Joint Forest Management Resolution

HARYANA

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Memo. No. 1370-FL-1-90/15610 dated 13.6.90 from the Financial Commissioner and Secretary to Govt. of Haryana, Forest Department to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Haryana.

During recent years there has been a growing recognition of the failure of traditional forest management systems, particularly in areas adjoining villages. While forest areas have continued to get further degraded the level of mistrust between forest department staff and villagers has increased. Presently one of the major roles of the Forest Department is to ‘police’ the surviving forest resources. This roles in a continuous confrontation between local villagers who need to exploit these resources for survival and the forest staff who are duty bound to protect them.

The Haryana forest department (HFD) in collaboration with the Central Soil and Water Conservation Training and Research Institute, Chandigarh played a pioneering role in developing an alternative to the present management system through its work is Sukhomajri and Nada in the late 1970s and early 1980s. the essential learning’s from Sukhomajri and Nada were the following:

A major reason for soil erosion and forest degradation is non-sustainable exploitation of hill resources by impoverished villagers due to their economic compulsions.

As such purely technical soil conservation and afforestation measures cannot succeed as the problem lies in the villages and not in the hills,

The same people and the same hills can undergo dramatic transformation within a short period of time if the relationship between the people and hills can be changed from a destructive one to t a productive one.

That the forest department and village communities can be partners in developing sustainable natural resource management in hilly forest areas community to do so.

That social fencing by village communities can be more effective in protecting forest areas then any amount of policing by the FD.

From the early 1980s, the HFD has done commendable work in extending the joint management approach to several other villages in the Shivalik belt. Registered Hill Resource Management Societies (HRMS) of villagers have been formed to take responsibility for protection of forest areas. In return, the HFD has given them leases for harvesting bhabbar or grass from adjoining forest areas or built small water harvesting dams from which supplemental irrigation is provided to villagers fields.

However, in many of expansion areas, cooperation between the forest staff and village communities has not been as effective as in the pilot villages of Sukhomajri and Nada. In part, this has resulted from grater stress on the technical engineering aspects of the programme than on involving the villagers in protecting and building up their management capabilities. Another major reason for this has been the lack of clear policy guidelines on how the HFD will share the benefits of improved protection and management with HRMS. The rights and responsibilities of both HFD and HRMS need to be clearly defined as a basis for reaching an agreement between the two parties prior to initiating any action of the principles of joint management.

Once this is done, the HFD can proceed with training its staff to implement the policy systematically and integrate working in partnership with village communities in their day-to-day work.

Philosophy and Benefits of the Proposed Policy

The basic philosophy underlying the proposed policy is to link the economic interests of villagers living adjacent to forest areas with sustainable management of those areas. This would be achieved through identifying one or more catalysts in each village which would motivate the villagers to improve the productivity of the forest areas and giving them a major share in the increased production.

For the state government there will be no loss in existing revenues (if any) from the concerned areas. The present levels of revenue will be maintained and in certain cases there will increase over a period of time. Simultaneously, through increased production resulting from villagers participation with the villagers, the ‘villagers’ economic status will improve substantially without any additional cost to the government. The government will get the benefit of increasing incomes and employment without making any additional investments. Further, with villagers accepting responsibility for protection and management of forest areas near the villages, the departments future costs for their protection and rehabilitation will be substantially reduced. In fact, the FD’s traditional role of policeman will change to one of enabling villagers to participate in improved management of forest areas.

Further, if productivity of the forest belt adjacent to villages is sufficiently increased through joint management to meet all the villagers requirements of biomass products, the productivity of forest areas beyond this belt will increase through natural regeneration thereby increasing the government revenue from these areas without much additional investment.

An improved environment and restoration of the ecological balance will be yet another benefit for the state.

Policy Content

The basic unit of interaction at the village level could be a hamlet of a village, a whole village or, in exceptional circumstances, a gram panchayat. The HFD will negotiate with an organisation of the villagers and not directly with any individual. The minimum of households in the unit should be 10 to 15. The selection of the villagers unit will based among other criteria, on physical proximity of residence, sharing of common rights or interests in biomass resources from specific forests areas and at least minimal level of social cohesiveness/identity among the member households. To begin with, the member households could form an unregistered society which will subsequently be registered within a specified period of time under the Societies Registration Act. The society, would be called Hill Resource Management Society (HRMS). At a subsequent date, if considered desirable, the pros and cons of creating statutory body could be explored.

