Monitoring and Evaluation of Social Forestry in India - an Operational Guide N Operational Guide • the Monitoring Nd Evaluation F Social Forestry I India
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Monitoring and evaluation of social forestry in India - an operational guide n operational guide • the monitoring nd evaluation f social forestry I India . Slade I iabrlel Campbell 1 contributions from .oronha .uhathakurta repplng I ~st officers in India The designations employed and the presentation 01 material in this publication do not imply the eKpression 01 any opinion whatsoever on the part 01 the Food and Agriculture Organization 01 the United Nations concerning the legal status 01 any country. territory. city or area or of its authorities. or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. M·36 ISBN 92·5-102509-6 All rights reserved. No part 01 this publication may be reproduced. stored in a retrieval system. or transmitted in any lorm or by any means, electronic. mechanical. photocopying or otherwise. without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Applications lor such permission. with a statement of the purpose and eKtent 01 the reproduction. should be addressed to the Director, Publications Division. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Via delle Terme di Caracalla. 00100 Rome. Italy. ©FA01H1 (iii) FAO FOREWORD Monitoring and evaluation should be an integral part of the sound management of any form of forestry project. In projects which seek to help rural people participate in and benefit from forestry activities they are essential. As Dr. Choudhry explains in her preface to this publication, M&E provides decision makers with essential information and also permits the assumptions upon which policy and projects are based to be reviewed in the light of objective, quantified evidence. Social, communal and other forms of participatory forestry projects are nearly everywhere still young; much remains to be learned. Of all coun tries, India has perhaps the most extensive and varied experience, and is a leader in this field. Among its many pioneering activities has been the development of a monitoring and evaluation system which all entities engaged in social forestry - within the different branches of government and outside it - can apply and use. This publication reproduces the operational guide to the monitoring and evaluation of social forestry which is being used throughout India. As will be seen from the Preface, it has been developed from the sum of the experiences of social forestry units from all parts of the country, working with monitoring and evaluation specialists from the World Bank and FAO. Many aspects of the system of course reflect features which are unique to India, but much, including its basic framework and approach, should prove useful in other countries as wei!. Accordingly, the Guide is now published in the FAO Forestry Paper series. (v) PREFACE Social forestry and wastelands development form a major component in India's strategy to deal with ecological balance and socio-economic crisis. More than half of India - the poorer half - depends for its sustenance needs of fuelwood, fodder and small timber on the forests and other common lands which have become increasingly denuded and degraded over the years. The Prime Minister of India has given a call to the nation to afforest 5 million hec tares a year, primarily for fuelwood and fodder, and develop it as a people's movement. There are several schemes involved in social forestry and the affores tation of degraded areas. It is essential that we carefully follow the pro gress of these programmes and projects in order to ensure that they are achieving stated objectives and are doing so as quickly and effectively as possible. Monitoring and evaluation are necessary in any project to provide policy makers and managers with essential data. The latter must assess pro gress, and impact on the one hand and respond to unexpected events and mid term corrections on the other hand. Monitoring and Evaluation are particular ly important 'in a relatively new innovative and experimental programme so that learning as well as unlearning of assumptions and attitudes can take place. Monitoring and evaluation also provides feed-back from the grassroots level, enabling us to assess how well the programme is meeting the needs of the rural poor. This Operational Guide to the Monitoring and Evaluation of Social Forestry, including Wastelands Development in India, has been prepared in order to provide a system which can, and should, be used in all social fores try projects and related programmes in the country. It is intended to provide information at the project level, for each State programme and for the country as a whole. Each State is expected to use this system both for its own operations and to provide information on progress to the