Conservation with Communities in the Biodiversity...

Conservationwith Communitiesin the Biodiversity‘Hotspots’ of India

Forests & Biodiversity Conservation ProgrammeWORLD WIDE FUND FOR NATURE - INDIA172-B, Lodi Estate, New Delhi - 110 003Tel : 91-11-51504785 / 87, Fax : 91-11-51504779 / 95E-mail : [email protected] us at : www.wwfindia.org

March 2005

for a living planet®

Project Team

WWF-India SecretariatMr. P.K. Sen (Director)Mr. Sudipto ChatterjeeDr. Rajeev SemwalMs. Gitika Goswami

Maharashtra State OfficeDr. J.C. Punetha

Kerala State OfficeMs. Sudha SoniMr. Siva Kumar

Gujarat State OfficeDr. Jayesh BhattMr. Vijay Mane

Arunachl Pradesh Field OfficeMr. Pijush Kumar DuttaDr. D. SaikiaMr. Govinda Pangging

With support fromFord Foundation - US

and World Wild Life Fund - US

March 2005

Forests & Biodiversity Conservation ProgrammeWORLD WIDE FUND FOR NATURE-INDIA

172-B, Lodi Estate, New Delhi - 110 003, Tel : 91-11-51504785 / 87, Fax : 91-11-51504779 / 95E-mail : [email protected], Visit us at : www.wwfindia.org

CONSERVATION WITHCOMMUNITIES IN THE BIODIVERSITY

‘HOTSPOTS’ OF INDIA


Conservation with Communities in the Biodiversity �Hotspots� of India4

Conservation with Communities in the Biodiversity �Hotspots� of India 5

CONTENTS

Executive Summary ................................................................................................................ 7

1. An Introduction to Participatory Forestry in India and the Case Studies

1.1 The Case Studies : ............................................................................................11

2. Description of the study sites & data analysis

2.1 Western Ghats

Gujarat

Case Study 1. Analysing reasons for intentional / accidental forest fires inDangs region, Gujarat .................................................................................................12

Case Study 2. An assessment of Sustainable Forest Management bydeveloping Criteria and Indicators : An exercise at village Kunbar inRajpipla Forest Division, South Gujarat ..................................................................28

Maharashtra

Case Study 3. Cultivation of medicinal plants and establishment of amarket linkage with participation of the local community at villageAhwati in Nasik district of Maharashtra ...................................................................35

Case Study 4. Evaluation of ongoing Joint Forest Management (JFM) byusing criteria and indicators developed by local communities at villageAhwati in Nasik District ...............................................................................................45

Kerala

Case Study 5. Strengthening the capacity of the Vana SamraksanaSamithies (VSS) in South Western Ghats - Villages Pottamavu &Vanchiyode ....................................................................................................................49

2.2 Eastern Himalaya

Arunachal Pradesh

Feasibility of Introducing Group Certification for Swertia chirayita inWestern Arunachal Pradesh, Eastern Himalaya ....................................................68


Acknowledgements

We place in record our gratitude towards the funding support from Ford Foundation, US

and support and guidence from Dr. Stephen Kelleher and Dr. Tom Erdmann, WWF-US.

Thanks are due to the Forest Officials of the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala and

Arunachal Pradesh who helped us in collecting the information on forest related issues.

We are grateful to the support we have received from M.S. College Vadodara, Gujarat,

Agarkhar Research Institute, Pune and State Forest Research Institute, Itanagar. Sincere

thanks are also due to all the villagers in the project locations with whom we have

interacted during our study. We thank them profusely for their time, information shared

and guidance provided.


Better practices for Raab

cultivation in Dangs

Forests of Gujarat

Of the many known causes of forestfires in India, slash and burnagriculture practiced in the vicinity offorests is one.

Raab cultivation, a form of shiftingcultivation practiced by the tribalcommunities like the Bhils andKonkans in the Dangs Forestsbetween the fertile plains of southGujarat and rugged plateau ofwestern Maharashtra, could also be apossible cause of forest fires in theregion.

Raab farming is reported to be moreintensive in the Dangs district. Malki

lands (ownership of which has beenconferred to the tribals of the regionby the government), where Raab ismostly practiced, is at present underimmense pressure. Once describedas �sea of forests� during the colonialperiod, Malki lands today appear asheavily lopped forests, rendering thetrees to extreme physiological stressand at times beyond the capacity torejuvenate.

Historically, Dangs has been a regionof civil unrest particularly during theBritish rule. In 1970 the question ofconferring occupancy rights toDangis for the lands on lease beingcultivated by them in the protectedforests of Dangs district was underconsideration. The government aftercareful consideration directed thatthe land be placed at the disposal ofthe revenue department for conferringoccupancy to the Dangis. This washowever subject to certain conditions

The community forestry project ofWWF-India dates back to midnineties. At the inception WWF-Indiainterected with the Forest Departmentand local communities to betterunderstand the Joint ForestManagement (JFM) processes andsuccess stories and also worked asan interface between the localcommunities and the FD. Theobjective was initially to make peopleaware about the benefits of JFM andprovide a platform to bring the viewsand perceptions of the local peopleto the Forest Department. WWF-Indiainitiated work in three states in theWestern Ghats, viz., Gujarat,Karnataka and Kerala in 2001.

In the year 2002, WWF-Indiaimplemented a pilot project, onassessment of JFM at village Ahwatiin Maharashtra. Kunbar in Gujaratand Vanchiyode in Kerala. This wasan opportunity to develop a deeperinsight into status of JFM andchallenges ahead in these states.

Experiences gained by theprogramme helped in implementationof the present project during 2003-2005 in the biodiversity hotspots.These �hotpots� are areas of highbiological diversity high endemismand under high anthropogenicpressures. Western Ghats andEastern Himalayas are two hotspotsin India (Norman Myers 1988, 1990).The following sections discuss indetail the case studies in the above-mentioned states. All the casestudies have the potential to link withJoint Forest Management as a follow-up of this programme. A briefaccount of the case studies follows :

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY


specified in the state government�sresolution in February 1992. Theoccupancy rights would be given onlyto the Dangis and not to outsiderswho may have obtained leases ofcertain lands in Dangs. Occupancyrights were given only in respect ofthose lands, which were actuallyleased to Dangis and in their naturalpossession as on January 1, 1970.The reserved trees on these landscontinue to vest with the forestdepartment but the cultivators areentitled to lop them for the purposeof cultivation. However, theresponsibility of cutting the trees fromthe reserve forests, rests with thestate forest department for revenuegeneration through auctions.

The Forest Department, Governmentof Gujarat has been making attemptsto motivate the farmers to switch overto better agricultural practices, forexample, the use of vermin-compostsin the fields has been suggested vis-

a-vis the use of burnt litter. Timberauction has created lot of awarenessand there has been a realizationwithin the community that fires in theforest subsequently decrease thevalue of timber. It does not fetch therequisite price at the forest depositand results in a loss to the tribals.

The Forests and BiodiversityProgramme of WWF-India undertookan initiative, to understand thecompulsions behind cultivation ofnagli (millet) and rice through thetraditional methods. Socioeconomicsurveys were conducted in thevillages Enginepada, Bhujad,Chikhla, Devdiyavan, Masli, Khatar,Dhulda, Bandhpada, Mahal,Dhongiamba, Bardipada, Sajupada,Hadaol, Lahnkasad, Girmal,Goundha, Devan Tembrun andJamlapada. Efforts were taken toencourage farmers to undertakecultivation through better practices.The challenge was to overcome themindset that cultivation of nagli andrice is not possible without Raabcultivation. An experiment cumdemonstration was undertakeninvolving the cultivation of nagli andrice without practicing Raab burning.

Forest Protection in

Maharashtra and Gujarat

WWF-India associated with ruralcommunities in northern parts ofNasik district of Maharashtra Rajpiplaforest division of Gujarat with strongwillingness for forest protection. Thearea is inhabited by tribals and non-tribals who are dependent onagriculture as a main source oflivelihood. The rainshadow portionsof the region are almost devoid ofvegetation and most of the forestshave been destroyed by earliergenerations. Demand for fuelwood,timber and fodder might have beenthe major factors responsible fordecreasing the forest vegetation. Alarge percentage of populationreared goat and sheep for theirsustenance till a few years back.Realising the adverse impact ofdeforestation, the villagers acceptedthe establishment of Joint ForestManagement (JFM) initiated byGovernments of Maharashtra andGujarat. The concept of JFM hastaken the shape of a movementwithin the last couple of years. WWF-India associated itself with thismovement around three years backby playing a role of catalyst betweenthe government and villagecommunity. Initially, WWF-India wasrestricted to monitoring andevaluation of the concept byorganising training programmes/workshops for testing criteria &indicators. It also used its expertise inthe area of public awareness andeducational techniques in the field ofnature conservation.

An idea, of setting up a model projectin the cultivation of medicinal plantsfor economic benefits andenvironmental awareness of thevillagers, was initiated in one of thesuccessful project sites called Ahwatiin Nashik district. The project wasinitiated previous year with cultivationof ten medicinal plant species. Thepurpose was to reduce pressure onnatural forests for economic gains, tomake use of the extra portions ofland lying with villagers (non-


agricultural and degraded land), toreduce loss of certain species as aresult of extensive use of land underagriculture. The project motivated theneighbourhood villages as well. Thepublic awareness programmes,launched by WWF-India jointly withJFM active supporters, has resultedin the formation of new committees ina number of villages. From a meagernumber of a dozen JFM Committeestill about two years back, today thereare more than 150 villages workingunder the JFM movement in Satanaand Kalvan, two sub-divisions of thedistrict. Today villagers talk about thegreening of their barren hills in mostof the forums.

Capacity building of

Forest Protection

committees in Kerala

Forests constitute about 9% of theland area in Kerala. Although it�salmost ten years since the JointForest Management programme wasinitiated in Kerala it was strongly feltthat the Forest ProtectionCommittees (Vana SamrakshanaSamithies) in Kerala needsstrengthening through capacitybuilding.

The present project focused onCapacity Building of VanaSamrakshana Samithies at villagesVanchiyode and Pottamava w.r.t. tonatural resource management. Afteran analysis of the NTFP usage in thevillages, extensive trainingprogrammes were organized for theirsustainable management. Whileimplementing the core programmethere were many occasions in whichthe two VSS had a chance to sharetheir experiences and problemsrelated not only to NTFPmanagement but also issues relatedto administration. It helped in thecommon sharing of ideas and

promoting links between the twodifferent types of VSS. This has givenorigin to the development of aconcept of inter & intra VSScoordination that could prove fruitfuland effective in enhancing theeffectiveness of sustainableutilization of natural resources and inturn forest management.

Feasibility of Group

Certification of Swertia

chirayita in Eastern

Himalaya

The state of Arunachal Pradeshharbours a rich stock of high valuedmedicinal plants like Taxus

wallichiana, Acorus sp, Picrorhiza

kurroa, Swertia chirayita etc. Localcommunities of the state withotherwise limited scopes of livelihoodare engaged in the trade of theseplants. Most of the Swertia chirayita

marketed from the state is harvestedin West Kameng district. The wholeprocess of marketing involves manyplayers at different levels such asagents from pharmaceuticalcompanies, retailers from Assam,local contractors, local sub-contractors and harvesters.

Marketing of Swertia chirayita is aseasonal occupation for the localvillagers. The process starts fromSeptember and continues tillFebruary every year. In September,traders from Assam contact the localvillagers and place orders as per thedemand in the pharmaceuticalcompanies. The collection of thespecies is presently banned by thestate government. However therewere reports of harvest of the speciesfrom the wild. An effort was made toexplore the possibility of introducingcultivation of Swertia chirayita andorganize the farmers for groupcertification using Forest StewardshipCouncil (FSC) principles.


1. An Introduction to

Participatory Forestry

in India and the Case

Studies

Participatory Forestry in India iswidely known as �Joint ForestManagement� where protection andmanagement of forests is jointlyundertaken by Forest Departmentand the local communities. JointForest Management (JFM), aprogramme of peoples� participationin forestry had been initiated from asmall village �Arabari� in Midnaporedistrict of West Bengal in 1972. Theobjective was to involve the localcommunities in protecting the forestsby sharing the benefits accruing fromresources collected from the forest.Similar exercises had beenundertaken in Sukhomajri village inHaryana. The success of theprogramme in these two states ledthe policy makers to rethink andreorient its emphasis from revenuegeneration to conservation and forma participatory approach to forestmanagement. However, JFM wasformally initiated in June 1990 afterreceiving an endorsement from thegovernment of India on the JFMsystem. Certain guidelines likeformation of Village Forest Committee(VFC) or Village Forest ProtectionCommittee (VFPC) and the role andfunctions of these committees wereframed. All the state governmentswere advised to provide a formalframework for implementation of JFM.

Twenty-three states in India have tilldate formally initiated JFM byconstituting FPCs. At present thereare 63,618 FPCs through out thecountry managing an area of morethan 14 million ha (RUFFOR andMoEF, 2002). Among all the states,Orrisa has the highest average area

under one FPC (597 ha/VFC) andUttar Pradesh has the lowest area ofabout 4.69 ha. (Rabindranath, Murali& Malhotra, 2000). West Bengal hasthe largest JFM programme in Indiaof 53.81% of forest area of the state.

Remote Sensing assessments haveclearly indicated the improvement ofcrown cover in some parts of thecountry due to protection andmanagement of the forests. Microlevel studies in some states haveshown an improvement inproductivity and diversity ofvegetation and an increase in incomeaccruing to FPCs from Non timberForest Produces.

Large financial support have beenreceived for the programme fromdifferent funding agencies like WorldBank, OECF-Japan, DFID-UK, andSIDA �Sweden, EEC and UNDP.

The ultimate goal of the JFMprogramme is to initiate participatoryforestry which can ultimately lead to awider role, responsibility andauthority for the rural communities indecision making, infrastructuresharing and financial management.

The approach in the present studyhas been to work with the ForestProtection Committees. Although thishas been possible in the states ofMaharashtra and Kerala, our workremained confined to the localfarmers in Gujarat and ArunachalPradesh where the Forest ProtectionCommitties could be involved only inthe future projects by WWF-India.Much of the effort in these stateshave been to analyse the reasons forunsustainable and destructive naturalresource practices. A briefbackground to project initiation underthe Ford US grant is follows :


1.1 The Case Studies :

The community forestry project ofWWF-India was initiated in 1997. Atthe time of its inception WWF-Indiastarted interacting with the ForestDepartment and local communities tounderstand the JFM process and alsoworked as an interface between thelocal communities and the FD. Theobjective was not only to disseminatethe benefits of JFM among the localcommunities but to also work as aplatform to bring the views andperceptions of the local people to theForest Department and to implementthe programme in a sustainable way.With support from InternationalInstitute of Environment andDevelopment (IIED), UK a series ofworkshops were organized in thestates of Gujarat, Maharashtra andKerala in Western Ghats in Indiaduring 2001-2002.

In 2002, WWF-India implemented asmall project on the assessment of aSFM at village Ahwati in Maharashtraby developing Criteria and Indicators

based on the local communitiesunder the aegis of the World Bank-WWF Alliance. The objective of thestudy was to gain a greater insightinto the benefits of JFM for thecommunities. While working with thecommunities it was realized that thesame exercise could also bereplicated in other areas where JFMis being practised successfully.

Under the Ford US grant a projectwas designed to work with thecommunities on different issues ofcommunity forestry in Gujarat,Maharashtra, Kerala and ArunachalPradesh during 2003-2005. These�hotpots� are areas of high biologicaldiversity, high endemism and underhigh anthropogenic pressures.Western Ghats and EasternHimalayas are two hotspots in India(Norman Myers 1988, 1990). Thefollowing sections discuss in detail,the case studies in the above-mentioned states. All the casestudies have the potential to link withJoint Forest Management as a follow-up of this programme.


2. Description of the

study sites & data

analysis

2.1 Western Ghats

Gujarat

Case Study 1. Analysing

reasons for intentional /

accidental forest fires in

Dangs region, Gujarat

Introduction

The Dangs district in Gujarat islocated between 200 33�40� and 210

5�10� N Latitudes and 730 27�58� and730 56�36� E Longitudes. The totalgeographical area of the district is1,764 sq. kms. In the east it isbounded by the Dhule district ofMaharashtra, in the west by Valsad,in the north by Surat district both ofGujarat while in the south by the

Nasik district of Maharashtra. Of thetotal geographical area, dense forestconstitutes 1,008 sq.kms, degradedforest 500 sq.kms, thorn scrub (openforest) 2 sq.km and 184 sq. kmsunder protected area category. Atpresent in Dangs 58,758 ha is underMalki land (private land) category,22,000 ha as protected forest and84,000 ha as reserve forests. Thetotal population of the district is 1,86,729. There are 311 villagescovering 8.9 % of the total land areaof the Dangs. (Census data, 2001)

The Sahyadri Hills occupy the easternpart of the Dangs district while thewestern portion descends into theplains of Gujarat. The district alsoforms the northernmost limit of theWestern Ghats ecoregion. Barring afew high hills in the east and south,most of the area is made up of aseries of flat-topped low hills. Theelevation of these hills varies from105 m in the west to 1,317 m abovemean sea level (amsl) on the easternborder. However, most of the area

Map : Project Locations in Dangs District, Gujarat


lies between 300 m and 700 m amsl.There are four distinct river valleysviz., Gira, Purna, Khapri and Ambikarivers in the area that emerge in thehills of the Western Ghats and flowtowards the west (Wohra, 1991).

Almost all the annual rainfall occursbetween June and September. Theaverage annual rainfall in the districtis about 2,000 mm and the westreceives more rains than the east.May is the hottest month when themean daily maximum temperaturesoars up to 400 C while December isthe coldest month in the district.Minimum temperatures are usuallywell above freezing, and frost is notusual (Patel, 1971).

The forests of the Dangs belong tothe subgroup �South Indian moistdeciduous forest�, and within this aremore specifically classified as moistteak forests (Champion and Seth,1968). According to the classificationfollowed by Puri et. al., (1983) theseforests are classified as deciduousteak forest types which areintermediate between dry and moistcategories. They are named as theTectona-Terminalia-Adina-Anogeissus

series. The forests are known to bethe richest in Gujarat and containmany invaluable timber species aswell as medicinally important species(presently Dangs occupy about 30%of the forest area of Gujarat andgenerate 50% of its forest revenueand flora of Dangs is richest inGujarat). Teak (Tectona grandis) isthe most dominant species in Dangsand occurs throughout the area.

Authentic information about theoriginal inhabitants of Dangs prior tothe early 18th century is scanty.However, it is clear that the originalinhabitants of the Dangs were theBhils. This is predominantly anadibasi region with tribals of Bhil,Gamit, Konkanas (kunbi) and Varlieswho are called Dangis. The recordedhistory of Dangs is 400 years old andwas first referred by Sir JohnHawkins, a British traveller in 1608.According to him Bhils were therulers of the region and practiced

shifting (slash and burn) agriculture.Although there is no record availableon exactly when the Konkanasentered the Dangs, it has beeninferred that they were called by theBhils in order to cultivate their lands(Patel, 1971). The Konkanas migratedhere from the coastal areas ofMaharashtra like Konkan. Accordingto an oral tradition, the communitymigrated north as a result of thefamine of 1396-1408 that devastatedthe Konkan region (Hardin 1998). TheKonkanas used to practice settledcultivation known as raab.

During the early 18th century, theDangs was ruled by smallprincipalities presided by four Bhilchiefs and ten Naiks. The Konkanaswere required to cultivate the lands ofthese chiefs and Naiks in lieu oftribute (Patel, 1971). Until the late18th century, slash and burnagricultural system prevailed in theDangs which was sustainable as thepopulation was small and the shiftingagricultural cycle i.e. fallow periodbetween two successive croppingmust have been longer. However, by1891, there were already records toshow that the Konkanas werepracticing some form of settledagriculture in the Dangs. This usuallyconsisted of lopping the trees withinthe agricultural field and around thearea to be cultivated rather thancutting or burning entire trees (Lucas,1892). As mentioned earlier, thisform of cultivation is known as Raab.

The forest history of the Dangs overthe past two centuries has beentumultuous. It has been one of defeatand loss of land and livelihood for thelocal communities. But at the sametime, it has also been a history ofstruggle by the local people of theDangs against the scheme thatfarming is detrimental to the forest.The British took over the forests inDangs from the Surat merchants in1867 alleging that the Bhils werebeing exploited. Gradually the Britishunfolded their original plan andcurtailed the rights of Dangi chiefs. In1889 the forests were divided intoreserves and protected categories


and 1902 onwards rules were strictlyenforced to prohibit cultivation in theformer category, which constitutedabout 50% of the total forest cover inthe Dangs. Good timber washarvested from the prime locations. Asubsequent aerial survey revealedthat the existing forests in the Dangswith good conservation values arevery patchy. The largest contiguousforest areas are located in thenorthern and western parts of thedistricts. Good forests are relegatedto the steeper slopes where the plainareas are largely under cultivation(Worah, 1991).

