Forest Management and Sustained Livelihood Strategies- With special reference to

tribals of Kerala.

Geo Basil Paul(2010-17-109) Dept. of Forest Management and Utilization Kerala Agricultural University

Past System of management

Till 19th century, local communities used the forest lands as common hunting and food gathering ground Ownership of the forest land was either communal or vested with vague forms of sovereign rights The forest management was highly decentralized among communities single or groups of households usually controlled forests except in cases of hunting or food gathering areas

Traditional forest management systems in most part of the country ended when the Britishers in the mid 19th century declared forest lands as Govt. lands

Changing relationship between community and natural resources commercial exploitation and popularization of monoculture led to massive deforestation Majority of Indias rural population living in the forest rich regions are poor Sustainable management and proper utilization of forest resources held great potential to alleviate their poverty Govt. ownership and restrictions on the collection and use of forest products have rendered these resources inaccessible to village communities

 Decentralization and devolution are dominant themes in contemporary discussion of forest policy and management

In 2004, world-wide 370million ha. of forests were being conserved by indigenous communities, with almost half of that are approx. 170 million ha. In Asia( molnar et al 2004) India was a fore runner in developing policy for involving peoples participation in forest management; Forest Policy of 1988
MoEF, Govt of India issued guidelines for the involvement of village communities under PFM called Joint Forest Management

Joint Forest Management

In India, failure of social forestry in meeting the objectives of easing pressure on forests led to the formation of JFM

Central government issued the first JFM guideline in ,1 June1990

JFM cell and the JFM unit were created under MoEF

In Kerala JFM was introduced in 1998 with a synonym of PFM, It has become mandatory as per the NFP to change the bureaucratic FM system to local need oriented management

VSS, (forest conservation society) the organization of the forest dependent community are instrumental in implementing the JFM approach in Kerala Various forms of JFM institutions apart from VSS like AVSS, EDC, ULO and HS are in operation by the state forest department at present TVSS (Theerasamrakshana vanasamrakshana samithy in collaboration with fisheries dept.) and JFMC (JFMC of AHADS) are institutions where forest dept. is involved in JFM

The PFM program in Kerala consists of three models: Fringe model, NTFP model, separate model for Cardamom Hills Reserve Difference between Fringe and NTFP models is- former involves population outside forests while the latter is applied to the tribal minorities still living inside the forests and making their livelihood by NTFP collection.
Fringe Area

Settlement of non tribal people

Reserved Forest NTFP Model

Settlement of tribal people The area managed by VSS

Fringe Model Scheme of Fringe and NTFP model

The outline of the fringe model :

The maximum area to be transferred to a VSS is 300 Ha. of reserved forests

Each VSS is in charge of the core fund, credibility fund for office work, and operational fund for activities, which are provided by the KFD based on the allocated forest area and the number of VSS members, and will be in the custody of forest officers at a divisional level
Each VSS can sell NTFP from the allocated reserve forest or fine forest offenders, and can add the revenue to the core fund, together with other subsidies. As per the guidelines of the JFM program, at least 33% of the total executive members of the VSS must be women

Organizational Structure of JFM Institutions in Kerala

Forest Development Agency (FDA)

Confederation of JFM committees and their representatives from general body, 33 FDAs
Objectives: To arrest and reverse the trend of forest degradation by making the community responsible for monitoring removals from the forest

To provide sustainable employment opportunities to the tribals and other weaker sections of the population To create durable community assets which would contribute to overall village development To involve the forest dependent community in the execution of the program

For the better implementation of various schemes of the MoEF

To liaison with other Govt. Dept. and agencies to develop and implement eco- friendly village development program

Vana samrakshana Samithi (VSS)

Basic organisation instrumental for the implementation of JFM in territorial forest division of Kerala These samithies are registered under charitable societies act and recognized by the forest department

At present there are 277 VSS constituted throughout the Kerala

Maximum number of households in a VSS is 365

Adivasi Vana Samrakshana Samithi (AVSS)

AVSS are constituted entirely of forest dependent tribal communities These JFM committees have the right to collect, process and market NTFP in addition to the duties and rights bestowed up on the Fringe VSS The most important distinction with Fringe VSS is that the area allotted is considerably larger covering all tracts frequented for NTFP collection At present there are 63 AVSS constituted in the state

Eco Development Committees (EDC)

EDC is a JFM institution created in protected areas of the state Major activities are eco tourism and serving as guides for visitors apart from the activities undertaken by the VSS and AVSS Any forest dependent person can be a member 193 EDCs operating in the protected areas of the state

Unit Level Organizations (ULO)

