Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized E2214 v4 Introduction to BCRLIP THE WORLD BANK IN INDIA he Biodiversity Cons ervation and Rural Livelihood Improvement Project (BCRLIP) was conceptualized in 2005 to resolve the T confl ict between man and animal among rural people living on the fringes of important protected areas. The primary aim of the project is to engage local communities in sustaining biodiversity conservation while improving their livelihood prospects. The project area, called a landscape, includes protected areas like national parks, sanctuaries, tiger reserves and forests rich in fl ora and fauna outside the protected areas. Six landscapes have been selected under the project. These include the Upper Indus landscape (Changthang) in Jammu and Kashmir. Changthang falls in the District of Leh and includes the Changthang wildlife sanctuary. Askot in Pithoragarh District of Uttarakhand includes the Askot musk deer sanctuary. Little Rann of Kutch in Gujarat falls in Kutch and includes the Hadakiya and Kachch Creeks and the Wild Ass Sanctuary; Satpura in Madhya Pradesh covers the districts of Hoshangabad, Chhindwara and Betul and includes the Satpura National Park and the Bori and Panchmarhi wildlife sanctuaries. Dampa in Mizoram falls in Mamit district and includes the Dampa tiger reserve. Agasthiyaramalai, spread across Tamil Nadu and Kerala, runs through 13 districts (Theni,Tiruneveli, Srivilliputtur, Kanyakumari, Virudnagar, Thiruvanthapuram, Konni, Punalur, Thenmala, Achencoil,and forest divisions of Shendurney, Neyyar and Pappara and includes one tiger reserve (Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger reserve) and fi ve wildlife sanctuaries: Grizzled Squirrel WLS, Kanayakumari WLS in Tamil Nadu and Shendurney WLS, Neyyar WLS and Pappara WLS in Kerala. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, is the nodal body for the project. The BCRLIP is based on the lessons learned from the earlier India Eco-Development Project that focussed only on protected areas. However, it has a much wider canvass as it encompasses not only the PAs but also the areas contiguous to it. CONSULTATIONS Consultants PEACE and ATREE had the responsibility of assisting the seven states selected for this project to develop detailed landscape-specifi c plans through a consultative process. The forest and wildlife departments, which are the fi eld level implementing agencies for the project, began consultations in 2005 with all stakeholders within each of the selected landscapes. 1 They had discussions with private and public sector agencies operating in the area; with civil society organizations; and most importantly with local communities, to develop plans for the sustainable management of the area’s biodiversity while ensuring livelihood needs of the people living there. THE WORLD BANK IN INDIA Since the areas of some of the landscapes like Agasthiyarmalai and Changthang are much larger than the traditional PAs, their management has to be different. There was need for partnerships and coalitions with a wide range of actors and stakeholders. Such multi-stakeholder forums and local landscape foundations require a focus on transparency and information dissemination to ensure that all views and concerns are addressed in the management of the landscape. So far, for each landscape there has been at least one landscape level and one state level meeting. In addition, all communities living in villages falling within the landscape were consulted. These include panchayat members, women, village elders, Hill Council members (as in Changthang), agriculturists, herdsmen, fi shermen and traders. Issues During the consultations, concerns were expressed on the need for balance between biodiversity conservation and improvement of rural livelihoods. The common issues that surfaced across all the landscapes were: ■ Rights of people not settled although some protected areas were notifi ed in 1973 ■ Stringent provisions of Wildlife(P) Act 1972 limit livelihood options of those who live within landscape ■ Man-animal confl ict ■ No compensation for livestock losses ■ Need for greater livelihood options ■ Poaching, hunting ■ Disruption of land use ■ Declining agriculture production resulting in livelihood insecurity ■ Remoteness of villages leading to their marginalization ■ Migration ■ High illiteracy and poverty, lack of development ■ Lack of health and education services ■ Declining traditional wool crafts dues to poor marketing and promotion ■ Religious tourism not creating local employment and outside porters destroying homes and habitat 2 ■ No proper rail connection leading to inadequate marketing and loss of income ■ Construction of check dams on seasonal