PBR of Dhani Panch Mouja Orissa.Pdf
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Copyright: People of Barapalli, Arjunpur, Balarampur, Kiyapalla and Panaspur and Vasundhara and Indian Institute of Science C onserving Bio-D iversity A Decade's Experience of Dhani P anch Mouja Jungle Surakshya Samiti V asundhara O rissa Biodiversity Conservation Prioritisation Project Copyright: People of Barapalli, Arjunpur, Balarampur, Kiyapalla and Panaspur and Vasundhara and Indian Institute of Science Site Report of five villages involved in protection & management of Dhani South Reserve Forest Edited by Rekha Panigrahi and Y. Giri Rao Research team: Late Sri Sukesh Chandra Ukil, Y. Giri Rao, Rekha Panigrahi, Ashok K. Nayak Copyright: People of Barapalli, Arjunpur, Balarampur, Kiyapalla and Panaspur and Vasundhara and Indian Institute of Science A ckn ow ledgments The research team would like to thank Prof. Madhav Gadgil and his team for their support during the study. We would like to specially thank Pramod, Utkarsh and Smita for their inputs to the process. The research has benefited from the theoretical and logistical inputs from Vishesh and Sudipto of the HPA and the WWF respectively. The local staff of the forest department made significant contributions to the undertaking of the research. Special thanks are due to village men and women in the five villages involved in protection of Dhani forests i.e. Barapalli, Arjunpur, Balarampur, Kiyapalla and Panaspur. The Team would like to thank Knowledgeable Individuals, Committee members, Harijan women of Arjunpur village, Tribal women of Panaspur & Kiyapalla villages, Forest watcher and all others who helped us a lot to cany out the study in the villages. Particularly useful were the help and guidance of the local medicineman Sri Banambar Das, pioneer of the forest protection initiative Sri Kanduri Pradhan and the FPC President Sri Biranchi Das. Special thanks are due to the Harijan women, notably Smt. Magi Dei and Smt. Rangalata, who provided us with a close understanding of the role of women in sustainable ` tilization of the forests. Copyright: People of Barapalli, Arjunpur, Balarampur, Kiyapalla and Panaspur and Vasundhara and Indian Institute of Science C O N TENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ABBREVIATIONS I INTRODUCTION 1 METHODOLOGY 3 PEOPLESCAPE 6 USER GROUPS & LIVELIHOOD PATTERN 11 LIFESCAPE 13 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE 15 MANAGEMENT OPTION 21 DEVELOPMENT ASPIRATIONS 26 ISSUES & SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS 29 CONSERVATION STRATEGY 31 GENDER 34 ANNEXURE 39 Copyright: People of Barapalli, Arjunpur, Balarampur, Kiyapalla and Panaspur and Vasundhara and Indian Institute of Science A BBREVIATIONS CFM - Community Forest Management FD - Forest department Govt. – Government JFM - Joint Forest Management LSE - Landscape Element MFP - Minor Forest Produce NTFP – Non-Timber Forest Produce NFEC – Non-Formal Education Centre NGO - Non-Government Organisation OFDC – Orissa Forest Development Corporation Pvt. – Private RF - Reserve Forest SFP -Social Forestry Project VFPC – Village Forest Protection Committee Copyright: People of Barapalli, Arjunpur, Balarampur, Kiyapalla and Panaspur and Vasundhara and Indian Institute of Science VSS - Van Samrakshan Samiti Copyright: People of Barapalli, Arjunpur, Balarampur, Kiyapalla and Panaspur and Vasundhara and Indian Institute of Science . Copyright: People of Barapalli, Arjunpur, Balarampur, Kiyapalla and Panaspur and Vasundhara and Indian Institute of Science INTRODUCTION Background and Objectives The Biodiversity Conservation Prioritization Project (BCPP) was undertaken by WWF-India in association with other NGOs and Government at various levels for India with the support and collaboration of Biodiversity Support Program. This Biodiversity Conservation Prioritization exercise is different from such efforts in the past by attempting to be participatory and attempting to incorporate community perspective in the Project. While different subgroups under the BCPP worked on what and where, the strategies subgroup addressed the issue of how. The Conservation Strategies Sub-Group attempted to document local level community conservation priorities and strategies to address these local level conservation priorities. This sub-group documented these priorities and initiated discussion on strategies at different sites in seven states in India i.e. Bihar, Orissa, Andamans, Assam, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh. This sub-group aimed at documenting the perceptions of various sections and interest groups on bio-diversity conservation, with a view to discuss a range of viable strategic options for bio-diversity conservation at different levels with these different sections of society, in Orissa. Vasundhara as being a part of the strategies sub-group