Community Development through Joint Forest Management in South West Bengal.

By Vinod Kumar Yadav I.F.S

The West Bengal is the pioneer State in the country where seed of Joint Forest Management (JFM) was sown , nurtured and matured as a successful model of forest conservation through active participation of local people. The sal forests of South Bengal which were over exploited by the Zamindars ( Landlords ) and British before and after independence were degraded, stunted and fragmented due to greedy, ad-hock and unscientific management of their multiple custodians. During the 80s eleven villages of Arabari in Midnapore District of South Bengal took the first step forward towards collective decision making for forest conservation in this lateritic track of Chottonagpur plateau. The aboriginal tribes who are dependent on the forest resources for their livelihood took oath to rejuvenate this degraded forest land. Gradually, the local villagers were motivated by forest staffs towards forest conservation as they received incentives from the Forest Department for protection of degraded sal forests. The people’s participation was further geared up by implementation of West Bengal Social Forestry Project in 1980s. The interaction between the Forest Department personnel and the local people gradually increased and more villagers came forward for protection of the forests. The condition of the forest in South Bengal improved with the implementation of the Joint Forest Management and took a shape of movement. Some of the villagers of their own formed self regulations to halt the process of degradation and deforestation.. The Forest Protection Committees were formed in the villages which took responsibilities to protect the forest resources in order to get benefits for the present and future generation. The Government of West Bengal recognized that the people’s participation in forest conservation and management is the key to the successful regeneration of degraded forest and therefore developed a mechanism for strengthening of Forest Protection Committees and formalized this institution with the Government resolution issued in 1989. The age old conflict between the Forest Department and the people gradually diminished and the bonds of trust developed and strengthened with the implementation of the reciprocal commitments.

The main objectives of the Joint Forest Management Programme are as following :-

1)  To actively involve village communities and Panchayati Raj Institutions in the protection and conservation of forests especially rehabilitation of the degraded ecosystem.

2)  To ensure long term conservation of biodiversity through joint efforts .

3)  Equitable distribution of Forest Resources among poorest of the poor especially the tribal population.

4)  To promote conservation awareness values among various stakeholders for long term sustainable utilization of natural resources by reducing biotic pressure on the Forests.

5)  To improve socio-economic conditions of fringe villages through some prioritized, site specific and need based Eco-development packages, having integration with activities of other government departments and NGOs.

6) To generate additional income and alternate livelihood options of local people to reduce traditional dependency on forests, through development of skills and provision of vocational training and inputs.

The local people realized that the forest resources are source of their livelihood, especially tribal people living in this region and therefore became active players in every stage of management including planning, implementation and monitoring. The regular meetings of the Forest Protection Committees with the forest personnel and Panchayets opened the doors for discussion for community development as well as conservation of the forest resources in a sustainable manner so that these vital resources are not over exploited and used judiciously for the benefit of the society.

Now there are 4,079 FPCs in the State (3,631 Nos. in South West Bengal, 397 in North Bengal and 51 Nos. in Sunderbans) comprising of total number of 5,62,628 members protecting the total forest areas over 5,42,057.217 ha.

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The state has earned many laurels ranging from “Indira Priyadarshini Brikshamitra Award” for individual and clusters of FPCs to international “Paul Getty Award” for the forest protection committees of the state.

Extent of Joint Forest Management in West Zone
District / Area of Forest Land (Sq. Km.) / Area of Forest Land under JFM (Sq. Km.) / No. of FPC / No. of FPC members / % of Forest land under JFM
Paschim Medinipur / 1758 / 1434 / 1299 / 149315 / 81.57
Bankura / 1434 / 1284 / 1387 / 135378 / 89.54
Purulia / 1067 / 727 / 756 / 75956 / 68.13
total / 4259 / 3445 / 3442 / 360649 / 80.89

The fringe villagers as FPC members are involved in various forestry operations and received support for their employment generation. The Forest Department gave emphasis on the scientific management of forest resources and developed management plan after proper survey and taking into consideration socio- economic aspect. The planning process also involved the local people and village level micro plans are formulated through the participatory method of rural appraisal so that appropriate socio-economic development of these villages can be taken up in phased manner as per the need based micro plans. Since Panchayeti Raj Institution and various departments of the District Administration are involved in the infrastructure development of the villages , the Forest Department focused on the Community Development through various eco friendly income generation support activities for FPC members.

