Global Vision for Forests:
Putting People Back in the Forest
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Global Vision for Forests: Putting People Back in the Forest |
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Global plans and efforts toward sustainable forestry are likely to meet their biggest challenge when they are put to test on the ground. Even in countries such as India where forests have been an integral component of Indian culture, religion and folklore, forest cover has been steadily declining over the decades. Indian mythology and epics are filled with episodes in forests, portraying wildlife as holy creatures living closely with local communities. In many regions, large tracts of forests were designated as sacred groves, which ensured their protection. Despite such a strong bonding, forests have continued to decline. Several attempts to restore vegetative cover to areas that were once wooded have failed because of the immediate and pressing need for food, fodder and fuel and the long gestation period of forest crops. Moreover, the government's policy of guards and fences to keep the people out of forested areas further alienated the very people who would earlier worship and protect these areas. As a result, the forest did not regenerate nor did the people's quality of life improve, largely because people were being ignored and their needs disregarded. Gradually, it became clear that government efforts alone could not halt the process of degradation and it would require enlisting the willing support of local people and an appreciation of their needs and wisdom. Forest officials and a forest community in West Bengal took a tentative but significant step in the mid-1980s to launch the Joint Forest Management (JFM) initiative. Under this arrangement the Forest Department was willing to recognize the rights of organized communities to have clearly defined degraded patches of forests. The benefits accrue to the community on fulfilling certain responsibilities for protection and conservation of the forest patch. After encouraging success in arresting degradation and enthusiastic community response, this approach began to spread with nearly 19 of 26 states of the country having adopted the approach. The Union government too made appropriate changes in its policy documents. The National Forest Policy of 1988 envisages peoples' involvement in the development and protection of forests. This approach will not only meet the peoples' requirement for fuelwood, food and small timber but will also safeguard forests. In addition, the central Ministry of Environment and Forests issued guidelines in 1990 on involving village communities in protecting degraded forests while assuring them usufruct rights over these areas. The latest annual report of the Ministry notes that at present 4.06 million hectares of degraded forest lands are being managed and protected by over 40,000 Village Forest Protection Committees. It must be noted these rights under JFM actually offer little more, and sometimes less, than what the forest communities enjoyed under earlier settlement acts. The JFM agreement, however, is helping forge a new relationship between these forest-dependent communities and the Forest Department, thus heralding a new era of participatory management of forest resources that builds on traditional knowledge and practices. And there is good news on conservation aspects as well. Researchers in India have found that community-protected forests contain more biological diversity than government-managed forests and that the amount the community extracts from their forests is usually less than the ecological limits. [integrating indigenous knowledge and modern management systems]
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