Special Issue on Afforestation & Reforestation
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Special Issue on Afforestation & Reforestation Community Readers Forum Forestry After a long time wait I could be able to get a copy of the journal " Community Forestry" . Almost ten years back two editorial staff from RCDC sought my suggestions for improvement of the journal. Fortunately, (Issue-26, October 2012) the contents, coverage and paper quality has been improved, but not the format of the journal. A journal Editorial Address is normally called periodical as it is published in specific periodicity with its Volume. There is no volume of the journal. Because, the authors are asked to cite their work and while citing the paper published it REGIONAL CENTRE FOR lacks the Volume No. Every Journal must have its International Standard Serial Number( ISSN) for which DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION it is called as a journal. A paper published in a journal without ISSN number is not considered as a A/68, 1st Floor scientific paper. Because the author does not get any mark for the paper published by him. There are Sahid Nagar, Bhubaneswar -7 Odisha, India. journals called 'Peer Reviewed Journal'/ 'Impact factor Journal'. As per UGC norm a scholar publishing a Tel: 91-674-2545250 paper in an international peer review journal get 25 marks and in a national journal 15 marks for his Fax: 91-674-2545252 career advancement. Hence, I suggest to get ISSN Number for your journal . Another thing is that you can ask your contributors to standardize the paper for your journal. There must be uniform standard E-mail: referencing system of the papers. I wish that the 'Community Forestry' should be shaped the name of a [email protected] good journal and available in special libraries for special user groups. [email protected] With best regards, URL Dr. Rabindra K. Mahapatra www.rcdcindia.org Chief Librarian www.banajata.org Odisha University of Agriculture & Technology Editor-in-Chief Bhubaneswar - 751003 Kailash Ch. Dash On behalf of RCDC I thank you very much for your touching and constructive feedback. In fact such Thematic Editor dynamic and concrete suggestions from our readers are our assets. Bikash Rath We agree with your concerns and suggestions. However, we would like to share some issues that a Layout & Design volunteer organization like RCDC faces in publishing such periodicals without any commercial interest Ramakrishna Maharana and without any specific funding support. It is very difficult to maintain the periodicity and quality of the Bhagyarathi Sahoo journal due to want of funds and relevant articles. There are financial implications in respect of postage charged in case you mention the month of publication. Still, going for ISSN No. and other improvements Please feel free to use, reproduce or translate materials from are already under our consideration, and we shall be encouraged with your technical inputs/comments Community Forestry with due regarding the thematic coverage too. -Ed. respect to the self esteem of the forest protecting communities and acknowledgement to the author(s), RCDC and the source. We will appreciate receipt of a copy. CONTENTS The opinions expressed in COVER STORY 'Community Forestry' do not necessarily reflect those of Ä Whither A/R CDM ? 04 Regional Centre for Development Cooperation. CURRENT ISSUE RCDC and the editorial team Ä Eucalyptus revisited 32 appointed by it for its periodical(s) do not endorse any unfair/unlawful allegations made against any LAW & POLICY individual/organization while allowing critiques or articles of Ä Defining forest 35 similar nature in public interest. Readers are welcome to share their grievances(if any) in case they find ROLE MODELS one or more of the facts presented in the articles do not reflect the Ä Community initiatives in mangrove conservation 40 reality in its totality or are otherwise erroneous . CONSERVATION Regd. Office Ä Rights for resource cause : A case of Siarimalia 42 ECO-COMMERCE Ä The CDM Market 46 Regional Centre for LIVELIHOOD Development Cooperation Ä Indigenous health practices of the Mankidias 49 424, Sahid Nagar, Bhubaneswar-751 007 EMERGING TRENDS Odisha, India Ä Making Eucalyptus Eco-friendly: The ITC Way 54 Tel: 91-674-2547585 91-674-2547897 Fax: 91-674-2545252 NEWS & EVENTS E-mail: [email protected] Ä State Gears up for Massive Afforestation 61 FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY Cover photo : A degraded hillock near Nabarangpur under afforestation 2 Community Forestry Issue-26, October 2012 EDITORIAL NOTE Editorial This special issue of Community Forestry covers three quarters: January-March, April-June and July-September. This combined issue focuses on some important dynamics relating to afforestation & deforestation: A/R CDM; definition of forest, afforestation & deforestation; and the major species ? used in afforestation, etc. The 'cover story' in fact is a special report based on RCDC's recent research on A/R CDM in Odisha; a part of this research report has been published under this column with some modifications and updates. Although the size of this report is much