These FPC members especially women were imparted vocational training for additional income generation and inputs support were distributed among the poor villagers so that they may get adequate employment outside the forest areas. These socio economic activities of the Forest Department helped in reduction of dependency on forest resources for livelihood and accordingly the pressure on the forest resource is gradually reduced. It is evident that the Government gave emphasis on the overall Community Development of the people around the forest which are integral part of the forest eco system and their livelihood needs is to be addressed in order to ensure long term conservation of resource. As per the order, the FPC members who are protecting the forest resources are entitled for sharing of benefits from final and intermediate harvesting of forest resources. The forest department is sharing the usufruct benefits with the forest protection committee members and giving them 25% of the revenue from harvest of timber, poles and firewood. Forests and forest resources, primarily minor forest produces known as MFPs, play an important role in the viability and survival of tribal households in west Bengal, because of the importance of forests in their social, cultural and economic survival. Apart from this direct cash benefit given to the FPC members, the local villagers are economically benefited from collection of sal leaves for making plates, sal seed , medicinal plants, Kendu leaves and firewood etc. Recent studies conducted in the tribal regions of West Bengal offer further empirical evidence for the extent of dependence of tribal households on MFP collection. In Midnapore, Bankura, Purulia, Birbhum and Bardhwan districts of South West Bengal families collect mahua flowers; tendu leaves which is used in making indigenous cigarettes, mushrooms and Sal seeds and wild brooms. The primary players in the collection, processing, and marketing of MFPs are women who gather the bulk of forest produce, including food and fuel-related forest products. These forest protection committee members have formed self-help groups to earn livelihood. More than 1400 such groups has been formed in South West Bengal. Medicinal plants contribute largely to bio-diversity of forest eco-system and have great potential in revitalizing health care systems and generating supplementary means of livelihood of rural population.

Employment Generation through Collection of

Non-wood Forest produce in South West Bengal

Item of works / Man days generation per year(in lakhs) / Approximate income (Rs in lakhs)
Sal leaf collection, drying and stiching / 50.00 / 3750.00
Sal, Mahua, Neem, Seed
collection / 2.75 / 206.25
Kendu Leaves collection / 20.00 / 1500.00
Collection of Medicinal Plants / 3.0 / 225.00
Sabai /Babuai grass collection and rope production / 2.65 / 198.75
Tassar Cultivation / 0.80 / 60.00
Lac Cultivation / 0.75 / 56.25
Decorative fungus and plants collection / 0.50 / 37.50
Cashew nut production from Forest wood lots / 0.60 / 45.00
TOTAL / 81.05 / 6078.75

The Forest Department has distributed a sum of Rs. 50.607 crores to 4,60,363 Nos families from 1995 – 96 to 2006- 07. Further, the Hon’bl Chief Minister, West Bengal, distributed FPC Share on 8th March 2008, 2nd November 2008 and 17th February 2009. So the figure going up every year and till date sixty Crores has been distributed among FPC Members in South Bengal as their share for protecting the forest resources.

It is important to note that most of the forest fringe villagers are remotely located and generally lack of civic and economic amenities such as roads, drinking water, irrigation facilities, education etc. The Forest Department gave emphasis for development of these infrastructural facilities so that long term assets are created and Community Development Programme is being implemented for overall socio-economic development in order to alleviate poverty from this region.

The Forest Department is implementing the following JFM support activities for socio-economic upliftment of local communities living in the fringe areas of the forest.

1) Development agriculture to create irrigation facilities like Earthen Dam ,

Rain water harvesting structure, irrigation cannels, deep tube well and lift

irrigation etc.

2)  Development communication through use of roads.

3)  Development of drinking water facilities like Ring Well , Ponds Shallow tube well and Sajal Dhara Scheme etc.

4)  Construction of school buildings in remote villages.

INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT WORKS IN LAST ONE DECADE BY FOREST DEPARTMENT

Sl. No. / Item of Works / Unit / Bankura Dist / Paschim Midnapur Dist / Purulia Dist.
1 / Construction of Irrigation Canals / Km / 5 / 23 / 5
2 / Construction of Earthen Dams for irrigation / No. / 205 / 227 / 360
3 / Construction of rain Water Harvesting Structure / No. / 61 / 176 / 55
4 / Construction of Rural Road / Km / 406 / 386 / 240
5 / Construction of School Building / No. / 26 / 24 / 4
6 / Multipurpose Building for Community
Development activities & Anganwari / No. / 66 / 18 / 10
7 / Works for provision for Sanitary facilities / No. / 15 / 41 / 35
8 / Construction of Causeway & Culvert / No. / 67 / 28 / 45
9 / Deep Tubewell & Mini eep Tubewell / No. / 70 / 23 / 120
10 / Training / No. / 413 / 749 / 154
11 / Sal Plate Making Machine / No. / 98 / 162 / 30
12 / Paddy Thrasher / No. / 53 / 256 / 465
13 / Sewing Machine / No. / 30 / 47 / 69
14 / Water Pump Machine / No. / 56 / 7 / 70
15 / Babui Rope making machine / No. / 20 / 50 / 9
16 / Ban Yoti smokeless Chullah / No. / 0 / 102 / 0
18 / Ringwell for drinking water / No. / 168 / 344 / 240

Performance of Consolidation of Joint Forest Management in South West Bengal

and FPC share released from final harvest

Particulars

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Felling Year

1997-98 / 1998-99 / 1999-2000 / 2000-2001 / 2001-2002 / 2002-2003 / 2003-2004 / 2004-2005 / 2005-06
No. of FPC / 248 / 339 / 445 / 424 / 520 / 1454 / 1454 / 1510 / 1944
No.of Benificiary / 32,156 / 35,530 / 50,989 / 56,479 / 45,662 / 45,662 / 51,047 / 60,150 / 56,979
Area felled (Ha.) / Sal / Pltn. / Sal / Pltn. / Sal / Pltn. / Sal / Pltn. / Sal / Pltn. / Sal / Pltn. / Sal / Pltn. / Sal / Pltn. / Sal / Pltn.
- / - / 2065 / 1893 / 2902 / 2890 / 2441 / 3076 / 3632 / 2945 / 3626 / 2691 / 3870 / 3266 / 3980 / 3814 / 4,790 / 4111
F.P.C. Share released (Rs. in crores) / 2.5124 / 2.87 / 4.02 / 4.555 / 5.80 / 4.3001 / 5.4875 / 5.0925 / 5.920
F.P.C. Share per capita / Rs 781.00 / Rs. 807.00 / Rs. 788.00 / Rs. 806.00 / Rs. 1,270.00 / Rs. 942.00 / Rs. 1,075.00 / Rs.846.00 / Rs. 1039.00

N.B. : Total FPC share released from 1995-96 upto 2005-06 = Rs. 44.22 crores

Thus, Joint Forest Management has opened up a new branch of technology in forestry, i.e. the people-forest interface, which has been neglected in the past, but has now been identified as the foremost requirement in preservation and conservation of the natural resources. The resolution for formation of FPCs has stressed on successful implementation of the programme for regeneration, maintenance and protection of only the degraded forests/plantations of the State as a whole for converting the areas into productive forests.

A few lakhs of families have been motivated in forest protection in the State and a lot of aspirations have been aroused among the local backward communities. The Joint Forest Management approach acknowledges the relationship of local people to the surrounding forests encompassing all aspects of their social, economic, cultural, religious and even political lives. It, therefore, attempts to link conservation to the broader process of development as well as to the existing socio-cultural milieu.

Since the funds available for the purpose of Community development programme are not adequate to achieve the desired results and the basic question of sustaining these activities is a major concern. The convergence of Rural Development Schemes and Community Development through Joint Forest Management is essential for sustainability of the Programme. If different rural development programmes are dovetailed with the approved Support activities of the JFM, the forests can be effectively protected and biodiversity conserved in long run.