Unit level organizations are basic JFM implementers in Cardamom hill reserve area The cardamom tract in the High Ranges of Idukki District has a century old history in cardamom cultivation The Cardamom rules 1935 prescribed the rights and privileges, the duties and responsibilities of leaseholders towards cardamom cultivation and forest protection At present there is complex tenure system existing , with land under revenue, trees with forest Dept. and crops owned by farmers Over the years these rules have been violated and forest cover has extensively degenerated The cardamom farmers have formed ULOs for checking deforestation and encouraging afforestation, 33 ULOs

Haritha Samithies (HS)

Kerala Govt. started Participatory Habitat Management (PHM) to undertake environmental protection and conservation outside forest areas through peoples participation Designed for areas outside reserved / vested forests facing ecological degradation Micro level organizations under PHM are:
Grama Haritha Samithy : operating at village level Panchayat Haritha samithy : Operating at grama panchayath level Block Haritha Samithy : Operating at block panchayat level District co-ordination committee : Operating at district level

Haritha Theeram (Green Coast)

Haritha theeram is a program aiming at afforestation of coastal areas This program is operationalised through TSVS These institutions are created along the coastal line Kerala with the objectives of protection of natural ecosystem by establishing a bio shield along the coast and minimize coastal erosion These institutions were created under the Tsunami Rehabilitation program (TRH) of Kerala Govt. as a joint program of forest dept. and fisheries dept.

Role of Institutions of AHADS

Attappady is the only tribal block in Kerala.

AHADS started functioning in 2000 for the implementation of Attappady waste land comprehensive environmental conservation project

ObjectivesEcological restoration of degraded wastelands of Attappady Development of replicable models of participatory eco-restoration Prevention of further degradation Promotion of sustainable livelihood options in harmony with there resource base and with special focus on tribals

The project implementation was planned in such a way that the project benefits directly reach the tribal community

The activities such as Total Hamlet Development Programme, Environmental Literacy Programme, and the construction of community Resource centers are exclusively for the development of tribal population

Ooru Vikasana Samithi (OVS) (Hamlet Development Committee)

166 committees 13 members Executive committee(minimum- 6 Women) These are exclusive tribal committees. Hamlet development committs are formed in 166 out of 187 Hamlets of Attappady

Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMC)

9 members (minimum 3 women), priority given to SC/ST members These committees are meant for taking up afforestation and protection works in the state forestlands. There are 54 JFMCs under the project

Thaikula Sangam (TKS)

111 Groups 12 Members Executive Committee These groups of tribal women have emerged as a result of their empowerment as a social corrective force

Income Generation Activity Group (IGA)

219 Groups Groups with 12 to 15 members These groups are meant to take up sustainable income generation activities through promotion of micro credit among members in the project area.

Association for Revitalization of Tribal Medicine in Attappady (ARTMA)

AHADS has organized the leading tribal healers of Attappady to form this association and provided them space to function

JFM Envisages Movement

From
Centralized management

To
Decentralized management

Production motives
Large working plans Unilateral decision making Controlling people Department Achieving single, pre-set objective Timber production

Sustainability
Micro-plans Participatory decision making Facilitating people Peoples institution Fulfilling multiple, need based objectives Multiple products combined with bio-diversity

Plantation as first option

Low input management and regeneration

Conclusion

JFM institutions can make impact on the livelihood of its members

Joint forest management activities can positively influence the attitude towards forest department and forests

Kerala started JFM later than most of the states. However, the state has evolved unique models like JFMC of AHADS, PHM, TSVS integrating forest management with community development and total ecological development

Reference
Chundamannil, M., 1993 history of forest management in Kerala, Kerala forest research institute, Peechi, Kerala. 67p Maheshwar, D; Masuda, M and Mishra, J Implementation of participatory forest management in Kerala. Graduate school of life science and environmental sciences, University of Taskuba Molnar, A.Molnazr, Scherr,S.J. and Khare, A. 2004 who conserves the worlds forests? Community Driven Strategies to Protect Forests and Respects Rights. Forest Trends.(http://www.foresttrends.org/documents/ who%20conserves_final_rev.pdf accesses on 15/10/2007) Santhoshkumar, A.V 2008. Joint forest management in Kerala- an analysis of institutions, impact and constraints. Phd thesis, Forest Research Institute University, Dehra Dun, Uttaranchal KFD (Kerala Forest Department). 2010 KFD home page (on line). Available http://www.keralaforest.org (18 Nov. 2010) Gupta K.H. 2006 Joint Forest Management Policy, Participation & Practices in IndiaI International Book Distributors, Dehra Dun