FORESTS for POVERTY REDUCTION: Changing Role for Research, Development and Training Institutions 17–18 June 2003 Dehradun, India
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
RAP PUBLICATION 2005/19 PROCEEDINGS OF THE WORKSHOP FORESTS FOR POVERTY REDUCTION: Changing Role for Research, Development and Training Institutions 17–18 June 2003 Dehradun, India Editors H.C. Sim, S. Appanah and N. Hooda Jointly organized by Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) Asia Pacific Association of Forestry Research Institutions (APAFRI) Forestry Research Support Programme for Asia and the Pacific (FORSPA) FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS REGIONAL OFFICE FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC Bangkok, 2005 The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the permission of the copyright owner. Applications for such permission, with a statement of the purpose and extent of the reproduction, should be addressed to the Senior Forestry Officer, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, 39 Phra Atit Road, Bangkok, Thailand. @ FAO 2005 ISBN No: 974-7946-76-9 For copies of the report, write to: Patrick B. Durst Senior Forestry Officer FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific 39 Phra Atit Road Bangkok 10200 Thailand Tel: (66-2) 697 4000 Fax: (66-2) 697 4445 Email: [email protected] FOREWORD An enormous challenge awaits developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The region as a whole has seen a dramatic economic transformation in the last 30 years. However, these benefits have eluded significant portions of its population. The existence of such extreme poverty makes its removal the region’s most critical development challenge. Quite a significant number of the poor are forest dwellers or from the communities living close by. By virtue of that association alone, it can be said that forest-dependency has led to their impoverishment, yet these forests can also be the solution to their indigent condition. This would come as a surprise to most though. In former times, most forests belonged to local rulers, and villagers had complete access to most of the non-timber forest products. The people lost their access to such wealth following consolidation of the forest lands into forest reserves to be managed by the government authorities. Most of the governments focused management towards production forestry to support the timber industries and increase their foreign exchange earnings. Poor people’s dependence on forests was usually relegated to themes such as minor forest products. Readjusting our focus back to the socio-economic role of forests would require considerable adjustments to the system. For a start, forest policies would have to be revised so as to prioritize the role of forests in meeting the needs of forest-dependent communities. Agencies that are involved in forest management would have to rethink considerably their strategies, and restructure their departments to take on roles that previously were given minor attention. This would also require engaging personnel with completely new skills in subjects such as participatory processes, community approaches, gender issues and other poverty reduction strategies. The work does not end here. The role of research institutes is pivotal to the success of new programmes in poverty alleviation. This would require a considerable revision of the research agenda, and likewise the hiring of people with new skills. Additional attention would have to be given to transfer of technology, extension, and effective implementation of these new programmes. A number of participatory research methodologies have emerged recently. Innovative approaches for development and diffusion of poverty alleviation technologies are being pioneered in many parts of the developing world. There is also growing recognition that local community organizations can assist in natural resources management, utilization and development planning; and can play a critical role in facilitating community level application of basic and strategic research results and in translating them into highly adoptable and profitable technologies. However, disparities in scientific capacity and capability, coupled with the often archaic and bureaucratic administrations, in the developing and underdeveloped countries, have hindered the effective adaptation and application of these technologies. All in all, we see considerable work ahead for many forestry institutions in the region. But most of all, there is a need for considerable transformation in their objectives, agenda, and the products they will have to deliver. This workshop, the first in the series of three workshops held in 2003 on the theme of Forests for Poverty Reduction – Exploring the Potential, was organized to share the experiences hitherto gained from poverty alleviation initiatives by forestry research and development agencies in the Asia-Pacific region. These proceedings, a collection of papers presented during the workshop, could serve to increase the recognition of the role of forestry in poverty reduction, as well as the awareness of policy-makers and specialists on the need for a more pro-poor focus in their undertakings. Forests have great influence on the welfare and economy of human society. In developing countries the linkage between forests and the people is more intense due to higher dependence of the people for their livelihoods. Considerable work lies ahead to bring about the desired results of using forests for alleviating poverty. The renovation of the forestry institutions represents the beginning. He Changchui M. A. Abdul Razak Assistant Director-General Director-General and Regional Representative Forest Research Institute Malaysia FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Chairman Asia Pacific Association of Forestry Research Institutions iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The regional workshop on Forest for Poverty Reduction: Changing Role for Research, Development and Training Institutions held in Dehradun from 17 to 18 June 2003 was organized by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) in collaboration with the Asia Pacific Association of Forestry Reseach Institutions (APAFRI) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Forestry Research Support Programme for Asia and the Pacific (FAO/FORSPA). Key papers were invited from several eminent speakers from all over India for various themes related to poverty reudction. Representatives from national forestry agencies in a number of countries in the region also presented their countries’ status reports. The workshop participants represented a mix of foresters, scientists, NGOs, bureaucrats, academicians and scholars, from countries in the Asia-Pacific region. We wish to thank all of them for their contributions during the workshop and also for the preparation of this proceedings. We are also indebted to all our colleagues in ICFRE for their help, and thanks are due to all the support staff and our office team for their painstaking efforts. The unstinting support from Dr Y.P. Singh, Dr Mohit Gera, Dr Anita Srivastava and Smt. Neelu Gera specially acknowledged. iv CONTENTS FOREWORD iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv 1 Welcome address 1 R.P.S. Katwal 2 Introduction: towards forestry institutions for the twenty-first century 5 S. Appanah 3 In forestry lies the prospect of economic progress 9 Padam Shri Chandi Prasad Bhatt 4 Forestry for poverty alleviation – role of research institutions 13 A.K. Rana and Neelu Gera 5 Forestry research intiatives for poverty reduction 21 P.K. Shukla and S.S. Bisen 6 Environmental goods and services for poverty alleviation: R&D issues 25 Promode Kant and R.P.S. Katwal 7 JFM and poverty alleviation: an analysis 31 Mudit Kumar Singh 8 Wood science and technology R&D can contribute to poverty alleviation 39 K. Satyanarayana Rao 9 NWFPs for poverty alleviation: research issues 45 P.P. Bhojvaid 10 Non-wood forest produce (NWFP) for poverty reduction 53 R.B.S. Rawat and R.C. Uniyal 11 Value addition of NWFPs 55 P.L. Soni and V.K. Varshney 12 Participatory agroforestry for poverty alleviation in Coimbatore District, India 65 M. George, K. Gurumurty and Vinu Aram 13 Forestry for poverty alleviation – the fourth generation paradigm 69 S. Shanmugasundaram 14 Forest and poverty: a survey study 75 K.D. Singh 15 Relative socio-economic and human development profile of scheduled tribes in India 83 Abusaleh Shariff, Prabir K. Ghosh and Abhilasha Sharma 16 Tribal development and marketing of NTFPs for poverty alleviation – a case study in Andhra Pradesh, India 99 A. Vidya Sagar 17 Forest for poverty alleviation: Chhattisgarh experience 109 R.C. Sharma v 18 Forests for poverty alleviation: the Orissa experience 121 Ramvir Singh 19 Participatory forestry and poverty alleviation: the Himachal Pradesh experience 131 S.S. Negi 20 Forests for poverty alleviation: the changing role of R&D institutions in Nepal 137 Krishna Chandra Paudel 21 Forests for poverty alleviation: the response of academic institutions in the Philippines 145 Eleno O. Peralta 22 Forestry and poverty alleviation: the changing role of research institutions in the Philippines 151 Filiberto A. Pollisco, Jr.