In the late 19th century, about 66 percent of the Dangs land were classedas available for cultivation. Just afterindependence by 1956-57 the figuresdiminished to 54 per cent. During the1960s, the Gujarat governmentconducted a survey of the Dangs,aiming to give land occupancy deedsto the local inhabitants. According tothis survey, 79,913 hectares wereclassified as farmland, whichrepresented 45 per cent of the totalarea. In 1970, land deeds were givenon condition that forest departmentwould continue to own trees on theland and that the occupants couldonly lop branches for Raabcultivation. No forest produce couldbe taken from reserved forest, whichnow constituted about 50 percent ofthe Dangs area. Thus, it wasobserved that land under cultivationdecreased substantially over theyears. With the gradual acceptanceof the idea that without the support oflocal communities� protection offorests would remain a far cry, theforest department relinquished itsright in 1997 over trees growing in thecultivated or Malki lands in favour ofthe cultivators. At present 58,758 hais under Malki land category, 22,000ha as protected forests, 84,000 ha asreserve forests (figures based on landrecords, and personal interviews withforest officers in Dangs). However, itis still too early to conclude whetherthis change will impact the forestcover and socio-economy of theDangis.

Geology and Soil

The word Dangs stands formountainous terrain and alsoincludes the bamboo forest, theprincipal plant species of the region.Dangs is covered by Deccan Lavaflows as horizontally bedded sheets.Hence flat topped hills are commonin the area which is characteristic ofthe trappean country. At places, thetrap contains iron and traces offeldspar and hornblende, producingthe red, sharp gravel covering manyhillsides (Khanchandani 1970). Thesoil in the valleys is mostly blackcotton soils composed mainly of claymineral. The texture is clay loam andthe soil is fertile. It contains highamounts of alumina, lime andmagnesia, with a variable amount oflow nitrogen and phosphorus. On theslopes of the hill is red soil, which islight and porous and contains nosoluble salt (Patel, 1971). Theagricultural soils are mildly acidic toneutral with the pH value rangingfrom 6.7 to 7 and moderately rich inorganic Carbon (based on recentanalysis by WWF-India in July, 2004).

Raab - The Traditional

Agricultural Practice

Raab is an age-old agriculturalpractice of the Dangis � the tribalpeople living in the Dangs. It is a kindof simultaneous agroforestry practicewhere the naturally growing teak,Terminalia, Lagerstromia etc. treesare maintained in different densitieswithin and around the Raab fields.These trees of various species arelopped, generally after every 2 years,to obtain the biomass required forburning. at designated plot with inthe larger one used for raisingnursery of crops like Eleusine

coracana (nagli), Oryza sativa (rice),Panicum meliaceum (vari), andoccasionally maize and pulses. Inaddition to the lopped biomass fromthe trees, leaf litter is also collectedfrom the Protected Forests andoccasionally from the ReserveForests. The amount of biomassburnt (locally known as adar)


depends on the size of nursery,availability of labour within thehousehold for its collection from theforest, and type of crop being grownin the nursery. On an average, in aplot of 50 sq. m 700kg -1000kg ofbiomass is burned. The unlockedelements from the burned biomasspool are the source of readilyavailable nutrients for the crops forwhich the nursery is prepared. Thegeneral belief of the farmer is that therobust seedlings grown in thismanner provide higher yields thanthose which are raised in thenurseries where biomass is notburned. This can be corroboratedfrom the study done by Worah (1991).Once the seedlings attain the desiredgrowth (40-60 cm height), these aretransplanted into the larger plots. Nofurther inputs are required exceptoccasional weeding aftertransplantation of crop seedlings.The soil fertility of the biggeragricultural plot is maintained byshifting the location of the nursery(where biomass is burned) every yearin such a fashion that practically

every chunk of land within the Raabfields becomes the nursery bed after5-7 years. The forest trees growingwithin the Raab fields also helpmaintain the fertility of soil over theyears by pumping out nutrients fromdeeper soil layers to the surface, litterfall albeit smaller amount due tolopping of these trees and fine rootsturn over etc (Semwal et. al., 2002).

In the distant past the Bhils used topractice shifting agriculture, in thisregion, which over the years due tosocio-economic and ownershipchanges, forest utilization policies,got transformed into settledagriculture known as Raab. In thisform of cultivation burning ofbiomass played an important role inthe maintenance of soil fertility andgood crop yields. This form ofagriculture is promoted by theKonkanas another tribal group whomoved into Dangs in the 13th centuryfrom the Konkan region ofMaharashtra due to famineconditions in Konkan at the time(Mark Poffenberger 1998).

Degraded Forests in Dangs


The official announcement from theforest department in 1997 that thetrees are also the property of theMalki land owner, and the farmer isentitled to sell the timber to improvethe household income, had positiveimplications. Many farmers are nowplanting economically important treeson the Malki lands. On experimentalbasis a policy has been framed toprovide support for replanting trees.Farmers are given free seedlings ofvarious tree species and financialsupport of Rs 500 per year per ha forthe next 15 years. The initial plantdensity should be 2000 tree seedlings/ha with the prescribed speciescomposition of 1500 individuals teakand rest 500 miscellaneous as perthe preference of the individualfarmer. The financial support isprovided only if the seedlings show atleast 60% survival after plantation.

During our field visit it was observedthat many farmers started plantingteak seedlings in the Malki lands andRaab fields. The impact of the policyshift from dual management of forest

trees by forest department andcommunities to vesting all rights withthe farmers may yield good results.On the one hand, this may lead toincreased tree density in the Malkiand Raab fields, and an improvementin the economic conditions of theinhabitants of Dangs. However it istoo early to conclude on the impactsof this policy change.

As far as Raab agriculture isconcerned there is no sharpdistinction as to the choice of cropplanted on the slopes or flat land.However, rice is generally grown onflatter areas. In the present scenariowhen population has risen from amere 18,000 in late 19th century toover 1,88,000 in 2001 the pressure onthe available land is increasing andintensive agriculture is beingpracticed. Fallowing of Raab plots isno more in vogue as a result of whichsoil erosion will become a majorproblem in future.

Leaf litter and lopped biomass calledadar from the forest is piled up on a

Dried biomas spread over nursery bed


small plot of land and burned. Afterwhich seeds of millet and cereals aresown. Once the rains start, the areaaround the plot is ploughed and thegerminated crop seedlings with anaverage height of 40-60 cms aretransplanted to the prepared land.Weeding is carried out periodically,and the crops are harvested after themonsoons in October. The Dangs,with its abundant supply of forestbiomass is well suited for suchagriculture. As a rule, an area wascultivated only for two or three years.After this the soil was left fallow and afresh patch of land was sought.Further details on Raab cultivationare provided in subsequentparagraphs.

As far as Raab cultivation and thestarting of forest fires in Dangs isconcerned, generally all care is taken

Biomas burning in nursery bed

during biomass burning by thefarmers. However, as per thepreliminary survey incidences ofaccidental forest fires are higher inareas where Raab cultivation ispracticed as compared to the areaswhere the practice is gradually beingabandoned (Near Purna WildlifeSanctuary).

The objectives of the

case study

The practice of Raab is detrimental toforests of Dangs - The objective ofthe case study was to analyse thereasons for intentional/ accidentalforest fire in Dangs region, Gujaratand explore agricultural practicesthat would permit cultivation ofmillets without the practice of Raabcultivation.


Approach

A preliminary survey was undertakento meet the local community andforest officials to select villages forthe study. A total number of 18villages were selected for collectingthe information of the accidental andincidental forest fire in the Dangsdistrict of Gujarat. The selection wasbased on one village from each rangeso that distribution of villages in thedistrict would cover the whole district.

The other criteria for selecting thevillages was community eagerness towork with WWF-India and acomposition of socio-economicallybackward classes. The areas whereother organizations were active werenot included within the study area. Adetailed socio-economic study wascarried out in three villages of PurnaWildlife Sanctuary and VansdaNational Park.

Heavy silt in flowing water - an indicator of soil erosion


Socio economic status of

the selected villages

around Purna Wildlife

Sanctuary and around

Vansda National Park

The general health condition of thepeople here is not very good. There isonly one hospital in the district, whichis located at Ahwa, nearly at thecentre of the district. Some of thevillages are located more than 12kms from Ahwa.

People are totally dependent onforests for fuel wood and fodder. Theconsumption of fuel wood in eachfamily varies from 200 - 250 kg/month. Grazing is allowed in theforest, which is very detrimental forthe new shoots. Grass is abundant inthe forests up to the month ofNovember and after that the landslowly turnes completely barren

during the months of February &March.

There are three metal roads whichtraverses through the district alongnorth-south and east-west andconnects Surat and Nausari districtswith the neighbouring stateMaharashtra. Every village has anapproach road of 1 km from one ofthese metal roads. The roads withinthe village are mostly kachha. Everyvillage has drinking water facility,where for a population of 700 to 800there are four tube wells and threedug wells. Electricity has yet notreached some of the villages. But thedistrict headquarter is electrified.Irrigation facilities are also notavailable here and the crops areessentially rainfed. Water of riverPurna and Khapri are used to irrigatethe fields.

The socio economic status of Dangsis summarised in the table below :

Dangs at a glance

1. Total land area 1764 sq. km

2. Total Malki Land 588 sq. km

3. Total Forest Land

� Protected Forest 220 sq. km

� Reserve Forest 580 sq. km

4. Protected Areas

� Purna Wildlife Sanctuary 160 sq. km

� Vansda National Park 24 sq. km

5. Total Population (2001) 1, 86,729

� Male 93,974

� Female 92,755

6. No. of Gram Panchayats 70

7. No. of Villages 311

8. No. of Students 46,711

9. No. of Primary Schools 415


Selection of villages for

study

There are a total of 311 villagescovering 8.9 % of the total land areaof the district Dangs. Two protectedareas viz., Purna Wildlife Sanctuaryand eastern part of Vansda NationalPark are located within the district.Out of 26 villages 18 villages wereselected for the study in and aroundPurna Wildlife Sanctuary from the fiveranges of the sanctuary where Raabis practiced.

There are six villages in and aroundVansda National Park; Tekpada,Kilad, Navtad, Kevdi, Kala-Amba andKayai. Among these six villages,Kilad, Kala-Amba and Kayai arelocated within the National Park andrest are located on the periphery ofthe National Park. Three-fourth of theVansda NP falls in Nausari districtwhile one-fourth falls in Dangsdistrict. The selection of the villagesfor socio-economic survey was madein consultation with the forestdepartment.

A description of the socio-economicstatus of the villages is as follows:Majority of the people are engaged inagriculture for 8 months that is fromMarch to harvesting of crops during(end of October to early November)and during the remaining months the

younger members of the familygenerally migrate to neighbouringdistricts i.e., in Surat to work in thesugarcane industry. For cultivatingpaddy, nagli and vari the Dangisfollow the typical agro-forestrysystem called Raab.

The Practice of Raab

For a raab /adar plot of 40-50 sq. mgenerally 10 baskets of dry leaf litterof nearly 250 kg (25x10kg) and 10bundles of lopped branches of 250kg (10 x 25 kg) (pers com.) arerequired which shows that for oneraab plot the biomass burnt everyyear is 500 kg. A lopping cycle of 2-5years is maintained. The height of thedry biomass on the adar/raab plot isnearly 1-1.5 ft.

The raab plot is rotated within thewhole field for maintaining soilfertility. In such a small plot 500 gmsof seeds of nagli or rice is generallygrown. The small plot can be referredas the nursery bed. For preparing thenagli nursery sloping land ispreferred. The sprouted seedlings arethen transplanted into the preparedfield of 1.62 ha. Two or three suchadar/raab plots are prepared forseedlings of nagli, rice or vari. Thenumber of raab plots depends on thetotal agricultural land available fortransplanting.

10. No. of Teachers 1344

11. No. of Secondary Schools 18

12. No. of High Schools 4

13. No. of College 1

14. No. of Farmers 53,356

15. Total Agricultural Labourers 26,582

16. No. of Small Scale Industries 1,022

17. Agricultural Crops

� Cereals Paddy, maize, Finger millet (nagli), vari, hog millet

� Pulses (tuwar),

� Vegetables Black gaur, Pigeon Pea, Brinjal, gaur, cucumber,

� Fruit Banana, watermelon, Mango

� Cash crop Ground nut, cashew nut

(Source: Jilla Parisad, Dangs & Land Revenue Office, Dangs, July 2004, Census 2001)

Contd...


Collection of dry biomass starts frommid March and continues up to midApril. Just before the first shower ofevery year the biomass is burnt. Extracare is generally taken during burningof biomass.

The biomass is burnt from the fourcorners to prevent escape of fire. Thefire is also swept by lopped branchesof trees from the four sides of theplot. At the end of burning the ash iscovered by soil. With the very firstshower, the seeds of the previousyear are spread over the plot. Withthe nagli and rice in the nursery bedpulses also are grown to maintain thenutrient balance of the soil.

The seedlings are transplanted to theprepared field when they attain aheight of 1.5 to 2ft in the nursery bed.No fertilizer or pesticides are usedafter transplantation of the seedlings.Very few families use dry cow dung inthe raab beds before burning.

After transplantation weeding is doneperiodically. Harvesting starts at theend of October and lasts till mid

November. The average yield of thenagli (finger millet) varies from 400-450 kg / ha, paddy varies from 600-700 kg / ha and vari (hog millet) 300-400 kg / ha. For a family of 4-5members the amount is generallyconsumed through out the year inabsence of other livelihoodopportunities.

The Local Economy

Generally the landholdings are toosmall to permit sale of surplus foodgrains. The market price of nagli isRs. 3-4 / kg, and rice is 6-8 / kg. Thecattle population in Dangs is1,78,744, among them cows are66,650, buffaloes are 18,799 and restcomprise poultry. In some villageslike Jamlapada, and Lankasadpeople have started contributing milkfor dairy development.

The wild animals, which were plentyhave now substantially reduced. Theonly wildlife available in forests atpresent are wild boars, leopard,squirrel, rabbit etc. One of the

Eleusine coracana seedings in nursery


reasons for the non availability offauna may be due to the food habitsof the tribals. The tribals may evenburn a whole tree for catching preysuch as squirrel.

The overall economic condition is notvery good, most of the houses arekachha. The basic source oflivelihood is agriculture and very fewpeople are employed as temporaryworkers in sugarcane industry inSurat and Nausari districts. Somepeople are engaged in bamboohandicrafts as bamboo is found inhuge quantities in the area.

A detailed socio economic surveywas carried out in three villages inDangs district. Two of these villages�viz., Diwan Tembrun and Jamlapadaare situated within Purna WildlifeSanctuary and one village Tekpada islocated in the southern boundary ofVansda National Park. Theexperimental plots to cultivate thefinger millet and paddy withoutburning the biomass was selectedfrom these villages. The survey wasundertaken to understand thecharacter of the social fabric in thevillages. The findings for the threevillages are summarised as follows :

Demographic scenario of the three villages� viz., Diwan Tembrun,

Jamlapada and Tekpada is given in the table

Diwan Tembrun Jamlapada Tekpada

1. Total Population 838 1016 500

Male 427 513 230

Female 411 503 270

2. House hold size 5.0 6.0 5.0

3 Total No. of Households 166 169 100

4. Sex Ratio 963 981 1174

5. Sex Ratio for Children (0-6 years) 1044 939 1333

6. Total no. of literate 465 434 275

7. Literacy rate 71.1 % 52.5 % 66.1 %

8. Total Worker 470 522 302

9. Cultivator 323 330 142

10. Total Agricultural Land 300.29ha 131.30 ha Not Available

11. Per capita agricultural land 0.35 ha 0.13 ha Not Available

12. Crop grown Finger millet, Hog Finger millet, Hog Finger millet, Hogmillet, paddy and millet, paddy and millet, paddy andpulses pulses pulses

13. Productivity* of

� Finger millet 400-450Kg/ha 400-450Kg/ha 400-450Kg/ha

� Paddy 600-700 kg/ha 600-700 kg/ha 600-700 kg/ha

� Vari/hog millet 300-400 kg/ha 300-400 kg/ha 300-400 kg/ha

*The productivity is based on interviews with 5-6 farmers of each village and also the primary school headmaster

of Jamlapada village


Diwan Tembrun

The village is located in the centralpart of the district. (20050.326 N and73044.544 E) and the altitude is 578 mabove MSL. The demographic data ofthe village is given in the above tableon page 22.

Out of the total cultivated land of300.29 ha, the reserved forest area is47.55 ha, protected forest is 3.34 haand gochor land is 1.23 ha (DistrictLand Records, Survey Office, Dangs).Per capita landholding size is 0.35ha. The principal crops are like theother areas of Dangs and includefinger millet, paddy and hog millet.The vegetables grown in the villageare brinjal, tomato, etc, and pulseslike tuwar, adad and oil seeds likeground nut and kharsani. The yield ofthe crops varied from 400-450 kg/hafor finger millet, 600-700 kg/ha paddyand vari (hog millet) 300-400 kg/ha.

The Bhil families do not have thecattle whereas the Kunbis rear cattle.The average cattle per family for theKunbis are three (two buffalos andone cow) which they use forploughing purposes.

The village is electrified, there is apucca approach road, a primaryschool with classes from 1st to 7th

standard. The total strength ofstudents is 235 of which 118 are boysand 117 girls. There is no healthcentre in the village; the only healthcentre is located at Ahwa, the districtheadquarters, which is about 17 kmsfrom the village. For drinking waterpeople used the water of wells andhand pumps. There are 14 handpumps and two dug wells in thevillage.

For fuel wood, fodder and cultivationof crops the inhabitants of Dangs areheavily dependent on forests. Thedistance of the village from the forestis nearly two km. The fuel woodconsumption per family is 2400 kgper year. The collection of fuel woodis generally made during October toMay every year. For Raab burning inone plot the amount of dry biomasscollected is 20 baskets of leaf litter(20 x 25 kg) and 10 bundles oflopped branches of 250 kg whichshow that one plot requires 750 kgbiomass to be burnt. A marginalfarmer prepares at least two plotsone for finger millet and one forpaddy. The number of Raab plotsdepends on the landholding size ofthe farmer. If a farmer can preparetwo raab plots of 45-50 sq m then thebiomass consumption pattern of onefamily can be shown as per the graphbelow.

Biomass consumed every year by one household for

domestic use and raab*

3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0

Fuel wood forcooking

Leaf litter forRaab

Loppedbranches for

raab

Type of biomass

Bio

ma

ss U

se

d (

in K

g)

* On an average one family prepares two raab plots of 40-50 sq m area.


Jamlapada

Village Jamlapada is located nearDiwan Tembrun. The entirepopulation belong to tribalcommunities of Bhil, Kunbi andWorlies. Demographic data isavailable in the table on page 22.Average land holding per family istwo-three acres (ha) and averagecattle holding per family is three. Twofamilies who have migrated here fromSourastra are engaged in makingbricks. Labour can earn Rs. 4,000-5,000 per year through agriculture orsmall scale industries.

The total cultivated land in the villageis 131.30 ha, reserved forest is 2.30ha, protected forests are 4.13 ha andgochor land is 2.51 ha. (District landrecords, Dangs).

The village is electrified, has aveterinary hospital but villagers haveto travel 70 kms for the nearest healthcentre. One post office is situated inthe village Gouri, which is 2 kms fromthe village.

Recently a milk dairy has been madeoperational in the village. Cowscosting Rs 17,000 have beenfinanced and provided by the villagebank to each of the twenty families.Every family have to contribute aminimum 6.5 litres of milk every dayto the dairy. There is an arrangementfor the collection of milk twice a day.The families are given Rs. 700 permonth for fodder. The bank loan is tobe repaid collectively by thebeneficiary families.

Village Garbi, near village Jamlapadawitnessed a forest fire this yearduring Raab burning. Five huts werecompletely burnt when theunattended fire escaped to causedamage to the adjacent settlementsand the forests.

Tekpada

Tekpada is located at the southernboundary of the Vansda National Parkat 200 45.122 N and 730 27.242 E. It isa small village with around 100households. A few of the villagerswork in a cottage industry onbamboo handicrafts.

