Status of Joint Forest Management in India (as on June 2011)

(Proceedings of National Workshop on JFM, 27-28 June 2011)

Editors Dr.V.R.R. Singh Deepak Mishra V.K. Dhawan

FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE (Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education)

DEHRADUN

2011

© Indian Council of Forestry Research and Educations

Published by: Director Forest Research Institute, Dehradun

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Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education

Director General, ICFRE and Chancellor, FRI University

(An ISO 9001:2000 Certified Organisation) (An autonomous body of Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India) P.O. New Forest, Dehra Dun – 248 006

Foreword The National Forest Policy, 1988, brought about a paradigm shift in the management of forests by acknowledging that the bona fide requirements of the villagers shall be the first charge on forest produce. In 1990 after the Government of India issued a circular on Joint Forest Management (JFM), enabling the states to initiate their own programmes. The forest departments then embarked on the partnership with the communities and two decades later the progress in the endeavour has been spectacular. JFM programmes are currently spanned in 29 states, represent 1,18,213 JFM committees protecting about 22.93 million hectare of forests. About one third of the land with the forest department is being managed today in partnership with the people of the country. The JFM programme has also contributed significantly towards the economic well being of the people through increased availability of the forest resources, creation of employment opportunity and better flow of ecosystem services. Wherever a successful JFM programme has been implemented it has led to improvement in forests which in turn imply better availability of water and more crop yields and thus enhancing the livelihood and income of the people. The community assets created as part of the entry point activities has improved the infrastructure in the villages and supplemented the development efforts in the most remote and inaccessible habitations of India. However despite many successes the challenges still remain before the programme, the first and foremost being to modify or redesign the programme in the light of new challenges and the legislative changes on account of PESA and FRA. Another important challenge is to ensure the sustainability of the people’s participation in the conservation of the forest resources after the budgetary support from the different sources is stopped. After the two decades of the implementation of the programme, a need to review the current situation of JFM in the states was realized. A meeting on implementation of JFM was convened on 27-28 June 2011 at Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education, Dehradun on the initiative of Dr. P.J. Dilip Kumar, Director General of Forests & Special Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt. of India for reviewing the implementation and effectiveness of the JFM programs and to devise a strategy for strengthening the same. In this meeting, PCCFs of all the states, officers in charge of JFM activities and scientists participated. The participating states presented the status of JFM in their states and also the opportunities and the constraints in taking the programme forward. In many of the states data was compiled on the benefits people received from the JFM programme. Based on the proceedings of the meeting, a status report on JFM in India is being published by ICFRE. The team led by Dr S. S. Negi and Dr. V. R. R. Singh had obtained the information from all the states and compiled the book. I congratulate them for the good work done by them at short notice. The book will be a great source of updated information on JFM in India as on June 2011 and will be of help to the field practitioners, policy makers, planners and researchers. I sincerely hope that the concerns and the issues expressed by various states will be taken seriously by the policy makers and solutions to the problems will be found urgently including stepping up of investment in forestry and giving legal backup to JFM committees.

Dr.V.K.Bahuguna

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Dr. S.S. Negi, IFS Director

FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE (Indian Council of Forestry Reseasrch and Education) (An autonomous body of Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt. of India) P.O. New Forest, Dehra Dun – 248 006

Preface The Joint Forest Management approach has now been adopted in about one third of the forests in our country and more than 14.5 million families are now partners in the forest management. What started as a vision in National Forest Policy of 1988 has become a reality and is making a difference in the lives of millions of poor people. The foresters and all the other stakeholders involved in this programme deserve all the kudos for transforming the forest management landscape in India within such a short time. The father of our nation gave the following advice to the administrators of this country“I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man [woman], whom you may have seen and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him [her] own life and destiny.” The above words are very relevant and the efficacy of any programme must be measured on the basis of the impact, it makes in the lives of the poorest people of the country. It is also a reality that the poorest of them dwell either in the forests or on its fringes. An effort has been made to capture the tangible benefits, which accrue to the communities in form of forest products such as fuelwood, fodder, NTFPs etc. Different states have submitted their assessment of the annual benefits to the communities and the these have been compiled. The monetary values of the annual benefits add up to staggering amount of Rs 1928 Crores in the 15 states, which have submitted the data. If the data, about this aspect, is scientifically collected and analyzed in all the states the real contribution of the JFM will be better understood. The Forest Research Institute, Dehradun has already initiated a research project to determine the impact of JFM on the socio-economic conditions of the forest and fringe communities in the north Indian states. Two decades have passed since the launch of the programme and now the period of expansion is nearing an end and the period of consolidation has begun. This will require multifold enhancement in the quality of the programme and considerable inputs will be needed at this stage. The JFM programme will need modern silviculture tools and techniques to enhance the productivity of the forests. Suitable management systems also need to be developed so that the communities get the maximum benefits in a short time frame. The scientific community should rise to the challenge by providing the necessary tools and techniques to the field practitioners and also by solving the problems faced by them in the implementation of the programme. During the meeting of the state Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and state JFM nodel officers, which was held at Dehradun on June 27th and 28th of this year, various issues were deliberated and certain recommendations were agreed upon. This book is a compilation of all the reports presented by the states in the meeting as well as the reports submitted by various states in response to the agenda items. We have also gathered the data from the websites and annual reports of state forest departments. I sincerely hope that updated information compiled in the book will serve the cause of JFM in the country.

Dr S. S. Negi

Content 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17.

Chapter-I Introduction

1-2

Chapter-II Current status of JFM in India

3-4

Chapter-III Benefits from JFM

5-6

Chapter-IV Strenghtening the JFM - Issues and challenges

7-8

Section - I Andaman and Nicobar Administration

11

Section - II Andhra Pradesh

12-13

Section-III Arunachal Pradesh

14-15

Section-IV Assam

16

Section-V Bihar

17

Section-VI Chhattisgarh Section-VII Goa

18-19 20

Section-VIII Gujarat

21-22

Section-IX Haryana

23-24

Section-X Himachal Pradesh

25

Section-XI Jammu and Kashmir

26

Section-XII Jharkhand

27

Section-XIII Karnataka

28-29

18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33.

Section-XIV Kerala

30-31

Section-XV Madhya Pradesh

32-33

Section-XVI Maharashtra

34-35

Section-XVII Manipur

36-37

Section-XVIII Meghalaya

38

Section-XIX Mizoram

39

Section-XX Nagaland

40-41

Section-XXI Orissa

42-43

Section-XXII Punjab

44

Section-XXIII Rajasthan

45-46

Section-XXIV Sikkim

47

Section-XXV Tamil Nadu

48-49

Section-XXVI Tripura

50-51

Section-XXVII Uttar Pradesh

52-53

Section-XXVIII Uttarakhand

54-55

Section-XXIX West Bengal

56-57

34.

References

58

35.

Annexure-I

59-60

36.

Annexure-II

37.

Annexure-III

61 62-63