beyond the requirement under a 'story', we hope that importance will rather be attached to the content than the size, particularly because of the research value of the same. Two columns in this issue cover some aspects of the major species selected under afforestation projects, more particularly under the A/R CDM, i.e. Eucalyptus. In fact, 'Eucalyptus revisited' is in a way supplementary to the article 'Making Eucalyptus Eco-friendly: The ITC Way' though it appears first because of sequential preferences of this periodical. However, we clarify here that none of these two articles should imply that RCDC wants to promote Eucalyptus. What this editor actually intends is to help our readers judiciously understand some of the real dynamics of the species and the plantations based on it so as to get convinced why plantations of indigenous species are still better and preferable (even in that case the choice of species is important based on the local ecology and socio- economic requirements). Simply condemning Eucalyptus blindly can never be the right approach, and the emerging trend of rectifying an error by modifying the roots of the species so as to prevent it from reaching the ground water table, and by promoting products such as Eucalyptus honey are definitely a welcome move. However, needless to say, such initiatives in no way convince us that Eucalyptus is preferable; rather they indicate that if you already have Eucalyptus or have no other viable option than this species then you can reduce the concerned ecological risks and increase the scope of making optimum use of the plantation through such methods. Other regular columns also cover certain interesting issues though not exactly related to afforestation & deforestation. But one can still relate them to the focused topic of this issue in the way that it seems quite contradictory that the concerned Department/government agency on one hand fails to protect & conserve the existing resources such as bamboo, and on the other hand makes huge targets for plantations, that too when the survival rates of saplings planted and the investments versus achievements in the plantation projects are still questionable though we can definitely congratulate the Department for some of its successful plantations. The government has allowed cutting of mature trees along the road sides for expansion of National Highways or other such projects, and all these after the devastation of the supercyclone of 1999; but what is the action and achievement in restoring the lost ecological asset? In fact, the ground realities are so frustrating that big statistics and projections can not convince or satisfy the people. One can therefore definitely ask if the actual intension behind afforestation projects is a vested interest (though the plea is ecological restoration and socioeconomic welfare). Implementation of CAMPA is still a suspicious matter and the Forest Department is fully responsible for that. Interestingly, the Departmental headquarters was recently approached under RTI to provide certain information under CAMPA, but instead of doing it itself they just forwarded the application to divisional offices. If that means that the headquarters doesn't have consolidated information, then this is a highly questionable matter indeed. MGNREGS does provide a scope for a community-controlled plantation activity suitable for their own purpose, but that scope is yet to be utilized properly. In such a situation, initiatives by individuals and/or communities that have silently and humbly made successful plantations without the kind of investments that the government agencies would have preferred to project, are like an oasis in the desert. If the Forest Department can make proper use of this community potential, and can duly honour such initiatives (we don't mean just giving an award, but to be guided in practice by such initiatives) then restoration of the lost greenery and biodiversity would be largely possible in the state. It is high time that instead of going for mere formalities like Vana Mahotshav and drawing competitions among students, the Department should come out with a serious plan with participatory implementation & monitoring process so as to harness this potential. ² Bikash Rath Sr. Programme Manager Regional Centre for Development Cooperation Issue-26, October 2012 Community Forestry 3 COVER STORY Whither A/R CDM ? There have been several programmes that will spiritually benefit the person the carbon money. What is alarming is funded and/or implemented by who raises/promotes the plantations in that most of these plantations are raised government and private agencies for public interest or larger interest. The in private lands changing the land use, raising plantations that will rehabilitate Vastu sashtras advised certain specific and the ecological impacts thereof degraded lands or deforested areas norms so as to make the plantations alongwith long-term socio-economic while taking care of the livelihood truly beneficial for the people and to impacts like endangered food security needs, or will provide a source of avoid the subtle adverse effects are a matter of concern.