The average land holding per familyis around four acres. All the familiespractice raab cultivation, for whichthey have to go to forests at adistance of five kms from the villagefor collection of biomass. Generallythe women collect the dry leaf litter inthe forests in baskets and the malesbring the bundle of lopped branchesof trees. The weight of the basketwith the dry biomass is about 25 kg.10 such baskets of dry leaf litter isrequired for one raab plot (average40 sq. m). Other than nagli, rice andvari, villagers grow vegetables likeridge gourd, black gourd, brinjal,tomato, custard apple, some havetwo three cashew nut trees, for oilseeds they grow ground nut whichreplenished soil nitrogen. Fruit treeslike mango, jackfruit, jamun alsogrow in the village. The villagersdepend on their own agriculturalproduce; they seldom buy these fromthe market. Generally any fertilizer orpesticide is not used in the fields.

The villagers collect the NTFPs fromthe forests, viz., Mahua (Madhuca

indica), Safed Musli (Chlorophyton

boriviilianum) and Kali Musli. Safedand Kali Musli fetches them Rs. 1000and Rs. 800 per kg respectively.

There is no health centre in thevillage. The village is not electrifiedas well. Some of the families usebiogas for both cooking and lightingpurposes. The approach road of thevillage is kachha. There is only oneprimary school in the village withclasses upto the 3rd standard. Handpumps are the source for drinkingwater.


A pilot experiment on

�Cultivation of finger

millet (nagli) without

raab burning�

To demonstrate the possibility ofintroducing a better agriculturalpractice, an experiment wasdesigned to cultivate millet withoutraab burning at Dangs. Two plots oneof 2,400 sq m at village Tekpada andanother one of 250 sq m at villageDiwan Tembrun were selected forexperiment. As it was againsttraditional practice, it was difficult toovercome the prevailing mindset.Finally two farmers from the villagesagreed to undertake the cultivationwithout raab burning providingsuitable compensation for theanticipated loss in crop yield. Theplots were monitored time to time bythe project team. The havesting ofthe plot was undertaken in November2004 and a comparison was madebetween the experimental plot andthe adjacent raab plot in the twovillages. The findings are given onpage 26.

Comparative analysis shows that thenumber of flowering spikes, length ofspikes and average plant length ofplot with raab are more then the plotwithout raab in both the cases. Thedifference however was notsignificent although its premature todraw conclusions. Experiments at agreater scale need to be undertaken.

The results of the aforesaid wasencouraging and has opened upavenues to motivate farmers topractice cultivation without thebiomass burning.

Observation

4 random quardats each of 1x 1meter were laid in the field. Readingsof 15 plants were noted for dataanalysis. A total of 60 plant readingswere recorded to find the averagelength of plant, average length ofspike, number of spikes on eachplant. Plants in the experimental plotsshowed similar growth pattern.Weeding was not been done in boththe fields. Fertilizer was applied in theplot at Tekpada.

Soil sampling in the experimental plot at Tekpada


Village: Tekpada, Vansda N.P Date of Harvest: 5.11.04

Parameters Experiment Plot

With raab Without raab

Field Size (Sq. Meter) 1800 sq feet 2400 sq feet. Approx

Seeds (Gram) 300 approx. 500 approx.

Manure Used (Kgs.) 0.5 0.5

a. Organic Urea Urea

b. Inorganic

Insecticides Used (Ltr.) - -

Weeding Not done Not done

Disease Observed Observed

Average length of plant (inch) 38.2 29.7

Avg. Length of Spikes (inch) 4.1 3.1

No. Of Flowering Spikes 11 10

Plant Density (No. of plants/quadrat) 1x1 meterQ1 21 28Q2 27 29Q3 29 20Q4 23 31

Total yield (Kgs.) 80 Kg. 65 Kg.

Village: Diwan Tembrun, Purna WLS Date of Harvest: 5.11.04

Parameters Experiment Plot

With raab Without raab

Field Size (Sq. Meter) 3300 sq. ft Approx 2700 sq ft. Approx

Seeds (Gram) 250 250

Manure Used (Kgs.) Not used Not used

c. Organic - -

d. Inorganic

Insecticides Used (Ltr.) Not used Not used

Weeding Not done Not done

Disease Observed Observed

Average length of plant (inch) 37.7 28.3

Avg. Length of Spikes (inch) 4.7 3.8

No. Of Flowering Spikes 12 7

Plant Density (No. of plants/Quadrat) 1x1 meterQ/1 23 15Q/2 24 17Q/3 23 22Q/4 25 22

Total yield (Kgs.) 35 Kg. 30 Kg.

Data Collection for Comparision of Crop Yield


Conclusion

Raab cultivation is a traditionalpractice of Dangis to earn livelihood,which was sustainable when thepopulation pressure was low andnatural recuperation of soil fertilitywas facilitated by the long fallowphases. In the changed scenario,modification is needed in thetraditional practices to make themsustainable and economicallyremunerative at the same time. Asstated above, tree ownership willprovide the farmer additionaleconomic benefits in future but tomake it more sustainable the tree andcrop component should be managedin such a way that it gives equalconsideration to both (crops andtrees) components of this traditionalagroforestry practice. In this situationsuitable lopping regime should beworked out so that tree vigor can bemaintained and the yield of annualcrops is also optimized. Legumes

such as groundnut and pulses couldbe cultivated with millets andtraditional cereals to maintain soilfertility, and for biomass needed forburning, alley cropping could bepromoted. Long term studies areneeded to suggest modification forthis simultaneous agroforestry of theDangs. Integrated study on village-agriculture-forest and socio economyinterlinkages could provide answersto make the existing practicessustainable.

Future Plans

It is now envisaged to involvestakeholders like the AgriculturalUniversity at Nausari to promotebetter agricultural practices thatwould discourage �Raab�. The projectwould explore involving the institutionof Joint Forest Management and theForest Protection Committees for theaforesaid purpose and restoration ofdegraded forests of the Dangs.

Experimental plot in Village Dewan Tembrun


Case Study 2. An

assessment of

Sustainable Forest

Management by

Developing Criteria and

Indicators : An exercise

at village Kunbar in

Rajpipla Forest Division,

South Gujarat

Introduction

Gujarat has a long tradition ofsuccessful cooperative movements.Peoples� participation in forestresource management wasintroduced soon after theindependence. Joint ForestManagement was adopted in Gujaratthrough a Government resolution of1991. This was superceded by a morecomprehensive resolution of 1994,which was modified in March 2002.

Ecological setting of the

village

Village Kunbar (210 35.420 N, 730

31.757 E) falls under Rajpipla EastForest Division (Surapara range,round Khaidipada, beat Kaliyabhut)in Narmada district (talukaDeriapada) of Gujarat, which is about90 km SE of Baroda city.

Joint Forest Management (JFM) wasintroduced in the village in 1992-93with 11 office bearers and 150members, one from each family. Outof the total forest area of 188 ha only50 ha land had been taken for firstphase of plantation and 55,000saplings of teak, khair and bamboowere planted with active participationof the villagers. In the second phasean additional 30 ha land wasundertaken for plantation and in thisway the whole forestland was coveredunder plantation where fruit treeswere also planted along with woodlots. In the current year villagers haveplanted some fruit trees in their ownland and also in the village grazingland (15.75 ha) [Profiles of JFMvillage Kunbar, published by FD in1998] under the funding support oflocal panchayat.

Map : Kunbar Village in Narmada District, Gujarat


The forests of the area are drydeciduous with some patches ofmoist deciduous. The dominatingtree species are bamboo, teak(Tectona grandis), shisam (Dalbergia

sisoo), khair (Acacia catectu),dhavdo (Anogeissus latifolia) andkadam (Anthocaphalus indica). Theother indigenous tree speciesavailable in the forest are Pterocarpus

marsupium, Bauhinia racemosa,

Butea monosperma, Cassia fistula,

Prosopis juliflora, Eucalyptus sp.,

Gmelina arborea, Termenelia arjuna ,Cassia auriculata, Emblica officinalis.

In the early 1970s the area wascovered by dense forest whereleopard, hyena, peacock, tiger, wildboar were easily sighted.

Objective

The study was undertaken forassessment of the Sustainable ForestManagement in the village bydeveloping criteria and indicators bythe local communities. The objectiveof the study was to get a greaterinsight into the JFM programme inthe village and how beneficial it hasbeen for the communities.

The criteria and the respectiveindicators were developed through ameetings where all the JFMcommittee members, local villagers,forest officials, women, teachers andstudents participated.

Socio-economic status of

the village

The total population of the village is1,216 consisting of 205 families whoall belong to the tribal community(census 2001). The total revenueland of the village is 210.23 ha. Thepopulation of men is 609, while ofwomen is 607. The villagers aremostly agricultural labourers byprofession although half of them haveown land of about 2-3 acres (0.8 to1.2 ha). The number of big farmersare 11, small, 19, marginal around 23,while the rest are landless who makethe livelihood by working on other�sland in and around the village. The

agricultural crops grown in the villageinclude cereals like makai, jowar andwheat, pulses like tuar (Cajanus

cajan), vegetables like onion, brinjal,papri (Dolichos lablab) and cashcrops like ground nut and cotton.

The overall economic condition of thevillagers is weak with only twofamilies having pucca houses.Around145 families fall under BPL (BelowPoverty Line) category. Only 12persons from the village are emplo-yed in government departments, outof which six are teachers, four areemployed in forest department andtwo are in the police force, one isstudying veterinary science in Anand.There is only one secondary school inthe village where two teachers havebeen employed from the village itself.Almost all children have the accessto education. For higher educationstudents have to go to Deriapada, 7kms from the village.

Women actively participate in all JFMrelated activities. They work aslabourer in the fields within andoutside the village. After themonsoons they are engaged in

Teak Plantations raised at village Kunbar


weeding where they get Rs. 20 andone meal per day. Around 50 womenare employed in the ForestDepartment nursery where they getRs. 80 per person per day.

Women played a substantial role inthe formation of Forest ProtectionCommittee (FPC) in the village and aseat is reserved for them in thecommittee. The Sarpanch (Villagehead) of three villages� viz., Nighat,Kunbar & Koyliyavav are women.

The FPC maintains a bank accountwhere penalty amounts for forestoffences are deposited. The accountpresently hold a balance ofRs.15,000. The penalty for illegalfelling or theft is different in day andnight, during day time it is Rs. 50/-and during night and festivals time itis Rs. 150/- and the cost of the tree.In most of the cases the logs areseized from the accused.

The Forest Department constructed aborewell in 2000 after initiation ofJFM. A watershed development

project of Rs. 2,55,000 wasundertaken in the village in 1996-97by FD where villagers donated threedays labour (shramadan). The pondcreated in the project was forproviding drinking water to the cattleof 13 neighbouring villages and thewild animals. Fish cultivation wasexperimented by the villagers in thepond, which was later abandoned.

The cattle population of the village is831, out of which 259 are cows, 36buffaloes, 80 bullocks, and 456goats. This indicates that each familyhas an average of four cattle. Inspiteof the ban on grazing from the forestsand existence of a gochor (grazing)land people are dependent on theforests to feed their cattle. Fuelwoodis also extracted from the forest.

Project Activity: To develop Criteriaand Indicators for Sustainable ForestManagement by the localcommunities.

Village Kunbar, is being projected bythe forest department, as a model

Training on monitoring and evaluation


village and people better understandthe sprit of JFM. With improvedprotection and restoration of forests,Kunbar was ideal for the assessmentof success of JFM. An attempt wasmade by WWF- India to developCriteria and Indicators forSustainable Forest Management bythe local communities in the village.The objective of the study was todocument the perspective changes,after JFM was introduced and howthe community could validate thedifferences. The indicators are theparameter of changes visible withinthe social and economic status of thevillagers.

Four types of criteria were decided inthe meeting; Ecological, Economic,Institutional and Social. For eachcriteria the villagers spelt outindicators of their own.

Ecological Criteria

The indicators for the criteria were �

i) Improvement of Forests:

There has been perceptibleincrease in Forest cover due toafforestation and plantationactivities.

ii) Availability of Fodder: Thearea covered by grass has alsoincreased which could fulfill thefodder requirement of not onlythe village but also of two-threeneighbouring villages as well.

iii) Increase in wildlife: The wildanimals like peacock, hyena,wildcat, spotted deer, rabbitwhich had completelydisappeared are again visiblenow a days. Crop damage bywild animals is still not reportedin the village.

iv) Availability of Groundwater:

The intervention of ForestDepartment in commissioning abore well for irrigation hasencouraged the villagers to digmore wells. In the last fouryears 20 additional wells havebeen dug in the private land,

which helps to meet irrigationneeds of 20 families especiallyduring the lean season. Thewater table is reported to be at80 feet in the agricultural fieldsand 40 feet in the villages.

v) Watershed Development:

A watershed developmentproject was undertaken in theyear 1996-97 when one memberof each family donated labourfor three days. The check damwas constructed under thefunding support of ForestDepartment. The pond wasused for drinking water of cattleand wild animals and also wasused for pisiculture. The checkdam was damaged during lastmonsoon due to heavy rainfall.

vi) Forest Fires: No forest fireswere reported during the lastthree years which indicates thatsincere efforts are underway forprotecting forests.

vii) Availability of the medicinal

plant species: The medicinalplants species which areavailable and widely used bythe villagers are Pterocarpus

marsupium (uses for diabetes),Butea monosperma (leave usedfor healing wounds), Cassia

auriculata (uses for cuts andbleeding), Erythrina indica (forfever), Lania coromandelica (forskin diseases), Corcorus sp.

(for mouth ulcers), Notonia

grandiflora (for jaundice). Mostof these were not available inthe early nineties.

Economic Criteria

The indicators for the economiccriteria were:

i) Increase in saving capacity:

The members of the SHG areall women. The SHG wasformed in 1994-1995 whereinitial membership was Rs. 11/-per family. The SHG has savedRs. 76,000 till date in the bank.Loans are provided to the


individual families inagricultural sectors from theaccount with 2% annual interestrate. Men borrow money to buyhybrid BT cotton seeds @ Rs.2,400/- per quintal.

ii) Food Security: Due to theavailability of water in the leanseasons the villagers couldgrow three crops (makai, jowarand wheat), vegetables andpulses which fulfills their foodrequirement round the year.They are now in a position tosell the vegetables in themarket and generate an incomeof Rs 300-400 per year.

iii) Employment opportunities in

and outside the village: 12persons from the village areemployed in the governmentdepartments, of which six areteachers, two are in the policeforce and four in the forestdepartment. Fifty village womenare employed in the forestdepartment nursery from wherethey earn Rs. 80 per day duringthe plantation period. Roundthe year villagers are engagedin agricultural fields either forcultivation of crops or weeding.Landless farmers work in thefields of others both within andoutside the village. People alsofind employment working asteachers, veterinary doctors,drivers etc.

iv) Management of FPC funds: Abank account is operated bythe FPC where the penaltyreceived from the illegal fellingor grazing in the forest aredeposited. In the year 1996-97communities received Rs.18,000 from fish cultivation inthe pond. The savings in thebank account is presently Rs.15,000. Loans are provided tothe individual families from theaccount at 1% annual interestrate.

v) Income from other source:

Very few people in the village

are employed in thegovernment sector, the rest arefarmers either cultivating theirown land or that owned byothers. Micro enterprise is yetto start in the village. Thevillagers cannot provide milk forthe dairy as according to aveterinary student of the villagethe milch animals are of poorquality both in regard to yieldas well as quality of milk.

vi) Improved infrastructure

within the village: Theapproach road of the villagewas constructed in 2002 usingpanchayat funds. The roadwithin the village is still kachha.A room in the school buildingwas constructed last year andthe school has been upgradedto a secondary one from aprimary school.

vii) Availability of NTFPs: Thevillagers have been given therights to collect Minor ForestProduces tendu leaves (bidi

leaves, Diospyros melanoxylon)are collected by the villagewomen from the forest. Theyearn Rs. 50 from every bundleof 100 tendu leaves.

Institutional Criteria

The institutional criteria spelt out bythe villagers were:

i) Gender equality and women

participation in FPC: Womenare actively involved in theactivities under JFM. At thetime of formation of the FPCone seat was reserved forwomen. The sarpanch of thevillage is also a woman whovoices the demand of thevillage at the district level. TheSelf Held Group (SHG) iscompletely run by women in thevillage. The bank account ofthe SHG provides loan to theagricultural sector for buyinghybrid seeds, fertilizers andpesticides. Women also play animportant role in decisions


taken on forest offences butthey seldom take part indecisions on land disputes orother criminal offences.

ii) FPC acts like a platform for

developmental activity in the

village: The developmentalactivities so far undertakeninclude the construction ofschool building, roads,watershed project etc. Thepenalty for forest offences isdecided by FPC.

iii) Fuel wood distribution in the

village: The inhabitants of thevillage are mostly dependenton the forest for fuelwood andfodder. Selective lopping oftrees are done under theguidance of Forest Department.The total collected material isequally divided into 205bundles. Then through thelottery system the bundles aredistributed among the families.An area has been allotted forgrazing in the forestland (15.75ha). Villagers collect the grassfrom the forest and practicestall-feeding. In the current yearvillagers have undertakenplantation in the grazing landwith panchayat funds. Villagershave also started using agrowaste for fuel in the houses.

iv) Relationship with the Forest

Department: The lopping oftrees is undertaken with theapproval of the ForestDepartment. Forest beatguards join on almost everyfestival of the village. Formalmeeting with the ForestDepartment is organised everythree months. Villagers interactfrequently with FD officialsduring plantations.

Social Criteria

Indicators for the social criteria were :

i) Change in Social behavior of

the villagers: Due to poor

economic conditions thefts ofwood from forests werereported but there has been adecline in the number ofoffences in the past few years.

ii) Access to education and

interest for education: Thereis one secondary school in thevillage up to 7th standard whereall children of the village areadmitted. Some children nowhave passed from the villageschool and admitted to thehigh school in Deriapada.There is a strong awareness onimportance of education in thevillage. Land required forconstruction of rooms of schoolbuilding was easily provided bya family on the request of theFPC in lieu of (gochar) land.This reflects the change in theattitude of the villagers towardseducation, development, unityand cooperation.

iii) Unity in Forest protection:

After the formation of FPCcertain rules and regulationswere formulated for theprotection of plantations likeban on grazing in forests andthe felling of trees. These rulesare strictly followed by thevillagers. Joint protection offorests led to decline inincidences of forest fires.

iv) Eradication of social evils:

The intake of liquor has totallystopped in the village and thecriminal cases against thevillagers have practically notbeen reported in the past 13years.

v) Improvement on Health

Condition: There have been noreports of skin and water bornediseases during the past fiveyears. The overall healthcondition has improved whichis a reflection on the quality offood and nutrients intake.


Conclusion and

Recommendations

A great awareness has beengenerated in the village on protectionof forests and forest related issues.The initiation of JFM with the activecooperation of the Forest Departmenthas changed the social andinstitutional life of the villagers to agreat extent. The unity among thevillagers was the key of success ofJFM in Kunbar. The availability of theirrigation has facilitated working onthe agricultural field. An increasingawareness of the importance ofeducation has inspired the villagersto upgrade the school. However, a lotmore needs to be done forimprovement of the livelihood of thevillagers. The different alternativesdiscussed in the meeting forimproving the economy of the villageare:

� Land leveling could be done inthe village as the area is anundulating one for suitablehorticultural species.

� A village road should beconstructed for the overallbetterment of the village. Analternative of tree poles isneeded for construction ofhouses. Pillars made of bricksand cemented by mud could bea possible solution.

� The village dairy could beupgraded by providing loan forbuying of good quality livestockand proper care of cattle. Fishculture could be reintroducedonce the water tanks arerepaired.

� People could be trained toprepare and market bamboobased handicrafts.

� Cultivation of medicinal plantsalong with the proper marketlinkages could providealternative livelihood for thevillagers. Plantation of NWFPshrubs like custard apple(Annona sqamosa), bidi leavesare required for bettereconomic returns.

� Bee keeping, poultry andduckery could be some newinitiatives.


Maharashtra

Case Study 3. Cultivation

of medicinal plants and

establishment of a

market linkage with

participation of the local

community at village

Ahwati in Nasik district

of Maharashtra

Introduction

As a part of the community forestryproject under the Ford-US grantWWF-India undertook a project forconservation of degraded forests inMaharashtra. Playing a catalytic role,the organisation joined the movementof villagers in Nasik district onconservation related issues. Itincluded encouraging them to protectthe surrounding forest areas aroundtheir villages, spread awareness andreduce pressure on natural forests

and find alternate means oflivelihood, particularly for thosemainly dependant on forests. Onesuch project was undertaken in avillage called Ahwati in Satana Talukaof East Forest Division of Nasik inMaharashtra. During earlier visits, itwas observed that a number of plantspecies with medicinal properties arethere in the region, giving a clue thatthe area has a potential for cultivationof some of these species. Oninquiring further from the locals, itwas learnt that this region wasdecades earlier frequent by medicinalherbs collectors. With the reductionin natural forests and due to otherbiotic pressures distribution of suchspecies is restricted to a few limitedpockets. As a small effort toencourage locals for undertakingcultivation of medicinal andeconomically important species, theproject was undertaken on 4 ha ofland in village Ahwati. The criteriafollowed for selection were that thespecies:

Map : Ahwati Village in Nashik District, Maharashtra


� Are suitable for cultivation in arain shadow or low-rainfall arealike Ahwati

� Have a history of growing inand around project site andare/were in use in traditionalmedicine

� Do not need specialized kind oftechniques for cultivation likesetting up of Glass House,irrigation or regular manuringetc.

