innovative technologies in the field of forestry, soil and water conservation, minor irrigation, animal husbandry, horticulture, agriculture, energy conservation, community participation and human behaviors. Community Participation in planning, formulation and implementation of the project was ensured. Experiences show that this technique has made the villagers independent, self-sufficient and had developed a power of reasoning. This has also motivated them to involve themselves in income generating activities. For development of Village Level Institutions and Banking Concept for better implementation and ensure sustainability, the project has motivated the villagers to:
1) Form village level institutions.
2) Create village level funds for maintenance of created assets.
3) Contribute voluntarily to the village fund in form of cash, kind, labour or voluntary service.
In achieving the objectives of the project, there are certain constraints which have been identified as: social barriers within villages, male out-migration, the conservative nature of the rural poor, and attitude towards unproductive cattle, institutional barriers between line departments of different disciplines and problems of employing non-government personnel.
This is a rural water supply & environmental sanitation project of the Governments of Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal with World Bank assistance. This is being implemented in 1200 villages in 19 districts of the States. Short listed Support Organizations (SO) have assisted village communities in planning and construction of the water supply schemes. The project cycle has three distinct phases: pre-planning, planning and implementation. In the preplanning phase, the villages and support organization were selected on the basis of pre-decided transparent criteria. The three basic criteria for selecting villages are demand (willingness to share 10% of capital costs and take over the 100% responsibility for Operation & Maintenance including its costs), need (future time savings, insufficient supply of water or water quality problems) and technical feasibility (adequate water source). In the planning phase, the community action plans are drawn up ensuring the participation of community. The community upfront and cash contributions were also collected during this phase and then the implementation phase started. The project duration is six years i.e. 1996-2002. The total cost of the project is US$ 63.77 million. The World Bank's share is 82%, the State Government’s 5% and the community’s 13%.The main objectives of the project are as follows:-
1. To deliver sustainable health & hygiene benefits to the rural population through improvement in water supply, environmental conditions and sanitation services, which will increase rural incomes through time savings and income generating opportunities. This directly influences the forest management system
2. To promote the long term sustainability of the rural water supply through catchment area protection.
To ensure that each partner is equipped with the skills to fulfill its role and responsibilities, capacity building is in built in the Project design. Various training programmes on Community Development Activities are organised at village level by the Support Organizations. The project has empowered the community to enable them to take the necessary decisions regarding project planning and implementation, Non Formal Education (NFE), Hygiene Environmental Sanitation Awareness (HESA) and Women’s Development Initiatives (WDI) activities through formation of village level body known as Village Water & Sanitation Committee (VWSC).The signing of Implementation Phase Tripartite Agreement (IPTA) marks the commencement of the Implementation Phase. This is a tripartite agreement between the Project Management Unit (PMU), SO and VWSC. The roles and responsibilities of each of the three signing parties are spelt out. An integral feature of the agreement is that all capital funds of PMU’s and the community’s go into a joint village account operated by the representatives of SO and VWSC.
The community level procurement of goods, works and services in the Swajal project is a unique feature in the country, and this probably holds true even world-wide.
In nutshell, in all these projects, people’s participation in planning, implementation as well as operation and maintenance activities has yielded positive results. Participation and Community contribution in form of labour and/or cash has motivated people especially the village folk for adoption of innovative technologies for optimum utilization and efficient management of natural resources especially forests. The modus operandi followed to bring about the attitudinal has the following steps:
1) Involve people in planning, implementation and maintenance activities.
2) Demonstrate the use of new ideas, changes, & technologies.
3) Provide the highly subsidized facilities at the doorstep.
4) Constant motivation for adopting new technology and explaining the importance of transfer of technology.
5) Developed the concept of proper time/ Life management
6) Involvement in income generating activities during spare time.
7) Arranging cross-visit to successful areas/projects.
A number of case studies of these project implementation area have shown that the above adopted strategy has shown fruitful results. The concepts, ideas and innovative approaches that satisfy the basic needs are easily adopted by the village folk. This would ultimately lead to optimum utilization of forest resources for socio-economic development and sustainable forest management.
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The ideas, and analysis presented are totally the personal view of the author. In no way it reflects the official policy of the Government and various agencies and departments.
| [1] Environmental expert, Uttaranchal
Rural Water Supply, and Environmental Sanitation Project, 6/4, Indranagar
Forest Colony, Dehradun-248006 (Uttaranchal), India. Tel: +91-135-764229;
Fax: +91-135-760334; Email: [email protected];
[email protected] |