Working Paper series on Community management of forestry resources Vana Samrakshna Samithi- a study on Thenmala and Palaruvi By D.Dhanuraj Supported by a grant from Centre for Civil Society, New Delhi March 2006 Centre for Public Policy Research Vaikom Road, Tripunithura Ernakulam District, Kerala India – 682 301 Website: www.cpprindia.org Email: [email protected] Tel: 91 9249755468, 91 9249784945 © Copy rights reserved Centre for Public Policy Research 1 Vana Samrakshna Samithi- a study on Thenmala and Palaruvi India possesses 1.8 percent of the world’s forests.1 However the local community has been alienated or deprived from using the forest and its products by and large. This has contributed to the degradation, deforestation, poaching and other harmful actions in the vicinity of the forests in India. Non Timber Forest Products (NTFP) are important source of livelihood for many Indian communities. Several thousand tones of NTFPs are removed annually from India’s forests. About 60 percent of NTFPs go unrecorded and are consumed or bartered by about 15 million people living in and around forests.2 The lack of a consistent policy on this matter has worsened the situation further. Many reasons have been cited to redraw the forest policy with immediate effect. The arguments supplementing the reasoning are given as below: • Degradation, not deforestation, is currently the major problem in the forest in India, though deforestation was more important in the past. • Data on forest cover, its rate of change and the demand and the supply of forest products are unreliable • The shrinking common property resource base, the rapidly increasing human, livestock population and poverty are responsible for the tremendous degradation pressure on the existing forest cover. This issue is more accentuated by the alienation of forest dwellers from the policy framework. For years, the researchers concerned with sustainable management of forests in the country have argued that the road to improved stewardship of forests resources is the transfer of varying degrees of responsibility to the local communities who get their livelihood for them. Accordingly, various joint management, extractive–reserve and indigenous reserve projects, have been increasingly gaining ground recently. The participation of local community in preserving, conserving and protecting the wild life and forestry resources can be done in many ways. The formation of Vana Samrakshna Samithi (VSS) and Eco Development Committee (EDC) involving the local community are two ways in which the pressure on Forest can be minimised. Under both the schemes, more power including the management of resources and income generating opportunities are given to the local people without disturbing the flora and fauna. 1 The World Bank, India - Alleviating poverty through Forest Development, World Banks Operations Evaluations Department, 2000. 2 World bank, 2000 Centre for Public Policy Research 2 Eco Tourism - Eco development Committee The international Ecotourism Society (TIES) defines ecotourism as: “responsible travel that conserves the environment and sustains the well being of local people”. At a time when traditional conservation through enforced protection of natural areas like forests and wild life is being questioned for the lack of effectiveness and social impacts, strategies such as ecotourism offers considerable potential for integrating conservation with development. The purpose of eco tourism is not just attracting tourists. It involves the formation of Eco Development Committees and the participation of the local community. The economic opportunities available to the local community lay the basis of the conservation of natural resources. The basic objectives of the EDCs are to reduce the negative impact of the local people on the sanctuary and to involve encroachers in conservation, instead of exploitation By the development of forests as recreation spots, the involvement of the local community at various levels like protection, management and conservation can be ensured. Viable and feasible eco tourism, properly construed and implemented can raise subsistence levels of the local community, thus alleviating the pressure on the forest. Vana Samrakshna Samithi Joint Forest Management (JFM) introduced in 1990, is a complete change over from the policies followed till then. It is consistent with the Forest policy of 1988. It envisages people’s involvement in the development, protection and management of forest. Forest produce like fuel wood, Non- timber forest produce (NTFB), timber etc are made available to the forest dependent villagers by the JFM, so that the village communities are motivated to help in the development and protection of forest.3 Participatory Forestry Management (PFM) justifies in dealing with the anthropogenic factors dealing with the forest protection in this context. The way PFM can be implemented depends on the various factors like the location, community, forest resources, and the means for revenue generation and so on. It involves protection, development and management of forests in