� Hardy in nature and do notneed much post plantation carelike manuring, mulching, pestcontrol etc.

� Could be easily marketed innatural form without involvingprocessing etc.

� Could be used locally in day today life and have been intraditional use.

� Could attract the attention ofother farmers� particularly thatof the younger generation andact as model farm for others.

WWF-India organized interactionswith villagers, decision-makers,academicians and social workers onsubject related matters. Theinteractions helped to develop acordial relationship with the villagers

and resulted in multiplication of JFMCommittees, awareness generationabout conservation and initiation ofaction towards the reduction ofpressure on natural resources.

The project also aimed at attractingthe attention of villagers towardsproper land utilization. It is observedthat most of the farmers make use ofgood quality land only neglecting thefallow land.

Implementation at site

WWF-India began its implementationplan in the rainy season of 2003. Mr.Motha Bhau Bhamre, a progressivefarmer of the village, came forward byoffering a piece of land. Ahwativillage has been one of the pioneersin working for the protection ofdegraded forests. After having madea general agreement andunderstanding about the use of landand work plan, WWF-India startedimplementing the project.Considerations for the selection ofthe site were that the land was:

� Well protected from all thesides

� Equipped with the irrigationsystem fed by an open-well dugwithin the plot.

� Proximity to the protectedforests where JFM project hasbeen carried out.

� Having same kind of agro-climatic conditions similar tothe adjoining forests, whichwould help in long run fortransplantation of the species.

� The plot is located within theclose proximity of the villagewhich will be helpful in carryingout training and orientationprogrammes, voluntary labourwork (shramdaan) etc.

Services of trained and experiencedmedicinal plant cultivators wereutilized for achieving desired results.A supervisor and garden labourers

The JFM Committee in Village Ahwati


SN Scientific Name Local Name Special Character of the plant

1. Aloe vera Korphad Small succulent plant

2. Emblica officinalis Amla Medium sized tree

3. Asperagus racemosa Satavari A bushy climber

4. Cymbopogon sps. Lemon Grass A perennial grass

5. Bryophyllum sps. Panphuti A succulent

6. Convolvulus sps. Shankhpuspi A seasonal creeping herb

7. Caesalpinia cristata Sagargota A moderate sized thorny bush

8. Adhatoda vasica Adulsa An evergreen moderate bush

9. Withania somnifera Aswagandha Bush

10. Aegle marmelos Bel Moderate sized tree

11. Boerhaavia diffusa Punarnava Seasonal crawling plant

were deployed for regular work andland development, removal of weedsand plantation work.

The fallow land was tilled thoroughlyand a proper layout for variousspecies was planned. Since the areawas far from human settlement, itwas decided to develop it in such afashion that it needed minimum ofsecurity and post plantation care.The plotting and layout is the key forsuccess of any plantation involvingmultiple species. This principle wasfollowed for selection of type speciesfor cultivation at Ahwati. The namesof the species and their specificcharacteristics are provided in thefollowing table :

planting material cost remains thesame. It has led to severe resentmentamong farmers who had takencommercial cultivation of Musli onlarge scale particularly in adjoiningparts of Madhya Pradesh. Anotherconsideration while selecting whatwas to be cultivated was that thecultivation cost of the plantsparticularly the planting material costshould not be very high.

Out of the list of plants to becultivated, the first nine species arepart of the project proposal whereasthe last two species have beenselected on the basis of localrequests and suitability of the speciesfor the region particularly. The

Preparation of land for cultivation of medicinal plants

Initially, it was planned to cultivateChlorophytum sps. (Musli) also butdue to conflicting views it wasdecided to drop the plant from ourlist. The planting material of Musli isquite costly and the produce is notgiving proper returns to the farmers.Initially the roots of Musli fetched aprice of Rs.1,500 � Rs 2,000 a kg,during its peak, against the plantingmaterial cost of Rs.300/- per kg. Inthe last one year or so, the buyershave rejected cultivated Musli to theextent that the prices have fallen toRs.200-Rs.300/- a kg whereas the


villagers are very keen to carry outplantation of Bel (Aegle marmelos)tree as the leaves provide very goodreturn due to its offering to the LordShiva on various occasions and thefruits are used for medicinalpurposes. Another factor, which wentin favour of Bel plantation, is its hardynature and ability to withstandunfavourable weather conditions.Selection of Punarnava (Boerhaavia

diffusa) is due to its growing use intraditional medicine and ayurvedicpreparations in recent times andabundant distribution of the plantmaterial in the vicinity. By cultivatingthe plant in large scale, the villagerscan gain good returns. Most of thefarmers can take up commercialplantation of this species once theyknow its potential.

The sample plot was levelled anddressed-up using machinery and withthe help of labourers. After athorough tilling and removal of rankvegetation, plotting was done byidentifying suitable sites for differentspecies. The water retention quality,land contours and protection fromnatural predators were taken intoaccount before starting the work atsite.

Cultivation techniques used fordifferent plants are given with detailsof material used, plantationtechniques applied and observationsmade.

A species wise list giving details ofthe medicinal value, ecologicalsignificance and other salientfeatures is given below.

Species Description

Caesalpinia cristata: Known asSagargota, this plant is foundabundantly in the forest areas andopen scrubland around the projectsite. The main purpose of selectingthis species is to make farmers awareabout the various benefits ofcultivating this plant.

1. The plant could be used as avery good hedge due to its fastgrowth, presence of thorns onthe body including seed coatand leaves.

2. The seeds of the plants arenon-edible, strong and couldsurvive long duration in adverseconditions after dispersal.

3. Due to medicinal properties theseeds in demand and costaround Rs. 80-120 per kg inMumbai. Used as wormicideand purgative for infants inAyurvedic preparations.

4. Chances of survival and revivalare very high in nature due toability to survive in severedrought and fluctuating climaticconditions.

5. The decrease in sheep rearingand goat farming will help fastrevival of this unique plant thatcould act as best fencingmaterial for farmlands.

Cymbopogon (Citronella) sps: TheLemon Grass was suggested forcultivation due to its medicinalproperties, ecological significanceand easy cultivation. The plant isideal to grow on bunds and dividersbetween two agricultural plots, whichremain covered with grass.Cultivating lemon grass on suchpieces of land will help farmers checksoil erosion, and get benefited byselling leaves on regular intervals in

Post plantation care


the market. The plant is very much indemand for its aromatic fragranceand widely used as herbal tea.

Emblica officinalis: Commonlyknown as Amla, the gooseberry plantis ideal for the forest and agriculturalareas. The plant could provide notjust better returns to the farmers fromtheir agricultural fields but as wellhelp in the restoration of theecological balance. It seems theplant was found in abundance in theregion earlier. Farmers have alsoshown a great interest in undertakingthe cultivation of plant and besidesour pilot project site, the plant hasbeen demanded by farmers of otherregions. A large number of plantshave also been introduced in theforest area to attract wildlife in futureand help local nomads to collectfruits from wild.

Aegle marmelos: Aegle marmelos(Bel) can survive in drier conditionsand has immense ecological value innature. The plant fetches very goodreturns on the sale of its products likeleaves, fruits etc. Leaves of the plantare used for special offering to LordShiva by the Hindus on variousoccasions. The water and rind of thefruit is used as medicine for curingcertain gastrointestinal problems. Alarge number of saplings have beentaken by the farmers from theadjoining villages, besides theproject site. Like Amla, this plant hasalso been introduced in largequantity in the forest.

Adhatoda vasica : Locally known asAdulsa, the plant has beenconsidered due to its great utility asmedicine against cold and cough inMaharashtra and Gujarat. It hasbeen estimated that thousands ofsmall scale ayurvedic andpharmaceutical companies havebeen using this plant to make apopular cough syrup known asadulsa. The plant is useful inecological terms as it survives well inextreme adverse climatic conditionsand is not destroyed by cattle andsheep. The plant can grow ondegraded land without much care

and whole plant is used for medicine.The plant leaves are used ashousehold medicine by locals duringcold and cough in winter months.Introduction in the area will certainlyhelp in restoring this highly valuablemedicinal plant back to nature in theregion.

Withania somnifera : Ashwagadhahas been selected for its highmedicinal properties, and availabilityin the wild locally and its highlyremunerative returns. The best qualityAshwagadha (with low fibre content)comes from the adjoining regions ofMadhya Pradesh. This plant alsoknown as Indian �Zing seng� for itsaphrodisiac properties and growswell in the adjoining scrubland. Thelack of knowledge and informationabout the benefits of this plant mayhave not encouraged the farmers forundertaking such cultivation. Weexpect good result derived from thisplant, as the soil conditions ofMadhya Pradesh, the major supplierof Ashwagandha and present projectsite resemble each other.

Aloe vera : Locally known asKorphad, the plant is gainingpopularity among the farmers due toits high demand in cosmetics andmedicines in recent years. Aloe vera

is ideal for this region due to itsnature to grow well in semi-aridconditions. The plant can be used bythe farmers as a marker, dividerhedge between two plots or along thebunds. It can be used for curing coldand cough, gastrointestinal ailmentsand increasing lactation. Thepresence of other succulents in theregion is one of the regions foradopting this plant.

Boerhaavia diffusa: The Punarnavaplant is seen growing wild on thescrublands in the region. The mainpurpose of introducing this plant onfarmers� land is to ensure regularavailability to the users. It has beenobserved that the plant starts wiltingafter two three months from the daythe rainy season is over andresurfaces itself on the advent of thenext rainy season. Due to its diuretic


quality the demand for plant isgrowing and cultivation seems theonly viable option for maintainingregular supply of fresh material to theayurvedic practitioners.

Asparagus racemosa: Satavari isthe local name of Asparagus which isfamous for its medicinal propertiesand food value. The new offshootsare used for making soup etc. of highnutritious value by most of the qualityrestaurants and hotels, therebyproviding better returns to thesuppliers. The plant is used byayurvedic practitioners for variouspurposes and always remains in shortsupply. The scrubland habitat androcky mountainous terrain seems veryideal for adopting large-scalecultivation of Asparagus. Theproximity to the country�s large townslike Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad andNasik could help farmers to get goodreturns on their produce. This willalso help to reduce pressure on thedestruction of the Asparagus plant innature, particularly in Himalayan

region where Asparagus grows wellon rocky beds and terrains.

Convolvulus sps. : Shankhpuspi orConvovulus is a high demand plantgrowing in wild. The plant is aseasonal herb that survives for aduration of about a month or soduring late rainy season or earlyautumn. The plant spreads onscrubland, which has high murrumcontent in it. The forest and adjoiningdegraded land forms an ideal habitatfor the growth of Convovulus in thisregion. The plant is used as nervinetonic and memory enricher by manyof the ayurvedic manufacturers. Theshort supply and seasonal nature ofplants is responsible for use of a lotof fake plants as substitute toShankhpuspi. Through the effort ofcultivation of Shankhpuspi the topsoil of the land on which it iscultivated can be protected.

Bryophyllum sps: Known locally asPanphuti, the plant is a succulentgrowing well both on dry and humid

Aloe Vera in cultivation in project location


conditions. The juicy leaves arebeing used in traditional medicinesfor dissolving stones, curing liver andspleen ailments etc. It is a rapidvegetative multiplier.

Training and orientation programmesare being conducted simultaneouslywith cultivation. The Project teamvisited other villages in thesurrounding area for attending JFMmeetings and to address publicgatherings to propagate the concept.Training is being imparted to villagersat site on raising of saplings throughnursery development work. Themotivation of rural youth has been alearning experience. A group ofstudents from local college, known as�College Kumars� had come forwardvolunteering themselves forplantation and post-plantation careworks. The �College Kumars� hadagreed to work on two days a weekbasis during which they will beprovided with basic meal.

Closer interaction with villagershelped in getting their views on thesubject and also to inculcate interestin their mind. A workshop wasorganised in the initial months,attended by large number of villagersand students. Similar types ofinteractions were arranged indifferent locations during the year forpropagating the concept. The largedemand of villagers for Citronellaplanting material has been met fromthe sample plot raised at the siteduring the year. This acts as abarometer for popularity of theconcept.

Benefits Expected from

the Project

� It will help make use ofdegraded, unutilized land, lyingidle.

� The economic benefits aregood since the speciesselected are not very new tofarmers and seed material isalso easily available.

� A large number of plants couldbe used locally by the villagersin crude forms as vegetablemedicine or fruits.

� It will help to reduce thedependence on other preciousresources like water, electricityetc. as most of the plants cangrow in hard/difficult conditionsprevailing in the region.

� It will help to generateawareness on conservation ofmedicinal plants towardsmedicinal plants amongstlocals particularly within thefarmers who could helppreventing destruction of suchspecies from the wild.

� It will also act as a modelproject for other farmers of theregion who would undertake

School children were involved in medicinal plants cultivation


similar projects of economicallyimportant nature in theirspecific regions.

� Students of the area can getbenefited in terms ofknowledge and opt for asuitable plant-based career.

� It will help in maintaining arelationship between WWF-India and villagers, particularlyfrom those villages where JFMis being implemented. It isheartening to note that JFM hasbecome a movement today byspreading its wings in morethan 150 villages within a shortspan of three years from amodest number of approximate30. The government�s efforts inthis regard are commendable.

� WWF-India can consider settingup of similar projects coveringfodder species, fuel wood andtimber species, species for

crafts and cottage industry inother villages depending onedaphic factors and geo-climatic conditions.

� The project gives an idea ofworking jointly and sets newkind of examples.

� All the villages, if they form aco-operative body(Maharashtra is famous for itsco-operative movement) anumber of satellite projects canbe set-up with their joint effortsof same nature.

� Such involvement of villagers inundertaking cultivation projectsin different locations can helpin maintaining the bio-diversityof the region, which isotherwise getting affected dueto large scale conversion ofland for agriculture.

Medicinal plants in the project area at the end of project period


Conclusion &

Recommendations

Based on the work carried out at thesite, it has been observed that certainspecies out of the selected ones haveshown very encouraging resultswhereas a few others, despite beinglocal species could not give similarkind of results on cultivation. Theirgrowth is better in wild and effortshould be made to increase thepopulation density of such plants inwild, protection of their habitats,spreading awareness about their use,etc. So recommendations are asfollows:

1. Farmers should be

encouraged to undertake

cultivation of the following

species on large scale

a. Emblica officinalis (Amla). Asan intercrop in their orchardsalong the margins of plotsand fallow land.

b. Aloe vera (Korphad). Alongthe boundaries ofagricultural fields aroundroadsides and villagepathways on marginal anddegraded land.

c. Caesalpinia cristata

(Sagargota). Along theboundaries of the village asa strong hedge on ravines,and along the nallas.

d. Cymbopogon sps. (Lemongrass). Along the irrigationchannels to act as a soilbinder, on slopes of terracedplots, on the margins ofhorticultural plots andaround residential areas onfallow land.

e. Asparagus racemosa

(Satavari). On degraded,sloppy or community land,on agricultural plots on amass scale along themargins of horticulturalplots.

f. Adhatoda vasica (Adulsa).Along the community landand village boundary ashedge plant, aroundresidential locations andhorticultural plots.

g. Withania somnifera

(Ashwagandha). Ondegraded community land,along the hedges of privateagri-horticultural plots.

h. Aegle marmelos (Bel). Onopen degraded communityland around religious places,community land andresidential locations. Well todo farmers can also think ofundertaking mass cultivationas horticulture. Due to a longgestation period the yield isexpected only after 6-7years.

2. The following species are notvery ideal for plantation due totheir presence in the wild anddifficulties faced in cultivationunder controlled conditions.

a. Convovulus sps.(Shankhpuspi)

b. Boerhaavia diffusa

(Punarnava or CommonHogweed)

c. Bryophyllum sp. (Panphuti)

3. Consultations among JFMcommittees and villagersshould be held beforeundertaking any plantationactivity by individual farmers orvillagers in groups to avoidduplication or massmultiplication of similar works,resulting in a glut of a particularplant.

4. Well-organized marketingstrategies under the co-operative umbrella may helpfarmers get better returns andprotect them from greedymiddlemen.


5. Efforts could be made forsetting up a small scaleprocessing units for extractionof certain secondary productsor by-poducts from plants. Richfarmers can come forward tosupport such efforts.

6. Publicity given via media andlocal residents travellingoutside the village can promotethe efforts of the villagers.

7. Certain cottage industries likejuice and pickle making,powdering and packaging ofherbs could be set up bywomen groups belonging to thetribal and non-tribals as well.

Market Survey of

Medicinal Plants

cultivated at Ahwati

The first question asked by thevillagers of Ahwati and adjoiningareas working on JFM project wasrelated to the marketing of theirproduce. The queries include, whythe cultivation of these species, whowill buy them, how to process theproduct, marketing techniques, theprevailing market rates and thestorage of raw material in adverseconditions. The villagers who areused to grow mostly agri-horticulturalcrops know the difficulty of marketingtheir produce and about the methodsto overcome such situations. They donot want to deviate from thetraditional crops they grow due tofear of passing throughuncontrollable experiences of thestages associated with difficulties inthe market like dealing with themiddle man, recovery of the salesproceeds, etc. We thought it prudentto have a general survey for arrivingat answers to some of the basicproblems associated with thesubject. It will not only enable us toconvince the villagers from this

region to opt for cultivation ofmedicinal plants but as well help inmarketing the produce. Keeping inmind the location of the project site,we have decided to identify some ofthe major centres for herbal tradinglike Nasik, Pune, Mumbai, Valsad,Surat and Indore. These aretraditionally known places forconsumption and utilization of herbalproducts. The criteria adopted fordetermining the survey technique wasalso based on the locations. Thefollowing considerations were takeninto account before gatheringinformation:

i) The nature and availability ofthe product

ii) Cyclic fluctuations in thedemand / supply ratio,consumption pattern andprices

It was decided not to go to anychemical analysis of the productmainly due to the following reasons:

1. The users of the raw materialand traders still believe in thetraditional methods of materialidentification, quality checkingand pricing.

2. Non-availability of scientificdata available with theconsumers.

3. Due to a strong belief on theexisting system of determiningthe prices. So far the buyershad been dealing with thesuppliers/collectors mostlycoming from rural areas withtheir produce collected fromthe wild.

4. Most of the plant products areused in ayurvedic system ofmedicine, which works on thebasis of symptoms and theircausative.


Case Study 4. Evaluation

of ongoing Joint Forest

Management (JFM) by

using criteria and

indicators developed by

local communities at

village Ahwati in Nasik

District

Introduction

Joint Forest Management hasbecome popular concept in variousparts of the country. Under thescheme the villagers come togetherand join hands with the StateGovernment, particularly with theForest Department and share theresponsibility of protection of forestsaround their locality. Generally avillage unit forms a JFM Committeewith all the residents of the village asits members. The local forest officer,mostly Range Forest Officer (RFO)acts as the co-ordinator betweenGovernment and local community.He also works as Chairman of thevillage level JFM Committee which isformed in consultation with thevillagers and which have an approvalof Divisional Forest Officer (DFO).Divisional Forest Officer is the mainfunctionary for a particular forestdivision.

Evaluation exercise in

village Ahwati

In Nasik District of Maharashtravillagers have opted for JFM in a bigway which is evident from the factthat within a span of four years thenumber of JFM committees haveexceeded 200 from just 25 initially.The reasons for this popularity couldbe many but one cannot deny thefact that most of the villagers aretoday enthusiastic aboutconservation work and know the needof such activity. Most of the villagersin the region are in the business ofagriculture, which is directlydependent on water. The increase inoutput in recent years fromagriculture has prompted most of thefarmers to undertake the profession

in a more scientific way by adoptingmore advance and remunerativetechnologies like drip irrigation,organic farming, cultivation ofvegetables during unusual seasonand marketing of their produceaccordingly. Education has alsoplayed a major role in spreadingawareness about the sustainable andjudicious use of water and naturalresources. Villagers have startedrealising the importance of forestsand vegetation in water retention, soilconservation and temperatureregulation in the region. Sometimethe incentives given by the forestdepartment at the time of formingJFM Committee like providingdrinking water, construction of aCommunity Hall, laying of concreteroads, repair of school buildings playdetermining role for formation of JFMCommittee in a village. A healthycompetitive feeling amongst thevillages has also helped in expansionof JFM movement in the region.Ahwati is one such village, which hasset example for others in the field offorest protection, equitable use ofnatural resources and eradication ofsocial evils. With the extension ofJFM formation in the adjoining areasthe pressure on government officialshave increased in last few years. Withthe same staff strength and financialresources, the department has tocater to the needs of many timesmore new entrants.