worked towards developing an understanding of how to conserve by exploring the concept of Bio-diversity Conservation at some sites in Orissa. PRAVA, a group based at Balasore which took the primary responsibility of taking up this exercise at Simlipal site. The project had two main components: I. Documenting knowledge and perception of local communities and different sections within the local community about biodiversity and conservation at Copyright: People of Barapalli, Arjunpur, Balarampur, Kiyapalla and Panaspur and Vasundhara and Indian Institute of Science the village/Panchayat level using community Bio-diversity Register (CBR) as a methodology. II. Facilitating discussions on the differing perceptions of various sections and interest groups at different levels-village level/Panchayat/cluster to district, state level with a view to record different perceptions as well as facilitating discussion on strategies for bio-diversity conservation reconciling different interest groups priorities and perceptions. Community Forest Management in Orissa In Orissa, many communities have taken up active protection and management of forests on their own initiative. These community initiatives were prompted by forest degradation and forest produce scarcity. Community concern generated due to forest degradation was translated into active forest protection efforts. There are cases of community forest protection arrangement initiated as far back as 1940s. Over time, faced with increasing forest scarcity, more and more rural communities have taken up forest protection in the State. These efforts became widespread in mid 1970s and 1980s. According to one estimate at least 4000 villages in Orissa (total number of villages in Orissa 60,000) are protecting over 2,50,000 hectares of forest (approx. 5% of the total forest area of Orissa) (Singhs, 1993 ). In NAYAGARH district (Ranpur block) in Orissa, around 120 villages have spontaneously took to active protection of forests. These community based forest management systems display remarkable ingenuity. Each group of villages present its own management system. The villagers have organised themselves into informal and formal organisations. These community organisations over the time have matured to manage the forest resources sustainably. Site Overview Dhani R.F located in Ranpur block of Nayagarh district is an unique case of Community forest management system. It is unique in context of its strong community institutional structure and a case where a cluster of five villages have been unitedly protecting and managing the forest since a decade. Protection by the villagers was initiated at the time when the forest was completely degraded. Its Copyright: People of Barapalli, Arjunpur, Balarampur, Kiyapalla and Panaspur and Vasundhara and Indian Institute of Science because of their untiring efforts & initiatives that Dhani has regenerated a good forest cover. The forest protection institution evolved effective protection and extraction regulation arrangements promoting forest regeneration. The management system developed by the community offers equal benefits sharing and decision making between all castes, general, harijan and the tribals. Parts of Dhani R.F. is being protected by "Dhani South Panch Mouja Jungle Suraksha Samiti" comprising of five villages viz. Barapalli, Arjunpur, Balarampur, Kiyapalla and Panaspur. The five villages are involved in the protection of approximately 839.75 hectares of compartment 5 & 6 of Dhani R.F. Dhani R.F. has dry type mixed forest. Dhani also has some almost pure patches of bamboo. Eventhough the Working plan classifies this forest as scrub forest in degraded condition, very good regeneration has come up due to active protection by villagers. The protection initiative has been recognised and lauded internationally. There has been a steady flow of researchers from other parts of the country and also from abroad. People from the forest department of Orissa and also from other states have been sent to learn from the Dhani experience. The Orissa Forest Department has also appreciated the efforts. The protection initiative that started in 1987 is now in the process of being formalized in to a Joint Forest Management System. For its pioneering efforts towards community based forest management the villages have been conferred with the Prakruti Mitra Award, the highest award in the state in the field of environmental protection. The Dhani Success Story has been picturised in to a documentary film by the state Government to be used as a model for participatory forest management. The major Newspapers of the state have also highlighted the Dhani success story. Dhani has featured as the example of successful forest conservation in various national and international workshops. The Dhani Case study has appeared in various publications in India and abroad, the