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Issues
In Rajasthan's
Joint
Forest
Management
Some of
the main issues, which need consideration, are discussed below:
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Rigidity
Of Approach:
There is rigidity in following the guidelines. The involvement
of people necessitates a certain flexibility in approach.
NGOs and the people have suggested changes to further strengthen
the programme. But the Government is lukewarm in reviewing
the suggestions and redesigning the programme. A nodal body
for this purpose may make the programme more participatory
and effective. |
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People's
Perception:
Based on their past experience, the people are generally
not confident of the Government fulfilling its assurances.
Therefore, they are inclined to view JFM as another employment
oriented programme. The challenge lies in changing the people's
attitude which can be done by bringing about change in underlying
social conditions. A range of social engineering tasks need
to be undertaken to facilitate co-operative management of
common property resources. |
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Skills
Enhancement
:
Forests officials are now trained in their new role as facilitators.
They should be trained in extension and community development
skills to enable them to become effective community animators.
This problem is not only specific to the forest officials
but also NGOs and their staff. |
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Short-cut
Approach
:
FPCs were set up in a hurry to meet plantation targets without
adequate consultation with the people. Often, a plantation
site is selected first and then FPC is set up on the basis
of its location. This tends to create confusion among the
people about their role and responsibilities and the benefits
that will accrue to them. As a result, just a few FPCs (like
Eklingpura, Gorela and Ambua) are functioning effectively.
The present area based approach should give way to people-oriented
one and FPCs should be set up after extensive consultation
with the people of the area.
Recently,
contractors were employed in JFM area for afforestation
work. This is a cynical approach as it runs counter to the
basic tenets of community participation. The earlier the
realisation dawns that there are no short-cuts in participatory
approach, the better it will be for creating an improved
climate for people's participation. |
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People's
Institutions
:
Unless village level institutions are truly representative
of community interests , the participatory approach will
not succeed. All the agencies involved in JFM, State Government
and NGOs, must make long term commitments to making these
institutions truly representative, accountable and effective.
In
the short run, village committees are likely to lack confidence
in the concept of participatory management. A contract between
powerful patron (Forest Department) and ordinary villagers
lacks credibility in the latter's eyes because development
agents have seldom, in the past, kept their promises to
the poor. The development agent's usual approach is to provide
a service as a favour and in return for a consideration.
The culture of transparency and fairness in ensuring entitlements
to the poor is yet to evolve and establish. Besides the
unstable nature of the contract, there are other constraints
which are internal to the people.
In
today's socio-political context, the texture of poverty
is not conducive to collective action to secure the rural
people's common interest. On the contrary, there are economic
and political compulsions to negotiate gains that violate
common interests. It is usual for the people to lack confidence
in their tenuous existence. As long as the power relations
between the people and the Forest Department remain grossly
unfair, participation is not likely to occur.
One
of the central aims of building village institutions should
be to reconstitute social relations so that they promote
participatory management of common property resources and
help in establishing trust and reciprocity in the rural
community. |
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Technical
Package :
FPC are doing well wherever immediate gains (fuel-wood,
fodder, minor forest produce, etc.) are visible to the community.
The implementing agencies should offer a technical package
to FPC which includes trees, shrubs and grasses that start
yielding benefits at the earliest. Area-specific research
programme for preparing such packages is essential and their
results should be available quickly for adoption. |
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Role
of NGOs
;
The protection and management of forests through people's
institutions is a complex process involving village dynamics,
inter-village relations, sharing of produce, etc. Therefore,
these institutions will take time to be able to manage their
own affairs. Forest Department's constraints do not make
them suitable agency for help. NGOs and panchayats
are better options. But the Forest Department appears to
be reluctant to involve them, particularly NGOs. They need
to be involved in large numbers to help village institutions
and act as catalytic agents. |
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Forest
Department's Role:
Till FPCs gather experience of forest settlement rules and
legal knowledge and granted legal authority, the Forest
Department should work in close collaboration with them
and help them with their problems. |
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S.N.Bhise
Ajay
S Mehta
Seva Mandir, Udaipur
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