WWF-India got involved in themovement about four years backwhen it came to know about the goodwork being done under JFM. Some ofthe WWF-India officials from Delhiand Mumbai visited the site to getfirst hand information on the conceptand its implementation. Theexperience was so encouraging thatthe organisation felt it prudent to beassociated with the villagersmovement in whatever little way itwas possible. One such activityincluded involvement in evaluation ofthe outcome of JFM using criteriaindicators. A special format was usedto record the findings from the site.While applying the format it wasobserved that many of the aspects


could not get revealed in our firsteffort. So it was deided to repeat theexercise in future in differentlocations using modified versions ofthe format coupled with personalinteractions with the villagers. Thelocations were selected from distantplaces not having similar kinds ofgeographic and social conditions.The three sites selected forapplication of criteria and indicators(C/I) were Ahwati, Ratir andChinchwah. Ahwati was selected forthree reasons � One because it was apioneer in this field, second becausethe earlier pilot exercise was donehere under the aegis of the WorldBank-WWF Alliance and third aproject on medicinal plantscultivation was undertaken in thisvillage (previous case study). Ratirwas selected because of a variety ofreasons including conflict amongstthe villagers over the use of forestparticularly the grazing of largenumber of sheep and goats reared bythe villagers. Chinchwah is a villagewhere the community forests havebeen regenerated so well that wildlifehas started inhabiting the site. Alarge number of black bucks, barkingdeers roam freely the opengrasslands of Chinchwah through outthe year. The vegetation type ofChinchwah also differs from otherparts of the district.

The approach towards developmentof C/I was similar to one developed invillage Kunbar in Gujarat (Thisreport). For true analysis andrevelations people from differentsegments of society in each of C/Imeetings were invited. In the firstmeeting college students wereinvolved who had been given a taskof carrying out a projectindependently on studying the statusof local resources within theirparticular regions. A joint interactionsession was organised by involvingpeople of student community, villagecommunity and from management �i.e. the office bearers of JFM andgovernment officials. Similarexperiments were done in two othersessions by involving people from

different groups. The point wiseanalysis of C/I format reveal the factsas under:

Ecological � things have improvedsince the inception of JFMparticularly in the area of speciesregeneration and forest cover,biodiversity, increasing biomas andretention of soil humus and longevityof water cycle.

Economic � the economy of thevillagers, particularly activities relatedto agriculture have improved. Onaccount of an increase in cultivablearea, availability of more water, betteryield and self-dependence forfinance. The non-agriculturalpopulation benefited in the processby way of creation of more labourjobs, marketing activities,transportation works, etc. Thecommon man from poor strata ofsociety benefited due to availability ofplenty of food locally. Forestsproduce increased mainly in the areaof grass, fodder and fruit species likecustard apple, etc. Not much efforthas been made to tap the potential ofgrasslands development andincrease in fodder volume. Newavenues of employment have beencreated only in agriculture or relatedfield but the increase in moneyaccumulation through agriculturemight result into creation of newemployment opportunities by thelocal entrepreneur.

Institutional � JFM has definitelyhelped in bringing individuals anddifferent communities with similarinterests together. Collective decisionmaking, open and activeparticipation, gender equality,conflict management andrepresentation at higher level areroutine and normal activity in most ofthe villages within the region.

Social � JFM has made two kinds ofimpact on the social sector within thecommunity. Despite the claims madeby pro JFM one can see the riftbetween sheep grazers, goat rearersand agricultural farmers, the former


two being on one side conflicting withothers. The respect that theleadership of JFM commands withinthe society has helped to act as amotivating factor for lesser-knowninterested young people. In manycases despite hidden resentmentwithin their heart, it is observed thatsheep and goat rearers also join theirrivals in protection of forests fromforest fires and poachers.

Some of the salient

features of the outcome

of the workshops and

interactive sessions held

in different locations

It was observed that the participants,mostly affiliated to the institution ofJFM were enthusiastic with theresponsibility they have undertaken.A great amount of cooperation couldbe seen among the villagers towardsprotection of forest wealth in differentvillages and both independently andjointly. Some of the main pointsbrought out in the workshop include:

1. Most of the villagers had amajor problem of protecting theforest from cattle and sheepgrazers.

2. Although the efforts of forestdepartment were appreciatedthey were however, foundinadequate as far protection isconcerned.

3. Villagers wanted funds forwatch keeping and security oftheir protected areas.

4. Villagers are keen to makemaximum use of their resourcesby marketing them throughproper network channels and ina more professional manner.

5. Villagers appreciate the effortof coordinating agencies likeWWF-India, Forest Departmentand District Administration asthese agencies act as aconnecting link between two or

more group of villagers.

6. The value addition idea forvarious products for harnessingbetter price realization andsustainable use of resourcesprofounded by WWF-India wasappreciated by most of theparticipants.

7. Some of the villagers agreed toexchange their views, technologyand plant and other material witheach other for maintaining equi-librium within society.

8. Villagers were willing tocontribute towards forestregeneration and eco-development funds if the needarose. The suggestion given tothem was to get united andform a taluka or regional levelbody in the line of farmers� co-operative society. Membersalso agreed to prepare achecklist of progressive farmersbelonging to different villagesso that in case of anyemergency requests forfinancial support they would beable to help them in accor-dance with their capability.

9. Many of the JFM members wereperturbed about the non-serious attitude of governmentofficials, especially against thecomplaints lodged by them forlegal grazing and grass cutting.The divide between two typesof opinion holders � i) work inharmonious manner with thegraziers and try to convincethem through motivation andinspiration and ii) deal with thegraziers firmly by taking sternaction against them andcomplaining to the adminis-tration, is evident in the region.

10. Despite all the differenceswithin forest protectors anddestroyers, a desire to find along term permanent solutionprevails in the minds of boththe groups.


11. A regular and constantinteraction with the villagersrepresenting all the groups willcertainly help to create aconducive environment forforest protection through JFM.

12. As mentioned the main interestof the farmers is to enhance theagro-horticultural potential ofthe land, there is increasingpressure on the land and othernatural resources throughconversion of non-agriculturalland into agricultural plots. Theresults are :

a. Rapid growth in the areaunder cultivation.

b. Increase in number of openwells and water holes.

c. Reduction in diversity ofplants in nature in a village.

d. Impact of chemicals andpesticides used in agricul-ture on faunal diversityparticularly the minor andinvertebrate species.

Assessment and

Recommendation

1. Continuation of massmobilization programme formaintaining the enthusiasm ofvillagers.

2. A proper mix of advancedtechnology and latestachievements in the area ofplant material used with regardto the local condition andsocio-agricultural status of theregion reaped better resultsfrom degraded and agriculturalland without much change inthe use of natural resources.Value addition with herbalformulations and water savingtechniques on the locallyavailable species wasbeneficial for both � the farmersand nature.

3. Involvement of local youth inlocal area resourcemanagement along with theelders will help sustainabledevelopment of the region.


Kerala

Case Study 5.

Strengthening the

capacity of the Vana

Samraksana Samithies

(VSS) in South Western

Ghats - Villages

Pottamavu & Vanchiyode

Introduction

Kerala has a historical legacy offorest management from as early asthe 19th century. Forests constituteabout 9% of the land in Kerala,making it one of the greener states inIndia. The major part of Kerala lies inthe south-western ghats one of thebiodiversity hot spots of the world.

In Kerala, where Participatory ForestManagement took some time to findits moorings, the pace has picked upover the years and there are manyexcellent examples of well-managed

PFM initiatives. More than 400 ForestProtection Committees (VanaSamrakshana Samithies) have beenestablished in the state. VSS's are oftwo types - (a) Tribal VSS, comprisingof tribal population entirelydependent on the forests (b) FringeArea VSS, where tribals have accessto benefits from resources other thanforests. Two villages Vanchiyode andPottamavu near Thiruvananthapuramrepresent the Tribal and Fringe AreaVSS respectively.

The NTFPs have played a significantrole in the livelihood of localcommunities dependent on forestresources. Nationally more than 50%of the Forest Revenue and about 70%of Forest Export Revenue comes fromNWFP mostly in unprocessed andraw form. In the present project anattempt has been made to strengthenthe capacity of two VSS throughdevelopment of an action plan forNTFPs collection primarily, honey,medicinal plants, bamboo and reeds.

Map : Villages Vanchiyode (Kollam District) and Pottamavu (Thiruvananthapuram Distict), Kerala


Objectives

The objectives of the project were:

1. Preparation of an Action plan forNTFP collection at Vanchiyode forhoney, medicinal plant, bamboo andreeds as measure for strengtheningthe capacity of the VanaSamrakshana Samithy (VSS) atVanchiyode and Pottamavu.

2. Strengthen Inter VSS as well asIntra VSS relationship throughcapacity building initiatives in bothtypes of VSS.

Rationale of the Study

The present project of WWF-India is afollow up of an earlier effort tounderstanding the status andchallenges related to JFM in the statewith support from InternationalInstitute from Environment andDevelopment (IIED), UK. It wasrealized that forest protectioncommittees operational under JFMneed capacity building. This wouldnot happen unless the issue oflivelihood is addressed. The rationalebehind undertaking the presentproject is not only to develop areplicable model for theestablishment of better health amongthe NTFP management institutionsbut also for strengthening the

capacity of the VSS to take up theleadership in this direction.

A Background to

Participatory Forest

Management in Kerala

There has been a paradigm shift inthe overall management of forests bythe Forest Department (FD) of Kerala.From basically a management modewith emphasis on administering fromthe top, the overall thinking hasslowly started moving towardsmanagement by partnership withpeople. The goals of ParticipatoryForest Management (PFM) initiallyfaced obstacles due to unwillingnessof the FD personnel to give up powerand its corollary benefits. With timethe government policies on forestmanagement got firm on theadaptation of PFM as the morefeasible option towards ensuringsustainability and long termconservation of forests.

The process though took time to takeroot in Kerala, has with thecommitted efforts of a few forestofficials and support of thegovernment progressed on a firmfooting and now has 329 VanaSamrakshana Samithies covering aforest area of 165,440 ha under theJFM.

Status of PFM in Kerala as on 31.08.2004

S. No Name of Circle No. of VSSs Total forest area Area covered

in the circle under JFM (ha)

1 North 82 115578.17 28464.00

2 Eastern 77 188795.49 42807.84

3 Central 47 151498.78 57256.80

4 High Range 45 104274.00 15413.07

5 South 78 241564.70 21499.00

TOTAL 329 801711.14 165440.71

Source : Department of Forests, Govt. of Kerala


A Description of the

Project Locations

The Vana Samrakshana Samithies ofthe two villages Vanchiyode andPottamavu were among the first to beestablished in their respectivecategory in the state.

Vanchiyode (A Fringe

Area VSS)

Vanchiyode lies 8°52' and 9°7�latitude and 76°35' and 77°6' eastlongitude in the Anchal Range inPunalur Forest Division. The totalPunalur Forest Division ReserveForest consists of an area of 275.55sq. km. Of this the Vanchiyode VanaSamrakshana Samithy manages 250ha of forests. The VSS was formed inSeptember 1999.

These forests cover the outer foothillsof the Western Ghats. As is commonin the Western Ghats, the underlyingrocks are metamorphic consisting ofcharnockites and other gneisses. Themajor type of soil found in most ofthe areas is red loamy, which is richin minerals. Alluvial soil is found inriverbanks and valleys. Generally thesoils are well drained. The area has atropical climate. The forests of thisarea are drained by the tributaries ofKallada and Ithikkara rivers. Thestreams have narrowed down largelydue to the large-scale clearance offorests in the past and in some casesthe rivers have even changed coursedue to silting. Though the area isblessed with adequate rain-fed riversystem there is an acute shortage ofwater in the low country during peaksummer.

The tribes inhabiting Vanchiyode areKanikkars. There are altogethereleven settlements in Anchal Rangeof which Vanchiyode is one of them.Vanchiyode project area consists offour enclosures or settlements;Vanchiyode (there is a settlement bythat name itself) Kuruvikkadu,Nedumapacha and Venkodu. Of thisthe Vanchiyode enclosure consists oftribals exclusively and is generally inForest Department parlance termed

as 'Hill Men Settlement' whereas theremaining three are settlers fromother places who have been living inthis area since the last forty-fiftyyears.

Prominent species in the semi-evergreen and deciduous forest typesinclude: Terminalia paniculata,

Dillinea pentagyna, Pterocarpus

marsupium, Terminalia crenulata,

Mahogany, Anjily, Kadamaram, Percia

macrantha, Terminalia bellerica, Vitex

altissima, Aporusa lyndlyana, Pathiry,

Holygarna arnottiana, Cinnamomum

malabariuim, Mangifera indica,

Venkotta, Knema attennuta, Carrya

arborea.

Birds like Malabar grey hornbill, Greyjungle fowl, Hill mynah, Blossomheaded parakeet, Blue wingedparakeets, and animals like Sambar,Barking deer, Bonnet macaque,Monitor lizard, Porcupine, Malabarflying squirrel, Civet cats etc arefound in the forests.

The inhabitants are engaged inagriculture, which includes rubber,pepper, banana, tapioca, rice andcoconut. In the initial stages theforest area was exploited and thepeople encroached upon forestlandand converted it for agriculturalpurposes. The forest is being utilizedbesides for NTFP, for firewoodcollection, fodder collection, drinkingwater, wood for building, illicit liquorbrewing, poaching and sand mining.The forests here also provide labourto the people in the VSS.

Land use Pattern

Vanchiyode has a total population of448 persons and 124 families residein this village. The first micro plan forthe VSS was prepared during 1998. Amemorandum of understandingbetween the JFM committee and theforest department was signed onDecember 29, 1999.

The microplan drawn in 1999 forimplementation of JFM was notcomprehensive enough forundertaking activities. With the


initiative of the forest department andWWF-India, a new microplan for theperiod 2003 - 2008 was prepared toovercome the anomalies in of the firstmicroplan. Participatory RuralAppraisal for the same wasconducted in September 2003.

Major Activities of the

VSS prior to the

implementation of the

project:

� The road from Sivan Mukku toVengode was made motorable.

� Check-dam made in Vanchiyode.

� Ten wells were dug in theAdivasi area.

� Arrangements made for theinstallation of smokelesschulhas in the tribal hamlet.

� Medicinal plant nursery for 5 haraised

Current Status

1. The number of people visiting theforests for NTFP collection hasreduced. Being on the fringe theVSS are a t t rac ted to moreeconomically beneficial activitieslike the modern day businessprospects. The NTFP collectionis slowly getting centered on thetribals (early settlers).

2. About 20 people collect honeyin Vanchiyode who are primarilytribal.

3. The quantity of honey collectedhas been reducing over theyears. In the years 2002, 2003and 2004 it was 350 kg, 250 kgand 300 kg respectively.

The composition of the membership of Vanchiyode VSS

N Place Families Categories Nos.

a. Vanchiyode 62 Scheduled Tribe 54

Others 8

b. Venkodu 36 Scheduled Caste 20

Other 16

c. Nedumpacha 15 Scheduled Caste 3

Others 12

d. Kuruvikkadu 9 Others 9

122 122

Source : Department of Forests, Govt. of Kerala

LAND USE PATTERN

72.50%

13%

5.40%

1.63%

1.60%4% 2.25%

Forest

Rubber Plantations

Pepper

Paddy Fields


4. The honey collected is sold toprivate parties outside and notgenerally to the society formedby the tribals at a cost of Rs. 60per 50 ml.

5. Few people had receivedtraining for bee keeping aboutthirteen years back from theforest department.

6. Due to mass flowering, about50 ha of reed plantation waslost.

7. There is scope for dairying asVanchiyode generates 100 ltrsof milk daily.

The VSS lies near the TrivandrumShencottah Road and its proximity tothe road is an added incentive forsupporting illegal logging and illicitliquor manufacturing. This also givesaccess to outsiders for enteringVanchiyode for collection of grass,small branches of trees and grazingdomestic animals.

The community here isheterogeneous in composition andquite affected by the urbanizationprocess. This in turn gives rise to thepossibility of exploiting the forests forfinancial benefits. With an area of 200ha of forests in and around theinhabited area the chances for thesame is very high. The NTFP'scollected from the forests were notmarketed efficiently and a preliminarydiscussion indicated that though theVSS was established long back, therewas absolute lack of clarity in takingthe institution forward.

Rise in demand of ayurvedicmedicines and forest-related producefor health has directly affected thequantum of collection of NTFP's fromthe area. This in turn has affected themethods of collection andencouraged unsustainable collectionpractices leading to a depletion ofmany plants once consideredcommon in this area. The lure ofmoney has infiltrated in to Pottamavualso.

The influence of the TribalCooperative Society (TCS) inmarketing activities is yet anotherimportant factor that has resulted inunsustainable collection anddegradation of habitat. In earliertimes the NTFP's collection had to becarried as a head load to places ofmarketing. But now with theestablishment of marketing agencieslike TCS this has changed. They needto supply the materials to thecollection centers only. To economizethe cost, TCS prefer maximumcollection of NTFPs to load thevehicle fully for reducing the carryingexpense. This leads to unsustainablecollection of NTFP.

Initially only the people living inPottamavu hamlet went for collectionwithin the forests but gradually withthe opening of the forest for outsidersand the scheduled caste groupsliving nearby, all sustainablecollection practices were replaced byunsustainable methods and graduallythese practices got transferred to thePottamavu inhabitants as well.

Pottamavu

Pottamavu comes in the SouthernCircle under the Trivandrum Forestdivision in Kulathupuzha range. Thisis a tribal hamlet with the boundariesconstituted in the east byPandimotta, south by Kaarumpuram,Adiparamba in Palode range & westby Kadukkida Raod, Irupathadikunnu,Thavalappara and north by ShendurniWildlife Sanctuary. It is the catchmentarea for the Kallada river. Thetributaries for these rivers are theSankhili, Vellamalayar, Chinikkalar,Kudukkida, Kunkumala andIdukkumpara rivers. There are morethan 12 smaller rivers and severalstreams arising from these rivers.Pottamavu receives 2700 mm ofrainfall. The area gets ample rainfallduring June, July and August.

The Pottamavu Tribal VanaSamrakshana Samithi established in2001 has been allotted a total area of1200 ha for forest conservation aswell as for collection of NTFP. They


are a primarily NTFP dependentcommunity. Fifty-six families in thehamlet have been allotted 33 ha ofland on right of usage basis. Thoughthey have right of occupancy they arenot authorized to sell the land. Theright of use the basis land and theforestland has been clearlydemarcated using jandas.

The people living in this are all forestdependent and make a living out ofcollection of NTFPs and forestryrelated work that comes up oftenrelated to the plantations. Some ofthem are also engaged in makingproducts out of reeds and canebesides engaging in regular labourlike masonary, tailoring, carpentery,there are some drivers too.

Due to uncertainity in employment, aswell as the low margin received forthe NTFP many of the inhabitants arein debt traps.

In the land is that is allotted to themon usage basis (no ownership) thecommunity has raised crops like

tapioca, pepper, banana, yam,ginger, coconut, rubber plantationsfor which assistance was provided bythe rubber board. Cashew plantationsare seen in patches in areasadjoining these habitations.

Villagers at Pottamavu facedifficulties during NTFP collection.They remain at times for more than10 to 15 days inside the forest duringcollection time. And to sustain themduring this period they carry food,water and other necessary items. Thecollections are made on seasonalbasis as each NTFP had a particularseason for collection. For e.g. honeyis generally collected between Marchand April. The process of collection iswrought with danger as they wouldface wild animals at night. Theyprotect themselves from honey-beestings which can sometimes bedangerous enough resulting in deatheven by chewing Maramanjal(Coccineum fenestratum) andexhaling the breath. The smell ofmaramanjal is said to ward off thehoney-bees making it easier for them

Resource Map developed through participatory process in Pottamavu


to collect honey. The peoplegenerally collect around 5 - 8 kgsfrom a single beehive and per kg theycost around Rs. 55.

Similarly the collectors have to godeep within the forest for collecting'Kunthirikkam' (Canarium strictum).These are available in the form of waxin the trees. The value ofKunthirikkam is based on its quality.Another very important NTFP is themaramanjal (Coccineum

fenestratum). As it is a vine likecreeper its harvesting involves a lot ofeffort. The other major NTFPs likecardamom, poovanathiri and kasturi

manjal (Curcuma aromatica) arerelatively easy to harvest and hencemostly done by women of the Oooru(hamlet). These NTFPs collected arethen supplied to the TribalCooperative society which has anoffice within the hamlet itself. Fourwatch women at the village entrancekeep a record of the quantum ofNTFP extracted from the forests.