National Wastelands Development Board. The Guide is the result of a collaborative effort by the World Bank, FAa, and the Government of India. An effort in which all States and Union Territories also participated. Several States are already using it in part, and others have introduced it on a trial basis. It is hoped that all of them will now take the steps necessary to operate and implement it as speedily as possible. Undoubtedly, as experience with the application of the Guide is accum ulated, it will become necessary to refine its precepts further. It will therefore be reviewed periodically. It is also probable that some will en counter unforeseen difficulties in applying it. Arrangements have been made to provide technical advice and assistance to those State social forestry monitoring and evaluation units that require it. Requests for such assistance should be addressed to the Board. It is also hoped that the States will choose their staff with care and provide them the necessary opportunities for training so that a strong and viable monitoring units are built. (vi) This Operational Guide is a silnificant s'tep towards providinl more reliable data, analysis and evaluation of problems, and will thus strenlthen the social forestry and wastelands development prOlramme. I wish to thank Mr. R.B.Slade of the World Bank and Mr. J. Gabriel Campbell, Consultant to FAO, for their deep involvement and painstakinl efforts in finalisinl this Guide. I also wish to thank the Forest Officers of the States who have contributed silnificantly to clarifyinl ideas and to makinl the Guide a more practical document. Kamla Chowdhry Chairman National Wastelands Development Board New Delhi July 10th. 1986 (vii) TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword by MA. Flores Rodas, Assnt. Director General, F AO iii Preface by Dr. K.C. Chowdhry, Chairman, NWDB v Table of Contents vii Acknowledgemen t ix List of Abbreviations xii Glossary xiii PART A I. Introduction and Overview 1 Social Forestry in India 1 Role of Monitoring and Evaluation 2 The Guide 4 An Overview of the Monitoring & Evaluation System 5 II. The Monitoring and Reporting 01 Progress 9 Seedling Production and Distribution (Nursery Reports) 11 Plantation Records and Reports IS Quarterly GOI (All India) Monitoring Report 18 Monitoring of Forestry Produce Prices 30 Annex I - Proforma District Summary of Plantation Reports 33 III. Monitoring and On-Going Evaluation 01 Farm Forestry and Village Woodlots 35 A. On-Going Evaluation of Farm Forestry Objectives 35 The Information Required 36 The Reason for Sampling and the Design of a Sample 37 The Initial Analysis 40 B. On-Going Evaluation of Village Woodlots Reason for On-Going Evaluation 41 The Sampling Plan 42 The Information Required 43 IV. The Monitoring and On-Going Evaluation 01 Other Social Forestry Activities and Other Studies 45 Monitoring and Evaluation of Strip Plantations and Rehabilitation of Degraded Forests 46 Monitoring and On-Going Evaluation of Tree Patta. Tree Tenure and Group Farm Forestry Schemes 49 The Monitoring and On-Going Evaluati,on of Improved Wood stoves and Crematoria SO The Monitoring and On-Going Evaluation of Institutional Forestry SO Review of Management and Administration System 51 Special Study of Extension and Publicity Activities 51 Economic Analysis of Different Types of Farm Forestry and their effects on Crop Production and Labour Utilisation 51 The Role of Women and Other Underprivileged People in Social Forestry 51 Incentives, Legislation and the Effects of Markets on Private Tree Growing 52 Effectiveness of non-Governmental Organisations 53 Causes of Non-Participation in Social Forestry 53 (viii) Annex I - Proforma Tabulations for Results of Rapid Reconaissance Survey of Strip Plantations and Rehabilitation of Degraded Forests S4 V. Resource Requirements and Unit Organisation 57 Field Staff Requirements S7 Headquarters Staff Requirements 60 Qualifications and Duties of Monitoring cSt Evaluation Staff 60 Size, Structure and Cost of Monitoring cSt Evaluation Units 61 The Unit and the Social Forestry Program 64 Monitoring and Evaluation - The State and the Government of India 64 Annex I - Detailed Qualifications and Duties of Monitoring and Evaluation Staff 66 PART B VI. The Farm Forestry Survey 69 Sampling Procedures 69 Questionnaire Design 77 Proforma Farm Forestry Questionnaire 80 Initial Tabulation of Results 94 Annex 1- A Note on Estimation Procedures if Done by Hand 124 Annex 11 - A Note on Estimating the Sampling Error 126 Annex 111- Computer Program for Farm Forestry Sample Selection 131 VII. The Village Woodlot Survey 135 Sampling Design. Sample Size and Survey Procedures 135 Questionnaire Design 138 Proforma Village Woodlot Questionnaire 139 Initial Tabulations 154 VIII. The Management and Implementation of M&E Operations 181 The Implementatipn and Management of Monitoring Operations