a mutually contributing and sharing of responsibility between authorities and community. These activities are planned, implemented, maintained and monitored by the village institutions – Vana Samrakshna Samithi (VSS) constituted with the help of Forest Department. In Kerala it is constituted with the help of the Kerala Forest Department (KFD).Other major activities include appointments of Coordinators, training, extension and motivation of local people, problem identification, VSS formation, finalisation of bye-laws, finalisation of roles and responsibilities, terms and conditions for sharing of costs and benefits and the procedures for evaluation and amendment of the program. The conceptual understanding on the formation of VSS under the guidelines of Kerala Government is as follows: 3 G.O.Ms. No. 84/97 F&WLD, Thiruvananthapuram dated 16.1. 1998 Centre for Public Policy Research 3 Every household in the selected ward/hamlet group has the option of participating in the Samithi. Any two adult members of a household can participate in the VSS, one of the two being a woman. They register their names with the range Officer on a payment of Rs 5 per household which is credited to the Core Fund of VSS. The Schedule Cast (SC) and Schedule Tribe (ST) members are exempted from the payment of the registration fee. While selecting the area and identifying the participating village community, the District Forest officer shall initiate actions for entry phase activities. During this period, the Range Officer (RO) may fix up a date in consultation with the villagers to hold the participatory meeting to initiate the proceedings. The general body meeting of the VSS is held once every six months to review the actions taken in pursuance to the approved micro plan, status of the forest protection and functioning of VSS Executive Committee. The executive committee shall have nine elected representatives from the VSS. Out of the 9 members, at least 3 should be women. There shall also be proportional representations from SC and ST communities. The Gram Panchayat member of the concerned ward will act as the Ex – Officio member. Forester or Forest Guard having jurisdiction over the area will act as the Ex- Officio member Secretary. The committee elects the President from the elected members. The term of the committee is two years. Under the special circumstances the General Body Meeting of VSS can be convened on request of not less than 1/3 of the VSS members to the Convenor of VSS. The quorum for GBM will be 1/3 of the total members. The VSS Executive Committee shall meet at least once in every month. The committee shall prepare a micro plan for a period of 10 years in consultation with the participatory community groups, NGOs and KFD. The plan shall include the prescriptions for the management of forest and village resources under the control of VSS. It shall prescribe the ways to reduce excessive pressure on forests and for the protection and restoration of forests to ensure the sustainable flow of goods and services. It may also discuss the responsibility sharing, rights and duties of the communities involved. Preliminary Planning Implementation 1. Site identification- 5. PRA - PRA is the 9. Credibility Fund - Grant Specification of area and technique adopted for the provided to VSS for locality of the VSS preparation of Micro Plan initiating the activities 6. Micro Plan - It is a plan 2. Memorandum of 10. Annual Action Plan - of activities regarding Association (MOA Action Plan prepares conservation and drafting)- It is a vision annually according to the community development statement of VSS Budgetary Resources for 5 years 3. VSS Registration- 7. Micro Plan approval - 11.Annual Action Plan Recognition by Forest Approval by Conservator Approval- Approval by Department of Forests Conservator of Forests 4. Mobilisation of Funds- i. 8. MOU Signing- The Core Fund- Funds provided memorandum of to VSS through FDAs and understanding in the form FD and are at the disposal 12. Field Implementation of an agreement executed of VSS ii. Operational - Implementation of Micro by Forest Department and Fund- Funds in the joint Plan at VSS level. VSSs concerning the A/c. of President/Secretary norms for the protection channelled through FDAs of the Micro Plan area and FD Centre for Public Policy Research 4 The members of VSS are individually and collectively responsible for: • Ensuring protection of the PFM areas from encroachment, grazing, fires, illicit felling, poaching, thefts etc. • Ensuring execution of the activities in accordance with the approved micro plan through the executive committee. • Making the villagers aware of the importance of nature conservation and forest protection. Case study 1. Thenmala. Widely known as “God’s Own Country”, Kerala attracts tourists from all over the world. The state of Kerala, forming part of the Western Ghats, contains protected area of 2,324 Square Kilometres in two national parks and 12 Wild life sanctuaries. The Western Ghats of Kerala, with its tropical forest eco system, provides a natural advantage for development of Eco tourism.