Though there are no serious mananimal conflict in this area the hamletis not free from destruction to cropsby wild life attacks mainly byelephants, wild boar and monkeys.This has been a major reason thathas discouraged many people fromengaging in agriculture in the oneacre land which is given to each ofthem on lease.

The land holding varies between one- five acre per family. Even thoughthe government has not handed overownership of the land to the tribals,each family is given one acre of landon lease where they can cultivate andreap the produce. They mostlycultivate agricultural products liketapioca, banana, pepper, rubber etc.

The roads are not maintained welland makes transportation through thearea difficult especially during themonsoons. There is bus service fromthe nearby Palode depot (placeswhere bus services start and end)twice a day. Similarly the hopes ofelectrification of the houses in the

hamlet also remains unfulfilled eventhough the electric lines have beendrawn till the entrance of the hamlet.It just needs to be extended a littlefurther in to the village to makeelectricity accessible to the villagersthere. It is quite ironical that thevillagers hardly show any interest inensuring that they get electricity eventhough it has reached the thresholdof the hamlet.

The most educated person in thevillage is a tenth grade pass, Ms. Satihaving completed the TeachersTraining Course. Women in thecommunity were found to be moreprogressive than their malecounterparts.

In the past the village received helpand support of a MSS church. A self-help group 'Stree Shakti' wasestablished here with an initialsupport of Rs. 6000 by the church.The SHG functioned well in the initialstages but is defunct now. Thechurch is also not in operation atpresent.

Another institution working in the areais the Pottamavu Cooperative Societyregionally termed as PottamavuSahakarana Sangh or TribalCooperative Society (TCS). This tribalcooperative society has beenestablished for buying and selling ofNTFPs collected from the forests inPottamavu. They procure around 11NTFP products out of the total of 32NTFPs available here. Theheadquarters of this federation is atPeroorkada in Trivandrum. There is aschool run by DPEP for childrenabove five years up to the 4thstandard however, only a few childrenare presently enrolled. An'Anganvady' in the village focusesattention on the education and healthof both mother and child.

People are not conscious of healthand sanitation. They suffer fromelephantiasis which is not curable,the hamlet does not take too muchinterest to ward it off for futuregenerations either.


The VSS consists of the Kani tribes,Muslims, the Ezhavas and Nairs.Various members of the VSS are ofthe opinion that Kani group being atribal community recives a lot ofprivileges from the Government. TheKanikkars on the other hand are ofthe view that they are not party tomany of the activities of the VSS. Thissituation needs to be addressed withearnestness as it could pave the wayfor a polarization amongst themembers.

Activities undertaken

under the project and

impacts at Vanchiyode

and Pottamavu

As the existing microplan wasinsufficient in terms ofimplementation of various activitiesand the gaps in information neededto obtain a complete view of theVanchiyode VSS, it was felt that onlya new microplan would be able tohelp serve the purpose. Hence it wasdecided to call all the members and

prepare a new microplan usingParticipatory Rural Appraisaltechniques. The matter was broughtto the notice of senior officials of theForest Department including theDivisional Forest Officer whosupported the idea.

As Vanchiyode is a Fringe Area VSS,in addition to a location sketch, aSeasonality Calendar and a LabourCalendar was prepared. UnlikePottamavu the community atVanchiyode did not depend fully onforest resources for its subsistence.Hence it was necessary tocomplement the management planswith the labour and seasonal jobpossibilities in the area.

Both the VSS were studied for:

1. The composition of therespective VSS

2. Socio economic conditions

3. NTFP dependency andmanagement

The VSS at Pottamavu keep records the quantum of NTFPs extracted from their forest


The composition of the membershipof the Vana Samrakshana Samithy aswell as the socio-economicconditions and aspirations aredifferent from each other. As these inturn were dependent also on variousexternal compulsions like the extentto which urbanization has influencedthe respective VSS, the NTFPmanagement of the area, the literacylevel, the willingness to imbibe andaccept new ideas and processes,awareness of their rights,responsibilities and duties.

Socio-economic surveys wereundertaken through a participatoryrural appraisal conducted in both thevillages. The Executive Committeeand General Body meetings of theVSS were organized for collectinginformation on various aspects liketheir opinions on various institutionsoperating in the region and theirshortcomings.

Assessment of NTFP's

Through interaction with the ForestOfficials and local people, locationmaps were prepared and a detailedanalysis of NTFP Management wasundertaken. An inventory of theNTFPs were prepared and allpossible information of NTFPcollection by the community werecompiled through secondary andprimary data as well as interviewswith the members of the VanaSamrakshana Samithy. Preliminaryinformation of quantum of collectionof honey, medicinal plants, bambooand reeds as well as the locationsrich in these NTFPs were identified.Before conducting a detailed marketsurvey a prioritization of specieswhich were in demand for trade wasmade.

Two workshops were held with thewomen's self-help groups. As thewomen of the VSS seemed to bebetter disposed in the PFM activitiesthey were encouraged to take upactivities that would assist them toreduce their dependency on theforest for income and at the same

time help in forging better linksbetween the members of thecommunity. The women here wereencouraged to take initiatives to availthe benefits due to them fromgovernment agencies such as ZilaPanchayat etc. It was encouraging tonote that they were able to raiseissues with the Panchayat. A tribalself-help group got funding for raisinggoats within their area (Stall feedingonly).

Presently there are four self-helpgroups viz., Pournami, Kuruvikktadu,Aparna and Vanchiod in Vanchiyode.The SHGs were formed with the initialsupport of Rs. 3000 per SHG by theForest Department.

Strengthening Capacity

of Management of

NTFPs, Honey, Bamboo

and Reeds

Past system of collection of

NTFPs :

The system that was previouslyfollowed for the collection of MinorForest Produce was by contract. Inthis, the right to collect and removeall Minor Forest Produce items wassold in public auction for each rangeseparately, the period of contractbeing a year. Through this processthe private traders/contractors couldemploy the tribes to their advantage.The disadvantage of this system wasthat the contractors took undue profitby selling the produce at the ratesfixed by them. The department hadno control over the market and actualconsumers had to pay exorbitantrates to contractors for the producethey purchased. This system was invogue till 1979. A new system forselling the produce to Girijan ServiceCo-operative Societies at negotiablerates was introduced in 1978 as perG. O. (MS) No.99150/FM2/AD/Agri.(Forest Misc.). The rate fixed as perthis system was the average pricefetched during the last three auctionsplus 5%. As per this the right ofcollection of NTFPs from reserve


forests was given to TCS and theirmembers at a concessional rate. Thissystem continued till 1981.

Present system of collection

and removal of NWFP:

The system presently in vogue is toentrust the collection and removal ofNWFP to Girijan Co-operativeSocieties on realization of lease rent.

Institutional arrangement for

the collection and marketing

of NTFP in the State

As per an estimation by theScheduled Caste/Scheduled TribeFederation, NTFP worth Rs. 300 lakhper year can be collected from KeralaForests (Philip Thomas pers comm.)Out of the total number of TCS givenexclusive rights from 1978 onwards,only 35% were engaged in collectionand marketing of NTFP. TCS collects

the entire produce from the tribals.This is marketed through the KeralaState Federation of SC/STDevelopment Cooperatives. The pricegiven to the tribal against theproduce collected is as per the ratesfixed by the NTFP committeeconstituted for the purpose. The chiefconservator of forests is thechairperson of the committee. Thecommittee fixes the price forcollection charges of the produce,the procurement value, and salesvalue of the NTFPs.

As per this arrangement, 80% of therevenue is given as collectioncharges to tribals, 15% ascommission to TCS and 5% asoverhead charges to SC/STfederation. There are specific rolesassigned for the Forest Department,Tribal Department and CooperativeDepartment in the effectivefunctioning of the federation.

1. Chakkara- (Gymnema

kkolli sylvestre)

2. Jaathi (Myristica sps)

3. Kacholam (Kaempferia

galanga)

4. Karinochi (Vitex negundo)

5. Kasturi (Curcuma

Manjal aromatica)

6. Kurinji (Strobilanthus sps)

7. Kunthirikkam (Canarium

strictum)

8. Kurunthotty (Sida rhombifolia)

9. Malathangi (Cissampelos sps.)

10.Maramanjal (Coccineum

fenestratum)

11.Moovila - (Pseudarthria

viscida)

Major species collected as NTFPs are as follows:

12.Naruneendi (Hemidesmus

indicus)

13.Nelli (Emblica officinalis)

14.Nilappana (Curculago sps.)

15.Nila narakam (Naragamia allata)

16.Orila (Desmodium

gangeticum)

17.Ramacham (Veteverea sp.)

18.Sathavari (Asparagus

recemosus)

19.Valampiri (Helicteres isora)

Idampiri

20.Veppu - (Melia sp.)

21.Vayanap- (Cinnamomumpoovu malabarium)


Marketing Channel of NTFP

For the medicinal plants and herbsthe marketing channel for the SC/STFederation are the PharmaceuticalCorporation of Kerala Ltd (Ousadhi),other AMMU's (Ayurvedic MedicinalManufacturer Units) and the openmarket consisting of regular tradersboth in and outside Kerala. The tradein medicinal herbs is mostly throughprivate traders in and outside Kerala(68.2%). There are roughly 800AMMU�s in Kerala and theirrequirements are very high.

The right of collection of somespecified Minor Forest Products isgiven to Scheduled Caste andScheduled Tribe Co-operativeSocieties, as a part of welfaremeasures taken by the Governmentfor the upliftment of thesecommunities. This provides labourand a source of livelihood to thecommunities, dependent on forests.A meagre annual lease rent isrealized from the societies. The main

items collected are medicinal plants,bamboo and reeds and honey :

a. Medicinal Plants

An interesting feature in the presentmanagement process of themedicinal plants scenario is thatthere is a distinct inclination inreviving some of the traditionalconservation practices to preserveand conserve some of the medicinalplants. For e.g. the tribal communitydo not collect medicinal plants aftersunset. Some medicinal plants areharvested only at a specified time asper the traditional knowledgesystems. It is pertinent to mentionhere that many of the medicinalplants, species in Vanchiyode and toa greater extent in Pottamavu arelisted as endangered. Some of theendangered species are Padathali(Cyclea peltata), Chakkara kolli(Gymnema sylvestres) Kurinji(Strobilanthus sps). Karinochi (Vitex

negundo) Kacholam (Kaempferia

The quantum of NTFP extracted from forests in Vanchiyode every year :

SN NTFP Method of collection Quantity

1. Asparagus recemosus Plucking and digging from the soil 10 kg

2. Cinnamomum sp (flower) Cutting the branches 25 kg

3. Curcuma aromatica Plucking and digging out from the soil 10 kg

4. Cyclea peltata Plucking and digging out from the soil 10 kg

5. Embilica officinalis Plucking using poles and shaking the tree 50 kg

6. Gymnema sylvestris Plucking and digging out from the soil 10 kg

7. Honey Smoking for extraction of honey inside the hive... 100- 200 kg

8. Kodithuva Uprooting 5 kg

9. Myristica sp Plucking ( a very costly item) 5 kg

10. Sida rhombifolia Uprooting 15 Kg

11. Terminalia bellirica Collecting the fallen seeds, and sometimes plucking it 500 kg

12. Thatching Grass Cutting 4000 bundles

13. Wild Mango (Mangifera indica) Plucking by poles 500 Kg

14. Wild Pepper (Piper sps) Uprooting 10 Kg

Source : Microplan KFD 2001


galanga). Nila narakam (Naragamia

allata) Naruneendi (Hemidesmes

indicus) Sarpagandhi (Rauvolfia

serpentina).

Untill recently the tribals were luredby contractors to cut trees andexploit the forest for their own vestedinterest. But with the JFM practices inplace, villagers have come to realizethe need to conserve biodiversity. Anumber of awareness sessions havebeen conducted by WWF to ensureconservation of medicinal plants.They feel motivated to conserve,sometimes at a loss of economicbenefits. For e.g. they have after aworkshop on medicinal plants agreedto control the collection ofMaramanjal as well as some otherplants which they feel are not beingreplaced by regeneration like theyought to. There are 500 ha of GenePool area designated to be protectedfor conserving the plants forregeneration and furtherafforestation. Prospects and benefitsof a sustainably managed forest haveslowly instilled in them a sense ofsecurity and a hope for a future. Theyhave realized that although it is atough burden that they have been

called upon to carry in the name ofnature conservation they would loveto do it either because they are mostsuited to do it or because they areused to carrying burdens for othersfor years now. This is primarily theattitude that is seen in the case ofPottamavu whereas the Vanchiyodesegment is more a heterogeneousand only one out of the four groupenclosures there constitutes thetribals, the rest being settlers.

25 acres of land have been identifiedfor medicinal plant cultivation andinitiated as joint efforts by the VSS inVanchiyode. Whereas in Pottamavuthe available NTFP by itself is morethan enough for their managementand what is required is propermarketing and utilization plan toensure its sustainability.

At present 120 items of NWFP areallotted free to the societies onadvice from the Kerala StateFederation of Scheduled Castes andScheduled Tribe Development Co-operative Societies. Details of MinorProduce collected by societies during1982 to 1993 are given below :

Gene Pool area in Pottamavu


b. Bamboo & Reeds

Bamboos are commercially muchvalued for their manifold uses, in theindustrial sector for paper and pulp,in cottage industries for a variety ofpurposes and to meet domesticdemands.

Among the 21 genera and 136species of bamboos and seeds arerecorded in India, 8 genera and 24species are known to occur inpeninsular India. Of these, ninespecies of Ochlandra which arereeds, used in the pulp and paperindustry, and for mat and basketmaking in the traditional industrialsector in Kerala. Five species ofOchalandra, O. beddomei, O.

ebracteata, O. setigera, O.sivaairiana

and O. talbortiiare reported to beendagered and restricted indistribution'.

Earlier Working Plans of ForestDepartment prescribed theeradication of bamboo, identifying itmore as a weed in favour of teakplantations. However the use ofbamboo as an industrial raw materialhas entirely changed this picture.Kerala has a culture of plantingbamboos in homesteads.

The reed Ochlandra travancorica isthe most important associate of thetropical evergreen forests and attainsmaximum growth in the very wet typeof evergreen forests. In the evergreentypes, the most importantassociations of Ochlandra includeHopea parviflora, Cullenia exarillata,

Canarium strictum, Dipterocarpus

indicus, etc. Ochlandra being shadetolerant, grows well even under theclosed canopy of evergreen forests.The most common ones, are Otravancorica (Bedd.) Benth. exGamble and O scriptoria (Dennst.)C.E.C. Fisher, are widespread,extending throughout the WesternGhats. The small sized reedoccurring along most of the river andstream banks is O scriptoria. Speciessuch as O beddomei, Gamble, O

ebracteata Raizada & Chatterji and Osetigera Gamble are restricted to a

few localities only. (Muktesh, KFRI).

In general, the forest divisions ofMalayatoor, Ranni, Konni,Trivandrum, Thenmala and Punalurare comparatively rich in reedresource. A large portion of theridges forming the northern, easternand southern sides of theKulathupuzha valley (Vanchiyode one

of the project Area is in this forest

division) of Trivandrum division arecovered entirely by reeds.

Bamboo is a valuable fibre speciesfor paper and pulp industry and itsdemand is increasing day by day. Itforms fodder for some wild animalsas well. The raw material supply forpulp wood industry is dwindling anddependence of communities onforests has also been recognized asa major factor influencing themanagement strategy.

Collection and marketing

The bamboo and reeds available inVanchiyode have depletedconsiderably due to mass floweringwhich took place and the VSSmembers who made bamboo murrumand baskets now collect the samefrom the nearby locality. Pottamavusupplied bamboo and reeds toHindustan Newsprint Limited during1990-2001. The total quantityavailable per annum from theselocations is around four tons of reedsand five tons of bamboo. Out of thisthe local members utilize one ton ofbamboo and one and half tons(approx) of reed for their own needs,as well as for making small furnitureand baskets etc.

For fear of mass flowering, thebamboo is harvested completelybefore its maturity. This is possibly anunsustainable practice. Besides thiswhen contractors of major buyers likeHindustan Newsprint Limited etc.enter the plantation area forharvesting the reeds they seldomshow regard towards sustainability orconservation aspects of theresources.


c. Honey

Honey acts as both medicine andnatural insecticide. It is believed thatin areas where there is bee keepingthere is an increase in the agriculturalyield by 20%. Bee keeping ispracticed in large scale in Kerala.Kerala is one of the two states, whichwitnessed great advances in beekeeping as a cottage industry, theother state being Tamil Nadu. Untill1991, 70% of the total production ofhoney came from these two statestogether. But within two years as aresult of the virus attack of Thai sacbrood on honey bee colonies theproduction of honey fell to veryminimal/nominal not only in Keralaand Tamil Nadu but in many statesacross India. By the end of 1992almost 98% of the beehive colonieswere destroyed by this virus attack.

Natural Honey continues to becollected by people living within theforests as well as on the fringe areasof the forests. The former beingmostly tribals in some 400 tribalvillages across the state and thelatter being settlers living in the fringeareas of the forests.

Honey is sold primarily through theKerala State Federation of ScheduledCaste and Scheduled TribesCooperatives. In areas where VanaSamrakshan Samithies are presentthey also function as the marketingappendage for NTFP productsincluding honey.

Processing of honey is important forits preservation. Though honey is apure substance preservation of honeyneeds to be done scientifically toensure a longer shelf life. This is inorder to avoid fermentation of honeycaused by the osmophillic yeast cellsthat grow in the water content thatnaturally exists in honey. Based onthe content of water in honey it isdivided in to three categories. Thatwhich has 20% water content in it istermed as special grade, 20 -22% as�A� grade and 22% -25% as standardgrade.

As per an earlier study, 27.8 % of thecommunity in Vanchiyode is engagedin honey collection. A further study ofthe seasonality and labour calendarshows that there is a strong tendencyon taking up regular labour as onalternative livelihood rather thangoing in for honey collection. It waslearnt that the difficulty as well as thelack of motivation in marketing theproduct has resulted in membersshifting their interest to ordinarylabour which in Kerala is moreprofitable. But at the same time itwas also learnt that they would beinterested in reversing this trend ifthere were proper marketing methodsby which they did not have to wastetheir time in taking their produce toplaces which were 20 to 30 kmsaway. It has also been noted thatthere are many houses in bothVanchiyode and Pottamavu where thepeople have put up beehives in theirhomes.

In contrast in Pottamavu which is atribal VSS there was a preferencetowards honey collection and itsmarketing, primarily because there isa community that depends on NTFPcollection for subsistence.

Collection Methods

The species found in Vanchiyode andPottamavu are Apiserana indica andApisdorsata trigonairidipenns. Thehoney derived from the latter issupposed to be of high medicinalvalue. There is a marked difference inthe collection/harvesting methodsbetween Vanchiyode and Pottamavu.

Traditionally, the collectors havecertain methods by which they decideon the rights to collect honey. Once amember of the community sights abeehive he puts two small pieces ofstick in the form of an 'X 'depictingthat no one else should collect thehoney from that particular hive andthat it was his to do so. It is believedthat in contrary to this if at all andany one other than him collectshoney he would collect the wax fromthe mouth of the beehive put it in a


leaf and closing it within the palm ofhis hand curse the family of theperson who has taken it. This cursethey believe would result in the entireclan of the people to disappearforever. They go for collection basedon days associated with full moonand phases of it. The tribals collecthoney on the day after the amavasi

(New Moon). The Vanchiyodecommunity collects honey bysmoking the entrance of the hive.Among the unsustainable practicesthat have developed due to the highdemand of honey for medicinal,cosmetic and other health purposesare cutting of branches of trees aswell as smoking that affects the trees.Some of the collectors put fires belowthe hive to destroy the entire beecolony itself. Another method is bychewing garlic or onion and exhalingthe smell at the time of collection ofhoney from the beehive when thebees swarm around the collector.

Other Methods of Honey

Collection

1. The honey collectors afteridentifying the honey nest and ifthey are at reachable places ona tree or elsewhere they make ahole in the nest big enough fortheir hand to go in for takingthe honey comb. After collec-ting it the honey is extracted inthe traditional manner bysqueezing the honey comb forthe honey.

2. If the tree is tall and it is notpossible to climb it theysometimes cut the tree.

3. If it is at an unreachable areaon a branch they cut thebranch.

4. The Kani tribals (see photo)shoot the honey combs andcollect the dripping honey inpots.

5. The honey collected frombetween the spaces in therocks is similar to collection byhand where they make

sufficient space to insert theirhand and get the honey-comb.

In brief there is no specific scientificmethod and the methods usedcurrently are often destructive. As forascertaining the purity of the honeythere is no scientific method either.They have the usual traditionalmethods like smelling and tasting etcto assess their purity.