Subject to the willingness of the majority of households of the concerned unit to accept responsibility for joint management of the specific forest area in their vicinity the HFD, in collaboration with the villager will prepare a development-cum-management plan for the area. This micro-planning exercise will aim to clearly delineate the forest area to be brought under joint management with HRMS and as far as possible efforts will be made to ensure that only HRMS members have rights in that area to conflict with other right holders. One or more of the following catalysts will be identified for tying the villagers interest with improved management of the demarcated area:

Water (through a dam or a kool system) for irrigating villagers field to reduce their dependence on the forest area and their accepting the condition to stop open grazing to protect their water source.

Grass for fodder. A grass lease for hand harvesting of grass could be given to the HRMS instead of auctioning the same to intermediary given to the HRMS instead of auctioning the same to intermediary contractors. In exchange, HRMS could be asked to protect the area from open grazing.

Bhabbar for rope making or sale. A lease could be given to the HRMS paper mill of either auctioning to private contractor or a lease direct to the paper mill. In villagers where some people use bhabbar for rope making a provision will be incorporated in the agreement HRMS, that all their bhabbar requirements will be met prior to sale of the grass to outsiders.

Bamboo for basket making. Members of the Banjea community engaged in bamboo basket making can be allowed to harvest increased quotas of bamboo as per their requirements for upto 9 months in the year (mid September to mid June) on the condition that they will maintain the clumps at optimum productivity levels and assist in prevention of fire during the fire season. They can also be asked to harvest bamboo for the production division to ensure that there is no mishandling of clumps by outside labour.

Timber, katha, firewood, fruit and other forest produce. Similar arrangements can be worked our for harvesting/processing of the above. The basic aim production of forests areas.

Prior to the commencement of joint management a joint management specify the rights and responsibilities of both parties and will be supported by a resolution of the society that its members accept the joint management plan. Where any physical works are involved 9construction of dam or a kool system), no physical works will be started before the joint management has been signed by the majority of the households. The major rights and responsibilities of HFD and HRMS are summarised below:

State			HFD		HRMS		+
	Rights		Responsibilities		Rights		Responsibilities
Planning	- Not to enter into agreement if majority unwilling to accept responsibility		- Facilitate discussion of planning options and provide technical guidance		- To seek information on all aspects of joint management and not to enter into agreement unless satisfied about potential benefits		- Participate in planning process, define membership rules and responsibilities of members for protection and management. Through open discussions define rules for equitable distribution of benefits among members, taking major decisions only in general house meetings and agree upon a system of fines / punishment for members who violate rules
Implementation and initial Management Period
		- to evaluate joint management functioning of HRMS and elections to managing committee and equitable		- provide technical & financial inputs as planned; - facilitate management capacity building of HRMS		- to get grass bhabbar, bamboo, water or other produce as per agreement		- to contribute voluntary labour, if so planned - to protect area from open grazing, - punish member

 

State			HFD		HRMS		+
	Rights		Responsibilities		Rights		Responsibilities
	Sharing of benefits among menbers						Offenders as per rules. If this is ineffective authorised FD to punish offender; - conduct regular MC and general body meetings to keep all members informed of progress and increase consensus
Ongoing implementation
		To refer case to appropriate federative HRMS body if an HRMs is not fulfilling responsibilities; - to examine distribution rules, functioning and accounts		To ensure HRMS gets its share of increased production; - to assists HRMS get registration, strengthen functioning and monitor its performance; - to oversee elections and annual audit of accounts		To harvest increased production and gets its share of income as per agreement		to reinvest part of HRMS income into its management area; - to fulfill all agreed responsibilities
Dispute Arbitration
		To appoint senior officer to arbitrate on disputes between HRMS & HFD		To help resolve disputes withing HRMS		To levy fines on offending members; withdraw membership of chronic offenders’ - to revise bylaws, when necessary		To settle disputes within membership; - refer violation; of rules by non-members to HFD