Village Voices, Forest Choices offers the first comprehensive examination of revolutionary changes occurring in the management of India's forests. Over the past two decades, responding to scarcities, thousands of villages have taken charge of public forests, thereby controlling grazing and cutting. The result has been a striking renewal of once badly degraded ecosystems. Lush young secondary forests are emerging in many parts of central India, rich in biodiversity, where degrading, eroding wastelands were recently dominant. Equally remarkable, this has often happened with no outside assistance. The fourteen contributors to this book look at how this has occurred, including the institutional, economic, ecological, and political implications of this historic transformation. They assess how management goals for natural forests will change under community control and how government agencies, scientists, and other organizations might respond to these shifting priorities. Anyone concerned with the state of India's forests, or those interested in forestry and environmental policies will want this study.
The history of forest governance and policies in India presents an interesting blend of conservation and exploitation of the forests. Despite measures taken to prevent depletion in the past, the destruction of forests has continued. This has not only destroyed the traditional institutions of managing forests, but has also caused gross ecological imbalances. The forest policy in India, with its colonial attributes, continues to look upon forest-dependent communities not only as aliens in their own lands ignoring their rights, but even treats them as destroyers of forests. Given this, the concept of community forest management (CFM) appeared towards the end of the 20th century. But, even after two decades of the introduction of this idea in its present form in India, the outcome appears mixed with sporadic success. Based on an empirical study undertaken to understand the practicality of the concept of CFM in the lives of the tribals and other forest dwellers, the book suggests that, in many places, the community managing the forest themselves suffered from multiple handicaps. If lack of awareness and confidence to be on their own after being subjected to suppression for generations were the basic reasons, then the situation is found to be further complicated by intra-community conflicts and leadership deficiency allegedly inflicted upon them by the forest officials at the local level. The book, however, comes up with the possible features and characteristics required in the Indian setting for the success of CFM, in particular, and similar kind of natural resources management institutions, in general.
This book analyses the achievements of the movement - 'Friends of Trees and Living Beings' - and considers its significance within the context of a national legal and policy frameworks; drawing on candid interviews with villagers, activists, NGO staff and forestry officials.
The 1990s decade brought about some revolutionary change in the community management and development as the people s participation becomes an important goal in managing natural resources efficiently, sustainably and equitably. The Government initiative in policy making and issuing resolutions were welcomed, which made an impetus for the participatory process by the State Forest Departments, Civil Society Organizations, Research institutions and so on. Madhya Pradesh is well-known state for its natural forests ( Tiger state) and indigenous peoples ( Tribal state). The State Forest Department followed the National Guidelines and commenced their activities in 1991 forming the village institution in Harda, which was later transformed in to Joint Forest Management (JFM) model .In this state largest number of JFM committees have been formed on the basis of forest canopy and resource degradation. In their holistic attempts the protected area management has been part and parcel of the JFM programme. There are number of novelties in their planning and implementation. These are micro-planning, participatory silvi-cultural options, respecting people s knowledge, man-power planning , revolving fund, equitable sharing, gender unification and so on. There were establishments of Eco-centres and Extension centres in number of places for awareness development, skill development for livelihoods, capacity building in managing the village organization, attitudinal changes of forest officials and villagers, dissemination of information for progress and development. The M.P.Forestry Project is another land-mark for boosting the efforts for achieving the common property resources situation. The whole process of JFM programme has been thoroughly discussed in sequences in this book by an academician and a forest administrator.
This handbook is designed for staff in protected areas around the world who encounter conflicts of all kinds. It presents a framework and strategies for responding to different types of conflicts, along with case studies that describe a variety of approaches for dealing with conflict.
Forest Plans of North America presents case studies of contemporary forest management plans developed for forests owned by federal, state, county, and municipal governments, communities, families, individuals, industry, investment organizations, conservation organizations, and others in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The book provides excellent real-life examples of contemporary forest planning processes, the various methods used, and the diversity of objectives and constraints faced by forest owners. Chapters are written by those who have developed the plans, with each contribution following a unified format and allowing a common, clear presentation of the material, along with consistent treatment of various aspects of the plans. This work complements other books published by members of the same editorial team (Forest Management and Planning, Introduction to Forestry and Natural Resource Management), which describe the planning process and the various methods one might use to develop a plan, but in general do not, as this work does, illustrate what has specifically been developed by landowners and land managers. This is an in-depth compilation of case studies on the development of forest management plans by the different landowner groups in North America. The book offers students, practitioners, policy makers, and the general public an opportunity to greatly improve their appreciation of forest management and, more importantly, foster an understanding of why our forests today are what they are and what forces and tools may shape their tomorrow. Forest Plans of North America provides a solid supplement to those texts that are used as learning tools for forest management courses. In addition, the work functions as a reference for the types of processes used and issues addressed in the early 21st century for managing land resources. - Presents 40-50 case studies of forest plans developed for a wide variety of organizations, groups, and landowners in North America - Illustrates plans that have specifically been developed by landowners and land managers - Features engaging, clearly written content that is accessible rather than highly technical, while demonstrating the issues and methods involved in the development of the plans - Each chapter contains color photographs, maps, and figures
This review summarizes the published literature, as well as any available information provided by NGOs or project proponents, on the practice of community forest management (CFM) in the Peruvian Amazon. It provides an overview of literature related to land-use and forest management by rural populations in the Peruvian Amazon, placing this information in the broader context of the forestry sector in Peru. The review describes the different manifestations of CFM in Peru and the most widely studied cases of CFM projects. The document also examines some emerging initiatives, summarizes the main challenges for CFM and highlights important areas for future research. One key finding of this review is that there is a general lack of scientific analyses of CFM in Peru: most information is available only via project reports prepared by project proponents and/or donors. The review stresses that community forest management takes many forms. People throughout the Amazon have long relied on forest resources for their shifting cultivation systems, and timber and NTFPs are central to the livelihoods of many. Typically, forest use has occurred informally with little oversight or control by the state. Beginning in the 1980s, environmental NGOs have introduced CFM initiatives in Peru. To date, most CFM projects focus only on indigenous communities to support timber management; by contrast, scientific studies have focused on forest use within subsistence livelihood systems. Given that there are approximately 2 million non-indigenous rural Amazonians in Peru, the forest footprint and market impacts of non-indigenous smallholder forest management are likely to be much greater than recognized. However, very little is known about these endogenous smallholder-led systems. More research is needed to increase our understanding of the heterogeneity of these systems and the opportunities and challenges that they represent.
The document summarizes the report that, based on a review of more than 250 studies, demonstrates the importance and urgency of climate action to protect the forests of the indigenous and tribal territories of Latin America as well as the indigenous and tribal peoples who protect them. These territories contain about a third of the continent's forests. That's 14% of the carbon stored in tropical forests around the world; These territories are also home to an enormous diversity of wild fauna and flora and play a key role in stabilizing the local and regional climate. Based on an analysis of the approaches that have proven effective in recent decades, a set of investments and policies is proposed for adoption by climate funders and government decision-makers in collaboration with indigenous and tribal peoples. These measures are grouped into five main categories: i) strengthening of collective territorial rights; ii) compensate indigenous and tribal communities for the environmental services they provide; iii) facilitate community forest management; iv) revitalize traditional cultures and knowledge; and v) strengthen territorial governance and indigenous and tribal organizations. Preliminary analysis suggests that these investments could significantly reduce expected carbon emissions at a low cost, in addition to offering many other environmental and social benefits.