� Existing practices for

processing honey

Processing is an important part in thepreservation of honey. Though honeyis a pure substance preservationneeds to be done scientifically toensure a long shelf. This is in order toavoid fermentation of honey causedby the osmophillic yeast cells thatgrow in the water content thatnaturally exists in honey.

The tribal community believe thathoney need not be processed as theyfeel that warming honey forpreserving it is more than enough tostrain the pollen and keep it clean. In

A Kani tribal in Vanchiyode


earlier days honey was preserved inside bamboo poles later replaced byglass bottles.

This difference in the methods ofcollection could be attributed to thefact that the quantity collected inPottamavu is almost three times morethan that of the Vanchiyode VSS andalso because the area covered underthe Vanchiyode VSS is almost 250 hawhile for Pottamavu VSS it is 1250 ha.

Some concerns related to

harvest of NTFP's:

1. There are 120 items allotted forcollection to the TribalSocieties. But invariably theyend up collecting between 15to 20 items as per demand ofthe Federation. This opens theway for unsustained collectionof the forest produce.

2. Collection should be linked toavailability of the species,proper inventorisation of theentire NTFP in the state needsto be done.

3. Collection methods are crudeand outdated. There should beproper training for sustainedcollection practices.

4. The pricing of items procuredby the federation does not veryoften take in to account marketrealities. Pricing should bemade more realistic.

5. Since the SC/ST Federationdoes not have an efficientmarketing policy, it oftenresults in continued financialloss and this in turn affects theadvances extended to the tribalsocieties engaged on theground that is in collection.This paves the way formiddlemen to enter the frayand forces the tribals to selloutside the Tribal CooperativeSocieties.

Activities Undertaken

Training for Bee Keeping

A bee keeping training wasconducted by the Regional Managerof 'Horticorp' in March 2004 atVanchiyode Vana SamrakshanaSamithy office.

The members of both the VanaSamrakshana Samithies ofVanchiyode and Pottamavu who wereinvolved in honey collection attendedthis meeting. There were a total of 30participants including 14 women.Details regarding honey-combmaking and the community life of thehoney bees were explained by thetrainers. The training emphasized onsustainable methods of honeycollection. While discussing theseissues the trainer pointed out theamount of loss incurred byPottamavu VSS when honey collectedby them were sold to the cooperativesociety established in their hamlet forthe purpose of collection and sale ofNTFP's of their Vana SamrakshanaSamithy. It was realized that themembers of the Pottamavu VSS wereselling Honey at Rs. 20 less than themarket value with no particularbenefit to the Vana SamrakshanaSamithy or themselves.

In continuation to this trainingprogramme the Horticorp trainer wasof the opinion that there is potentialfor starting a honey collection centerthrough installation of bee-keepingboxes. He also suggested that VSSsend in a request for installing suchboxes. As per the decisions of theVanchiyode VSS executive Committeean application was later forwarded toHorticorp indicating their interest inthe Scheme and requesting for 20bee-keeping boxes to be installed inthe four enclosures Vengode,Kuruvikkadu, Vanchiyode andNedumpacha.

In light of the interest exhibited by thevillagers the Forest Departmentscheduled a bee training programmefor 11 VSS in the Anchal Range.


Medicinal Plants workshop -

Vanchiyode and Pottamavu

A workshop was conducted by Dr NG Nair in both the Vanchiyode andPottamavu VSS. He emphasized onthe need for sustainable collection ofmedicinal plants. Villagers wereapprised about the destructivemethods of harvest of vayanappoovu(Cinnamomum malabaricum) andorila (Desmodium gangeticum). TheVSS members of both the VSS wereadvised enrichment planting as ameasure to overcome the depletionof these medicinal plants due toexcessive collection. He suggestedthat selected species of plants indemand should be raised and toreinforce this medicinal plant gardenalso can be raised and indigenousplant species focused upon.

A major decision taken during theworkshop was to undertake medicinalplant cultivation in around 25 ha landin Vanchiyode. The self-help groupfocusing on medicinal plants wasadvised to develop a seed calendarfor selected species of NTFP. It isseen that very often during the rainyseason excessive uprooting is donefor species like Kurunthotty (Sida

rhombifolia) - roots.

Workshop on Bamboo

Cultivation and Marketing

The bamboo workshop involvingtribal members of the VanchiyodeVSS and Pottamavu VSS wasconducted by Shri Madhavan Kuttycurrently working as an instructor inTribal Welfare Department and Mr. M.Unnikrishnan of the ForestInformation Bureau. ShriMadhavankutty spoke about theutility value of bamboo and reeds andinformed the group in detail aboutthe items that are in demand. Hespoke to the participants about theopportunities available for marketingthe products that they make and alsohow to modify their products inkeeping with the times, as caneproducts are very much in demandnot only in Indian markets but alsointernationally. He spoke of the

various outlets for their productswithin the state and the district. Theannual exhibitions conducted underthe aegis of Integrated RuralDevelopment Department was one ofthem. He assured a trainingprogramme on some new products ofbamboos for marketing.

Shri M. Unnikrishnan spoke of themethods of bamboo plantation andcalculation of yield. Vanchiyode wasat a disadvantage in using the reedthis season as they lost the wholeplanted bamboo as a result of massflowering. The management ofbamboo including extraction requiresthe services of semi-skilled labourersthe control of its extraction is still withthe Forest Department though itneeds to be mentioned that thePottamavu VSS had recently planted20 acres of Bamboo under their ownsupervision at Erupathampady. TheHindustan Newsprint and GrasimIndustries are major buyers of thebamboo.

Development of action plan

for management of NTFPs

Both the project area Vanchiyode andPottamavu have a Gene PoolConservation Area (GPCA). This is anunfragmented extent of 500 ha offorests. The area is endowed withrare and endemic plant species.Important medicinal plants located inthe gene pool are Arogyapacha(Trichopus zeylanicus), Amalporiyan(Rauvolfia serpentina) Adapathiyan(Caesalpinia sapan) Maramanjal(Coccinium fenestratum)

Kunthirikkam (Canarium strictum) andamong the NTFP's Vayanappovu(Cinnamomum malabaricum)

Ponnampoo (Myristica malabarica)

Parandayakka (Entada scandens)

Kudampuli (Garcinia gummigatta)

Kasturi manjal (Curcuma aromatica).

Human intervention in the GPCA areais restricted and sanction is notaccorded for collection of NTFP'sfrom this area. Seeds if at all requiredfor planting is done with thepermission of the VSS only. Hencethe area is accorded a special statusand is protected.


Through various awarenessprogrammes the VSS in both theplaces have been sensitized on theneed to:

� Update the inventory of rareand endangered species and toregenerate the species thatwere commonly found tillrecently but have shown asharp decline in the recentyears due to unsustainablecollection.

� Enhance the traditionalknowledge base and utilize it inthe case of medicinal plantsbesides disseminating theknowledge available for thebenefit of people who usetraditional medicine for theirlivelihood.

The action plan for management ofNTFPs are based on the followingfindings:

1. The collection methodsadopted currently are notsustainable.

2. There is lack of coordinationbetween the various institutionsoperating in the region. For e.g.though the members of the VSSwho are also members of theTribal Cooperative Society dothe collection and sell theirproducts to TCS there is nooverall guidance or overseeingof the whole process ofcollection and sale by theForest Department. Their dutyseems to be over with theissuance of passes for allowingcollectors in the forest area.

3. The inter-relationship betweenthe various components in theVSS that helps in improving thepresent management systemas well as identification of theirroles to ensure ecologicalstability does not exist.

4. The strengthening of the socio-economic linkages for

reinforcing the needs forsustainability in the harvestingof NTFP needs to be reinforced.

5. As per the market analysis it isobserved that opportunitiesexist for betterment oflivelihood. However there is alack of initiative by the peoplethemselves in this regard.

6. The land use study as well asthe labour calendar developedin the two project sites indicatethat there is a seasonal patternwhich needs to be linked to theaction plan for effectiveness.

7. It is seen that often during rainyseason extensive harvesting isdone for species likeKurumthotty (Sida rhombifolia)(roots) as it is easy to uprootthem at that time, withoutallowing any facility for naturalregeneration.

8. The Tribal Cooperative Societyenjoys monopoly rights ofcollecting & marketing theNTFP and bamboo and puttingthe collectors at a greatdisadvantage vis-à-vis thepricing of the produce.

9. The tribal co-operativesocieties rather than ensuringsustainable harvestingpractices exploit the tribes andothers to divert the producewith higher return for luringthem to go in for unsustainablepractices in collection.

10. The VSS per se do not havestrong marketing capabilities.This greatly restricts benefitsthat should be genuinelyaccruing to them throughcollection and sale of theNTFPs.

11. The VSS are not aware ofcommercially important itemsdue to lack of adequateexposure of the market.


For sustainable utilization of thenatural resources it is thereforeproposed that:

a)

1. Harvesting of NTFPs to bedone exclusively by VSSmembers.

2. Awareness generation shouldcontinue on a regular basis sothat the temperamental /attitudinal changes that arerequired to understand andpractice the concept ofsustained harvesting areensured.

3. Policies, which encourageunregulated harvesting ofmedicinal plants should beanalyzed and correctivemeasures taken.

4. Mechanisms to monitor theoutcome of adapting tosustained management shouldbe developed. This would alsohelp in capacity building orinstitutional building.

5. Indigenous knowledge to bedocumented and usedsystematically for improving thehealth of the forest.

6. Regeneration practices to bestarted on war footing forplants like Maramanjal(Coccinium fenstratum) etc thathave declined drastically due tocareless harvesting.

7. Selected species of plants(medicinal, bamboo, honey) indemand would be raised in anursery for enrichment of thegene pool area. Seed Banksfeasability of promoting localseed banks under the overallguidance the regional station ofNational Bureau of Plant GenticResources at Thrissur shouldbe explored.


2.2 Eastern Himalaya

Arunachal Pradesh

Feasibility of Introducing

Group Certification for

Swertia chirayita in

Western Arunachal

Pradesh, Eastern

Himalaya

Introduction

The state of Arunachal Pradesh issituated in the Eastern Himalayas apriority ecoregion and a biologicallyrich 'hotspot'. Arunachal Pradeshaccounts for 2.54% of the totalgeographical area of India and is acustodian of more than 23.52% of theflowering plants (Hegde 2002).Arunachal Pradesh can be termed asnature's repository of medicinalplants (Haridasan et al. 1989) andfrom the preliminary studiesundertaken so far around 500medicinal plants have been recordedfrom the region. The rich biological

resources of the region are beingutilised by nearly one millionpopulation comprising of 25 majortribes and 110 sub-tribes of the stateas a source of livelihood. With theincrease in the aspiration of localpeople to improve their economiccondition and lifestyle, the pressureon the available forest resources,mainly NTFPs has increased manifoldin an unsustainable manner.

According to the survey conductedby Mac Alpine Thorpe Warrie,Commonwealth Consultant in 1997,the global market for herbal productsis estimated at Rs. 36,000 croreswhich is expected to grow toRs.1,60,000 crores by 2010 AD. Ofthis, the present share of Europeanmarket is Rs. 10,800 crores. India'sshare of this market is less than onepercent (Borthakur 2003). China isthe biggest producer as well asexporter of medicinal plants,accounting for 30% of total worldtrade in 1991, followed by Korea,USA, India and Chile. Hamburg is theworld-trading center in medicinalplants (Iqbal 2003).

Map : Tawang, West Kameng & East Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh


To ensure sustainable managementof forest resources, which are beingused as a source of income, ForestCertification is one of the mostadvanced and effective tools.Certification is done by variouscertifying agencies like ForestStewardship Council (FSC) and PanEuropean Forest CertificationScheme (PEFC) which provide writtenassurance that the forest producethat are in trade are as per specificstandards, on the basis of an auditconducted on agreed principles. Asopposed to the quality of forestproducts, certification primarilyaddresses the quality of forestmanagement (Chatterjee et al. 2003)

This project therefore aims to analyzethe general pattern of extraction andmarketing of Chirayita in WestKameng district of ArunachalPradesh as per the FSC Principle andCriteria needed to be fulfilled forintroducing Certification. Presentlytraders from outside the state comeand engage the poor and unawarevillagers for indiscriminate collectionof these plants from the wild for apaltry amount which has resultednear extinction of certain importantmedicinal plants. Indiscriminatecollection of medicinal plants fromwild and marketing throughmiddlemen due to the lack ofnecessary knowledge of the marketsetup and actual value of themedicinal plants has resulted inminimum economic benefit for thelocal villagers. Detailed analysis ofthe pattern of collection andmarketing of Chirayita from the stateupto the year 2001-2002 is expectedto help to come out with a fewrecommendations for changes whichare necessary to introduce GroupCertification to the Chirayitagatherers. This in turn will ensuresustainable management of Chirayitaand other medicinal plants availablein the state.

Chirayita trade in

Arunachal Pradesh:

An Overview

The state of Arunachal Pradesh

harbours a very rich stock ofeconomically high valued medicinalplants in wild condition like Taxus

baccata, Coptis teeta, Acorus

calamus, Picrorhiza kurroa, Swertia

chirayita, Andrographis paniculata

etc. Local communities of the statewith limited scope of livelihood areengaged in the trade of these plantsto improve their economic condition.Most of the Chirayita for marketingfrom the state are being harvestedfrom West Kameng district. Thewhole process of marketing has manyplayers at different levels such asagents from pharmaceuticalcompanies, retailers from Assam,local contractors, local sub-contractors and harvesters.

Chirayita is much prized in India as apowerful bitter tonic. Unlike mostother medicines of this class it doesnot constipate the bowels, but tendsto produce a mild laxative affect. Itpromotes the flow of bile and is usedas a tonic. In gastrointestinaldisorders, like dyspepsia/anorexia itis used as digestive, febrifuge, andlaxative. It is particularly useful infever as a tonic and mild febrifuge(Kirtikar, 1985). It is used to preventmalaria. There is huge demand ofChirayita in Indian System ofMedicine and was imported at a tuneof 58.22t valued at Rs.14.61 lakhs in1995-1996 (Anon 2004).

According to Forest Statistics (UptoYear 2000-2001), in ArunachalPradesh, 66.35% of the total staterevenue was generated from forestproduces. However, it has declined toonly 34.18% in the year 1999-2000.The total revenue generated fromChirayita between 1997-98 to 2001-02was Rs.2,96,025. However, from theyear 2001-2002 collection of Chirayitafrom wild has been banned. In theyear 2001 it was made mandatorythat all the DFOs will first develop aWorking Scheme for each forestproduce and get it approved by CCFCentral, Regional Office for NorthEast India, Shillong. The reason for ahigh revenue generation fromChirayita collection during 2001-02has to be explored.


Marketing of Chirayita is a seasonaloccupation for the local villagerswhich starts in the month ofSeptember and continues upto themonth of February. In the month ofSeptember, traders from Assamcontact the local villagers and placetheir order as per the demand in thepharmaceutical companies. At this

stage the price of Chirayita atdifferent level gets fixed which arealso as per the demand in thepharmaceutical companies in thatyear. In the existing system themiddleman plays the most crucialrole and maximum economic benefitof this trade goes in their favour.While harvesters at the village level

Year wise Extraction Chirayita from Arunachal

Pradesh

Year Quantity (Ton)

1991-92 6

1992-93 -

1993-94 2

1994-95 207

1995-96 -

1996-97 -

1997-98 4.5

Source: Forest Statistics (Upto Year 2000-2001), Arunachal Pradesh

Fig 1. Total Chirayita extracted and revenue generated from it in between 1997-98 to 2001-2002

Source: PCCF Office, Itanagar (2004)

123456123456123456

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123123123123 Quantity (Kg)

Revenue (Rs)123123

250 000

200 000

150 000

100 000

50 000

01997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02

24

49

50

10

65

0

0000

22

45

0

40

00

45

00 28

62

5

Year


mostly get only 10-20% of the actualprice in the market. Marketing ofChirayita is being done in anunorganized manner and so noproper records of extraction andselling by the local contractors aremaintained.

Feasibility of Introducing

Group Certification for

Chirayita Gatherers

The nature and dynamics of themedicinal plant trade in India, andmost other developing countries aswell, is very complex. A typical chainof such transactions starts with thecollection of the medicinal plantmaterials in the wild, through tribaland villagers, including women andchildren, followed by local levelconsolidation of these collections bya network of local traders/handlersand delivery at 'road-head' centers.The material collected at such road-head centre then flows down to thelocal and regional wholesale markets,the latter generally located in biggertowns/cities (Ved 2004).

Since most of the Chirayita are beingharvested from common forest landand more than one individual areinvolved in the process, within thestate, starting from harvesting tocollecting and giving delivery toretailers coming from Assam, GroupCertification is the only option thatcan be explored. Hence thesubsequent section of this report isdirected towards understanding theentire chain of Chirayita market withinthe state to analyze the feasibility ofintroducing Group Certification to thegatherers of Chirayita therebypromoting sustainable managementof its stocks available in the state.The survey was based on 10 ForestStewardship Council (FSC) Principlesand Criteria, which are followed toconduct the audit for issuingCertificates.

For the study local communitiesengaged in Chirayita trade fromShergaon village of West Kamengdistrict of the state have been

selected which is one of the majorpoints of collection of Chirayitabefore giving delivery to the retailerscoming from Assam. Besides, this isalso like a central point from whereChirayita is transported out to Assamby two routes. The detailedinformation required for the analysiswas collected from local contractors,village headman, harvesters andForest Department officials.

Chirayita Trade in

Shergaon Village

Role of Local Communities

and their socio economy in

context to Chirayita Trade

For the local villagers Chirayita tradeis seasonal and a secondary meansof earning a livelihood. It is traded inan unorganized manner and thenumber of people involved in thistrade every year vary as per thedemand in the market. But the wholemarket chain has certain levels ineach of which different people withdifferent job types are involved.

The top of the chain is occupied by'Local Contractors' who are financiallysound and can afford to pay theRoyalty to Forest Department for the'Collection Permit' and can engagelabour to do the collection for them.There are around nine contractors inShergaon village. According to thelocal contractors, in the year 2003-2004 the demand of Chirayita waslow. These contractors have verygood networking with the retailers'from Assam and they are the peoplewho receive the orders from theretailers.

For the collection of Chirayitaavailable within the jurisdiction oftheir village, they either directlypurchase from local villagers whoindependently collect Chirayita fromthe forest or engage local as well asmigrant labourer to collect Chirayitafor them. But to collect the samefrom other villages they appoint sub-agents locally called 'Sardars' oncommission basis. The villages from


where contractors of Shergaon villagecollect Chirayita are Morsing,Tenzingao, Jigao etc.

The mode of payments vary at ineach level. For direct purchase madefrom local villagers cash payment ismade immediately after receiving theChirayita. Payments to the locallabourers who are employed only inthe harvesting season are also madein cash only but a part of that arepaid in advance.

However, in the case of migrantlabourer, a part of the total paymentis made by giving them requiredrations for the period. After theharvested Chirayita is delivered to thecontractors, the balance payment,after deducting the cost of rations,are made by cash. Among themigrant labourer, there are twogroups, one is of the permanent kindwhich works with the contractorduring the off season on their fields,farms etc. The other group comesfrom different places and works onlyduring the harvesting season ofChirayita as seasonal labourer. Thecommission for the sardars whocollect Chirayita from other villages isRs. 5 per kilogram (kg).

In this trade, the harvester gets thelowest profit while the profit marginincreases as the level goes higher.In the year 2001, the local harvestersand hired labourer received Rs.90 perkg and Rs.35 per kg, respectively.The permanent hired labourer and theseasonal labourer gets the lowestprice for the harvested Chirayita. Themiddlemen like local contractors andretailers receive most of the higherbenefits. In 2002 the local harvesterreceived Rs.30-Rs.40 per kg,respectively from the localcontractors, which is about 27% ofthe price at which the retailers atAssam sell Chirayita to agentscoming from various pharmaceuticalcompanies.

During 2001-2002, the localcontractors received Rs.140-Rs.210per kg and Rs. 85-Rs.145 per kg fromthe retailers at Assam. According to

the information collected from threeretailers from Tezpur, the rate ofChirayita at Tezpur in 2001 wasRs.300 per kg.

Chirayita Trade in

context to Legal System

All the National Acts (Indian ForestAct 1927, Wild Life Protection Act1972, Biodiversity Act, 2002 etc.) andState Acts (Assam Forest RegulationAct, 1891) are applicable. However,Arunachal Pradesh is a tribal stateand about 74% of the total forestcover of the district is underUnclassed State Forest (USF)category, which are under the controlof local communities, and localCustomary Laws prevail as well.