rivers and streams leading to low fi sh turnover ■ Ignorance about various agricultural and other government schemes THE WORLD BANK IN INDIA • Lack of non-land based income options ■ Remote location ■ Lack of roads leading to high transportation costs Opportunities The remoteness of the villages within the landscape has deprived communities of the benefi ts of development. Although the project cannot resolve all concerns like lack of education, water, health infrastructure, electricity and communications, it does provide an opportunity to take stock of these issues and address them. A crucial component in any project is the convergence of government and line departments and this project will help to facilitate this process with greater transparency. In addition, with the recent establishment of the NTCA and the promulgation of the Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006, there will be new opportunities to engage with communities to sustain and manage natural resources to support rural livelihoods Contacts Agasthiyarmalai: Mr KJ Varughese, Dampa: Dr VN Singh, Chief Wildlife Warden, Kerala LR Thanga, Chief Wildlife Warden, Chief Conservator of Forests (wildlife), 0471-2529238. Fax: 0471-2322217 Govt of Mizoram Tamil Nadu Forest Department Email: [email protected] 0389-2325371 044-24312574, 09443931799 09436142355 Email: [email protected] Askot: Email: [email protected] SS Raisaili, Dr. Sukhdev Thakur, Conservator of forests, North Kumaon Little Rann of Kutch: Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, 05962-231099, 09412085434 Pradeep Khanna, Principal Chief Govt. of Tamil Nadu Email: [email protected] Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), 044-24321738, Gandhinagar Email: [email protected] S.S. Vaish, 079-23254126, 09427306163 Field Director, Pithoragarh Forest Email: [email protected] Department 05964-225234 3 Bharat Pathak, A.K. Srivastava, NTCA Chief Conservator, Wildlife, Chief Wildlife Warden, Dr. Rajesh Gopal, IGF & Member Junagarh Jammu & Kashmir Secretary (NTCA), Ministry of THE WORLD BANK IN INDIA 0285-2631678, 09978406191 0194-2452469, 0191-2572570 Environment & Forests Email: [email protected] 09419202383 011-23384428 Email: [email protected] 09868286591 Satpura email: [email protected] SS Rajpoot, Conservator of Forests, PEACE Satpura Tiger Reserve Manoj Misra Dr. T. Wangdi 07574-254394 011-22719005 Additional Director, BCRLIP, Ministry of 09425091875 09910153601 Environment & Forests Email: [email protected] email: [email protected] 011-23387691 09810822059 UIL (Changthang): ATREE Email: [email protected] Jigmet Thakpa, conservator, forests; Ravi Chellam regional wildlife warden, Leh 080-23638771 Ganga Singh 09419178739. 09900901112 Joint Director (NTCA), Ministry of Phone/Fax: 01982-255733 email: [email protected] Environment & Forests Email: [email protected] 011-233899883 09868885596 Email: [email protected] 4 Workshop on Biodiversity Conservation and Rural Livelihood THE WORLD BANK IN INDIA Improvement Project May 24-25, 2007 New Delhi he Ministry of Environment and Forests, National Tiger Conservation Authority organised a national T workshop on the Biodiversity Conservation and Rural Livelihood Improvement Project (BCRLIP) at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi on May 24-25, 2007. The objective was to discuss the ‘draft fi nal report on BCRLIP’ submitted by the consultants and presentations made by project coordinator/ authorised offi cer from each of the six landscape sites detailing various project components. These presentations were to highlight the following: ■ key activities proposed in accordance with project area development components, ■ extent of stakeholder consultations, ■ issues, responses, extent of consensus and its documentation ■ how the project design meets peoples concerns ■ specifi c institutional arrangement for each landscape ■ arrangements for coordination within and outside forest departments ■ composition and timing of establishment of core planning teams ■ implementation, role and responsibilities within landscapes ■ fund fl ow arrangements ■ establishment of landscape societies /foundation ■ state receptiveness, timing and its role ■ site specifi c risks It was attended by representatives from civil society organisations, ministry of environment and forests, state forest departments of the proposed six landscape sites, intended benefi ciaries, World Bank and the consultants to the BCRLIP project. (List of participants is attached) 5 Dr Rajesh Gopal, member secretary, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), which is implementing the project, welcomed the participants on behalf of the ministry. THE WORLD BANK IN INDIA Mr V Prasad, Director General