A. Rules and Regulation of

Forest Department:

As per the Forest Department rulesall the people willing to be involved inthe trade have to procure aCollection Permit from the stateForest Department. Every year, theDivisional Forest Officer (DFO) of theForest Division asks for theavailability report of Chirayita fromeach forest range. The assessmentreport of the available stock ofChirayita in the various ForestRanges is submitted to the DFO ofthe respective Forest Division.Depending on the availability ofChirayita, the number of CollectionPermits are issued. Nearly 80% of thetotal stock of Chirayita is allowed forcollection and the remaining 20% arekept as a mother plant for seeding/propagation of Chirayita forregeneration.

After the assessment report isavailable, the local villagers canapply for a Collection Permit. Theyhave to obtain a certificate ofpermanent residentship from theAdministrative Officer (CO/EAC) ofthe area and a letter ofrecommendation from the Gaonbura(Village Headman) of the village.Along with this letter, applicants fillup a form for the procurement of the


Chain of harvesting and collection of Chirayita at

local level from Shergaon Village.

Harvester Group

From Bhutan From West Kameng, India

Local Villagersfrom Bhutan

Harvesters selling toRoyal Bhutan Forest

Department for Auction

Harvester from theVillage of Contractors

Harvester from othervillages

DirectSeller

EmployedLocal

Labourer ofContractor

EmployedMigrant

Labourer ofContractor

Localvillagersselling

throughSardars of

Contractors

DirectSeller


Collection Permit and submit it to theRange Office. The Range Officer thenforwards the application to theDivisional Forest Office forpermission to issue the Permit fromthe DFO. Once the Divisional ForestOfficer gives the clearance, theRange Officer issues the permit to theapplicant. The applicant has to paythe total amount of royalty in advanceto the Range Officer prior to availingthe permit.

After collecting, drying and packingthe Chirayita, the contractors have toprocure a Transit Pass from theForest Department to transport thematerial out of the state. The ForestDepartment (FD) issues a TransitPermit after physically verifiying theweight of the collected Chirayita. Thisshould be equal to the quantity ofChirayita allowed for collection by theFD as mentioned in the CollectionPermit.

However, since 2001, the DFO has toprepare a Working Scheme withregard to each forest produce. TheCollection Permit, is first forwarded tothe PCCF Office, Itanagar, from thereit goes to CCF Central, the RegionalOffice for North-East India, Shillong.Only after the Working Scheme isapproved that DFO can issue aCollection Permit to the localvillagers.

B. Customary Laws

Arunachal Pradesh is a tribal state,so while solving any dispute LocalCustomary Laws prevail in thevillages. Most of the Customary Lawsare for crimes like theft, murder, ormarriage and property dispute etc.No specific laws regulate thecollection and marketing of forestproduces, to ensure their sustainablemanagement. But in 2001-2002, inShergaon village, the Village Councilpassed a resolution to restrictharvesting of Chirayita before the firstweek of November to ensure that themature seeds of the plants areproperly dispersed to ensuresufficient regeneration of the plants insuccessive years. A fine of Rs. 5000was levied on any person violatingthe law. So far there has been norecord of violation of this resolution.

Shergaon village has been dividedinto two blocks, one in the easternside of the river Dublokho and otherone in the western side of the river.According to the local law, thecontractors can send their labourerfor harvesting Chirayita only in thewestern side of the river but theycannot send more than two labourersto the eastern side of the river. This isbecause the Chirayita on the east isfor the local villagers who cannotafford to hire labourer for harvesting.All the migrant labourers have strictinstructions to sell the Chirayita thatthey harvest only to the local villagersand not directly to the traders comingfrom outside.

Constraints and Gaps for

Introducing Group

Certification

Some of the major constraints andgaps in the existing system ofChirayita marketing for introducingGroup Certification is discussedbelow.

Unorganised Marketing

The marketing of Chirayita inArunachal Pradesh is done in anBundles of harvested Swertia Chirayita


unorganised manner. Number ofpeople in the trade depends on thedemand of the species in the market.Moreover this is a seasonal source ofearning for the villagers, and theyconsider it as a secondary income.Therefore identifying a particulargroup for Group Certification will bedifficult.

Illegal Marketing

Chirayita is illegally traded along withother commodities, such asvegetables and items of day to dayuse, which the Forest Officials are notauthorized to check. Moreover, mostof the villagers can hardly afford topay in advance the royalty for theCollection Permit and hence prefer toavoid legal procedures.

Constraints faced by

Forest Department

Enforcement of the laws is a difficulttask for the Forest Department as aresult of the shortage of well-trainedstaff, tough geographical terrain andCustomary Laws.Due to lack ofinfrastructure, the Forest Departmentfinds it difficult to make anassessment of resource availabilityfor developing an effectivemanagement plan.

Uncertainty of Market

The price of medicinal plants in themarket keeps fluctuating frequentlyand for villagers involved in its tradethe risk factor is always very high.The involvement of middleman in thetrade reduces the profit margins forthe local villagers. As the localvillagers are not directly in contactwith the pharmaceutical companies,they are bound to depend onmiddlemen. As a consequence of thisthe middlemen and retailers in Assamhave developed a monopoly over thetrade.

Another issue of concern is that thepharmaceutical companies do notconvey quality specifications followedby them, to the local traders as well

as Forest Department officials. As aresult local traders rely on standardsset by buyers. For introducing groupcertification in the area, first we willhave to ensure a market for the localvillagers for sustained income andhigher benefits from sale of certifiedproducts.

Probable Interventions

To overcome the constraintsmentioned above and to makecertification a reality some majorchanges are required in the existingsystem. First of all it is necessary todevelop a mechanism to make themonitoring more effective and tocheck the indiscriminate collectionand marketing of Chirayita. Secondlythere is need to develop a simple andtransparent market system where thevillagers at the ground level getmaximum benefits. For this the focusshould be mainly on capacitybuilding of local villagers, to monitorall activities related to the extractionof Chirayita from wild and also tomarket it in a systematic way. Basedon the findings of the survey, twoprobable interventions have beenproposed which are mentionedbelow.

Development of Village

Cooperative Society/Self

Help Group

In this model it has been proposed toestablish village level cooperativesocieties, which will be under thejurisdiction of the Village Panchayator Village Council members. Themembers of the management body ofthe society and all the employees willbe selected and appointed by theVillage Panchayat or Village Councilmembers. This will help in developinga sound and systematic strategy forcollection and marketing of Chirayita.

In the proposed system, the localcontractors who can afford to getCollection Permits from the ForestDepartments can obtain it on theirown but they will in turn sell theharvested products only to the


Society. The poor local villagers whocannot afford to get the permit fromthe Forest Department, will get onewith the help of the Society who willthen engage the villagers to do thecollection for them. Here it will be theduty of the Society to ensure thatcollection is done strictly as pernorms set by the Forest Department.The Society will thus act as the mainsource of collection of Chirayita bypaying all the collectors a pre-approved price fixed as per themarket demand. After this the Societywill also do the rest of the marketing.The Society will also help check theillegal collection and marketing offorest resources since it will beoperational at village level and will bein a better position to monitor all theactivities taking place at the villagelevel. The authorities of the Societywill be held responsible for any illegalactivity and will have to give anexplanation to the ForestDepartment. To nullify the chances oftransporting products that have beencollected illegally, use of the societyvehicle can be made mandatory andwill be considered as legal.

Since the marketing of Chirayita isseasonal, the Society may alsoprovide a base for the local villagersto market local products likehandicrafts, agricultural products,horticulture products and variousother forest products. Thus theSociety may play multiple roles todevelop the economy of the village,based on the natural resourcesavailable.

Capacity Building of FDA

and VFMC

In 2000, the Ministry of Environmentand Forest (MoEF), Government ofIndia, proposed to take up anintegrated approach through theinstitution of Forest DevelopmentAgency (FDA for the conservation offorests and wildlife and to improvethe implementation of variousschemes). FDA will be a registered

society under the SocietiesRegistration Act at the Territorial/Wildlife Forest Division level. TheSamanvit Gram Vanikaran SamirddhiYojana (SGVSY), an umbrella schemewill integrate the commonafforestation and eco-developmentefforts of various ongoing schemes,which will be implemented by theagency through Village ForestManagement Committee (VFMC) andEco-development Committee (EDC).VFMCs will be constituted in eachvillage falling within the jurisdiction ofrespective FDAs. These VFMC/EDCswill also be registered bodies. EachFDA will incorporate 25-50 villageswithin its jurisdiction.

The FDA will consider each ForestRange as a territorial unit for planningand development. It will draw up acomprehensive microplan integratingcommunity land development, agro-forestry, horticulture, dairy farming,sericulture, weaving, cultivation ofmedicinal plants and its marketingand development of permanentcommunity assets. This will be mainlyfor the local villagers so as tominimize their dependence on forestresources and to increase theirincome.

In the Forest Divisions where theabove proposal has beenimplemented, VFMC can act as theprimary source of collection of forestproduce from the local villagers andcontractors. The FDA can act as thefinal point of collection from theVFMCs under its jurisdiction. Thereonthe product will be sold to theretailers and buyers coming fromoutside. The mode of operation willbe almost similar to what has beensuggested in the model describedabove.

At present, under Bomdila ForestDivision of West Kameng district,within the jurisdiction of BomdilaForest Development Agency, 14Village Forest ManagementCommittees have already beenconstituted. These are :


I. Bomdila Range

1. Khaitan VFMC2. Pedung VFMC3. Sera-Dekling VFMCII. Nafra Range

4. Rurang VFMC5. Khellong VFMC6. Lower Dzong VFMC7. Jerigaon VFMCIII. Dirang Range

8. Senge VFMC9. Duwangba-left VFMC10. Dawangba VFMCIV. Khuphi Range

11. Denjogona VFMC12. Khupli VFMC13. Jania VFMC14. Palizi VFMC

Advantages of the

Proposed Interventions

Some of the advantages of theproposed interventions are asfollows:

A. Medicinal Plant Marketing

1. For Local villagers: The localvillagers with poor economicconditions and no network withthe retailers will get a chance toearn some money by workingas per the permit taken by theSociety or VFMC from ForestDepartment. The villagers willno longer have to worry aboutselling their products. Moreoverthe price that they will get willbe one decided by the societiesof the state as per the marketrate of that year. So the profitswill be distributed among thelocal villagers equally.

2. For the Local Contractor:Because of a limited knowledgeabout genuine retailers, thecontractors are at presentbound to sell their materials toexisting known retailers on theirterms and conditions. But inthe new system, it will be thejob of the Society to ensure themarketing of the materials with

maximum profits. Also being asociety it will be easy for themto develop a good network,which is always difficult for anindividual.

3. For retailers andpharmaceutical companies:Presently the retailers comingfrom various states andcompanies have to depend oncontractors who are known tothem. Hence the entry of anynew genuine retailer in to themarket becomes very difficult.But now as the societies willhave a permanent address theretailers can contact membersfor material enquiries. And itwill become easy for them toplace their orders and to getthe materials in time.

4. To check illegal marketing: Forthe Forest Department Officialsit is not always possible tomonitor all the activities at thevillage level due to variousconstraints. But as the societywill have village level workers, itwill be easier for them tomonitor all the activities. Sincethe societies will be bound towork as per the norms of ForestDepartment it will become theirresponsibility to ensure noillegal activities are takingplace in the villages under theirjurisdiction. Oncetransportation of materials ispermitted only in vehiclesowned by the societies theselling of illegally harvestedmaterials will be get curbed.

5. For Introducing Certification:On adopting the above modelthe marketing of Chirayita andother medicinal plants willbecome more systematic andorganised. It will also becomeeasy to obtain the requisitecertification. For introducingcertification the Society can bedirectly targeted.


B. Other Benefits

1. It will generate employment forthe local villagers.

2. It will give a base for themarketing of other localproducts like handicrafts,agriculture and horticulturecrops etc.

3. Various day to day items will bemade available to them forwhich they now have to travelto big towns.

4. Capacity of local villagers tomanage their natural resourcesin a sustainable manner andearn a livelihood from them willbe enhanced.

Local Contractors Direct Local Harvesters

Functioning of the Proposed Model

Village Forest ManagementCommittee

Village CooperativeSociety/SHG

Forest DevelopmentAgency

Retailers andBuyers


Summary of the information collected as per the FSC Principle

Present Status

All the National Acts (Indian Forest Act, Wild LifeProtection Act, Biodiversity Act etc.) and State Acts(Assam Forest regulation Act) are complied with. Butbeing a tribal state Local Customary Laws prevail most.

In the Forest areas directly under control of the localvillagers, the Village Council has rules to ensure that therights of the villagers over the forest resources isprotected. In Shergaon village, the Village Council haspassed a rule that during the harvesting season ofChirayita, in the eastern side of the river the localcontractors can send only two labour for harvesting, sothat all the villagers get equal opportunity to harvest theChirayita and earn some money. While on the westernside of the river local contractors can send as manylabourers as they want. Besides all the outside traderswill have to buy Chirayita from the village through localvillagers only and the Govt. can issue Harvest Permitsto only the local villagers certified by the Village Council.

To safeguard the rights of local people over the forestresources, the Forest Department issues CollectionPermits and Transit Passes only to the local villagerswho produce residence proof of belonging to theparticular village from where Chirayita and other forestproducts are to be harvested. Besides the Village Councilalso has a set of rules to ensure proper distribution ofthe forest resources among the villagers by demarcatingforest areas in to two parts, one only for villagers whocannot afford to get Harvest Permits from the ForestDepartment and the second free for the contractors.

During the season most of the harvesting is done bylocal villagers. Only the contractors with Permits fromthe Forest Department and those with sound financialcondition can afford to engage labourer to do harvestingfor them. For the regular labour who is already workingfor the contractor through the year, is asked to harvestChirayita during the season time. Besides they alsoengage migrant labourer during the season forharvesting Chirayita. Payments and mode of paymentsvary from person to person. The regular labourer is paidRs.1000-1500 per month with free lodging facility whilethe migrant labourer is paid daily wages of about Rs.50-75/day.

Constraints

Due to shortage of well-trained staff in the State ForestDepartment and a tough geographical terrain,enforcement of all the Govt. Laws is difficult. Besides asCustomary Laws prevail in the control of most of theForest Resources, the Govt. enforcement agencies haveminimum scope to regulate the things happening at theinaccessible village level.

As most of the forest area belongs to the community sothe local contractor can harvest as much as Chirayitathey can from any amount of area as per their capacity.So most of the time harvesting is done as per thedemand of the market not keeping in mind sustainabilityof the resource.

Though the rights of local villagers over the forestresources are well protected but the profit that they areearning by selling these products are about 50-60% ofthe actual market price in the case of the contractorsand 10-20% for the direct harvesters. Besides there isno regulation over the quantity to be harvested to ensurelong term sustainability.

The whole process is quite unorganized, and there is noconcern for the worker's rights. Since the workers arepoor and do not have an alternate option of earning theyare bound to accept what ever the employer offers them.

Principle 1: Compliance with laws and FSC Principle

Principle 2: Tenure and User Rights and Responsibilities

Principle 3: Indigenous Peoples Rights

Principle 4: Community Relations and Worker's Rights


Present Status

Due to the lack of any sustainable livelihood and pooreconomic conditions the local people are mostlydependent on the forest resources for survival. So far ithas been a situation where only the extraction ofresources from the forests is taking place and no effectivesteps have been taken to ensure sustainability of theresources. Among the forest resources, only those whichhave high market demand are being exploited in largescale like medicinal plants, firewood, timber etc.

Central Govt. approved working schemes check theadverse impact of NTFP harvesting on forest resources.To ensure natural forest regeneration and to maintaindiversity at all levels, provisions are there in the WorkingPlan and Working Schemes of State Forest Department.There is a ban on harvesting of endangered and rarespecies. The Forest Department also do not encouragethe plantation of exotic species.

State Govt. has issued instructions to all the DivisionalForest Offices of the state to Develop Working Schemesfor harvesting of NTFPs. As a result this year BomdilaForest Division has stopped issuing Harvest Permits tolocal villagers for harvesting NTFPs from forest.

As per the indicators mentioned in the Working Schemesthe Forest Department staff regularly monitor the statusof the forest resources.

Forests with HCV are usually kept untouched andmaintained as Protected Forests as per the Working Plan.

Under Social Forestry Programme plantations are donewith the compensation fund that the Forest Departmentreceives from various agencies like BRTF, PWD, NHPCetc. for diversion of forest areas either for road cutting,dam construction etc.

Constraints

As the local people are bound to depend on the availableforest resources for their economic upliftment and asmost of these resources are under the control of localvillagers, the State Forest Department is not in theposition to regulate them.

Due to inaccessibility and as most of the forests areunder community control, first it is tough to developworking plans for all the forest areas. This needs a lot ofresources and secondly with limited manpower workingas per the Working Plan and Working Schemes is difficultfor the Forest Department.

Due to lack of manpower, funds and other necessaryresources, Forest Department Officials are finding itproblematic to develop the necessary Working Scheme.

Due to inaccessibility and poor staff strength propermonitoring is difficult.

HCVF, which are under direct control of the community,are not possible to protect since the villagers aredependent on it for survival.

Not applicable in the present context.

Principle 5: Benefits from the Forest

Principle 6: Environmental Impact

Principle 7: Management Plans

Principle 8: Monitoring and Assessment

Principle 9: Maintenance of High Conservation Value Forest (HCVF)

Principle 10: Plantations


The Way Ahead :

Lessons learned from the preceedingcase studies provides futuredirections to the initiatives taken sofar. These are briefly summarized asfollows :

Better practice of Raab

cultivation in Dangs

district of Gujarat in

Western Ghats

The pilot experiment to grow milletwithout raab burning that is presentlycausing immense damage to theDangs forest can be scaled up toinclude many more villages wherethis method of cultivation ispracticed. Vermi-composting,development of methods to maintainsoil temperature, protection of thewatershed could be some goodpractices. This would requiresustained efforts, a campaign tomotivate and sensitize the locals onone hand, and larger involvement ofother stakeholders like the AgricultureScience Centre, Dangs, Navsari onthe other. This initiative has to becoupled with the promotion ofalternative means of livelihood likehandicraft development through useof bamboo species likeDendrocalamus strictus andBambusa arundinaceae.

Afforestation of

degraded land and

monitoring and

evaluation of JFM with

the Forest Protection

Committies in

Maharashtra and Gujarat

WWF-India intends to use a two-pronged strategy by implementing:

i) A massive afforestationprogramme on all the degradedand barren community forestland with the help of allinvolved.

ii) A model project in each of theJFM villages for cultivation ofmedicinal and othereconomically important plantspecies.

Approximately 3000 ha will be putunder the afforestation project inMaharashtra covering around 75villages, and measuringapproximately 50% of the JFMvillages. The medicinal plant projectwill be undertaken either on villagecommunity land or on a private landprovided for the purpose by any ofthe villagers in the 100 differentvillages. The involvement of the JFMcould be sought for undertakingseveral voluntary works (shramdaan)

for construction of boundary works,digging pits, procurement ofsaplings, etc. Efforts will be made toplant indigenous species for thepurpose of short and long term gainsuseful for villagers. A society couldbe set up for processing andmarketing the herbal productscultivated under model project.

i) Restoration with JFMcommittees could be initiatedin Dangs forest of Gujarat.

ii) Development of Criteria andIndicators for sustainable forestmanagement. Assessment ofthe success of JFM throughcriteria and indicatorsdeveloped by committiesthemselves in all villages.

Capacity Building of

Forest Protection

Committees in Kerala

Two more VSS have been proposedto be included for scaling up of theinitiative on capacity building of theforest protection committees to coveran area of 2500 ha. Specific activitieswould include:

� Forming Self Help Groups toundertake activities related tothe management of NTFPs.


� Taking initiatives related toimproving the socio-economicconditions of the community.

� Arranging interactive sessionsfor the VSSs to gatherinformation through sharing ofideas and experiences and forencouraging their involvementand contribution in activitiesrelated to sustainable utilizationof Natural Resources andForest, management.

� An area of focus could beenrichment of the Gene PoolAreas maintained by the USSwith species which are overharvested.

Group Certification of

Swertia chirayita in

Arunachal Pradesh,

Eastern Himalaya

Our studies in Arunachal Pradeshand in other states like Uttaranchaland Himachal Pradesh indicate thatcertification is not imminent (WWF-India, 2004). It is however possible topromote the best practices forcultivation of medicinal plants. ForArunachal Pradesh, WWF-India canhelp development of managementplant for NTFPs, Swertia chirayita tobegin with.


REFERENCES:

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WORLD WIDE FUND FOR NATURE - INDIA172-B, Lodi Estate, New Delhi - 110 003Tel : 91-11-51504785 / 87Fax : 91-11-51504779 / 95E-mail : [email protected] us at : www.wwfindia.org


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