| Wednesday, February 20, 2008 | |||||
| Ministry of Environment and Forests | | ||||
NON-TIMBER FOREST PRODUCTS: FUTURE SCENARIO | |||||
| 12:59 IST | |||||
| | |||||
| BACKGROUNDER NTFP based forest management provides a mechanism for creating incentives for the forest conservation itself: the argument here is that the rural community will be less inclined to destroy the resource base if they are able to derive more benefits from forest conservation. The term Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) appears to have been coined, for the first time, by De beer and Macdermott (1989). Until about a decade and half and word ‘Minor Forest Products’ were perceived providing only an insignificant portion of the household income of forest fringe dwellers. State Forest Departments (SFDs) often considered them of ‘Minor’ economic significance primarily on account of their insignificant revenue contribution as compared to timber. In 1990s when the adverse impacts of timber logging became a subject of intense debate NTFPs became an alternative source of income to forest dwellers. This category of products acquired further prominence on account of growing preferences for use of natural products for health care, nutrition, cosmetics, aroma, pesticides etc. There has been an increasing realization that NTFP management represents a sustainable form of forest management, which is ecologically less damaging than management of the forests for timber logging. Non Timber Forest Products and Poverty Alleviation Forestry is being redefined, with a growing emphasis on poverty alleviation and livelihoods improvements particularly since late 1970. The Millennium Development Goal’s (MDGs) have focused attention on poverty alleviation. Fortunately, forestry of late received due recognition that it has component of poverty reduction through providing immediate goods and services for consumption, cash income and serves as safety net. In forestry NTFPs appeared to have the potential for poverty reduction and sustainable livelihood. Kaushal and Melkani (2005) made a strong case for achieving all 8 MDGs through Non Timber Forest Products. There is a high level of actual use of NTFPs by the rural poor. Forest products contributes between 20-40% of total income of households in forest areas and that poor households tend to be disproportionately dependent on forest resources, especially fuel wood and fodder. In respect of household income the estimates in Indian conditions has been estimated to vary between 10-54%. There are varying estimates (100 m to 500 m persons) of dependence of communities on NTFP for cash income and self-consumption. Needless to say that the community dependence on NTFP is very large particularly amongst forest fringe dwellers who derive bulk of their livelihood support from NTFPs. For the successful implementation of Joint Forest Management, flow of benefits through production of NTFPs offers the best incentives to the participating communities on sustained basis. In order to sustain the interest of the participating communities in forest conservation, sustainable NTFP management therefore assumes key role. However, the current NTFP management practices are ecologically and socially unsustainable. The forest dwellers are b y and large conservation oriented but due to unscrupulous elements such as middle me and traders are pushing them to resort to unsustainable and destructive harvesting. Large pharmaceutical industries are also abetting the process of destruction of this important element of forest biodiversity. Due to inadequate realization for the ecological, economic and social values of NTFPs there is lack of policy and institutional intervention at national level for the conservation and sustainable management of these resources. The facts in the following section confirm this assessment. Reconciling Conservation and Development In a wake of logging ban it was generally understood that NTFP extraction would be less harmful to forest ecosystem than timber harvesting and that it will provide incentives to communities to conserve. However, in the past decade or so there have numerous example of destructive and unsustainable extraction of NTFP resources in wild. In Bastar district of Chhattisgarh sate which is predominantly a tribal area rich in forests and biodidversity, Rauwolfia serpentina, source of an important alkaloid ‘reserpine’ used in moderating blood pressure was removed by truck loads in 1960’s. Today this important medicinal plant has disappeared altogether. Curcuma caesia, in Amarkantak forests (origin of Narmada river) Litsea chinensis in Madhya Pradesh Machilus macarantha trees in tropical wel wvergreen forests of Coorg and Maland districts of Karnataka, Taxus baccata and Rhododendrons in Hamalaya’s are threatened due to unsustainable extraction. Dry deciduous forests of Madhya Pradesh are very rich in species like Emblica officinalis, Buchanania lanzan and Chlorophytum spp. According to a study 14-23% of these species are being annually destroyed on account of irresponsible extraction. Due to unsustainable extract of these commercially very important NTFP species there is an estimated loss of about 50% of germ plasm. Due to lack of appreciation for their ecological ole in forest ecosystem and economic value there is continued neglect for responsible extraction of these resources. The bamboo resources are declining due to lack of investments for revival of gregariously flowered bamboo areas. Bamboo resources are receding in different parts of India. Similarly, a number of other NTFPs are also depleting due to unsustainable extraction. The state of Madhya Pradesh is one of the richest NTFP state in the country. The data on collection of Terminalia Chebula, Sal seed (seen of Shorea robusta, Kullu gum (Sterculia urens gum) and other rasins show that the collection is declining every year. The reason is mostly on account of loss of trees and plants yielding these products. In the state of Tripura Agar and Mucuna seeds have been extensively extracted depleting the resources. There are only a few example as to how the NTFP resources are declining from forests. There are some efforts as to how the NTFP resources are declining from forests. There are some efforts to grow and domesticate some of these plants but they still account for less than 10% of the total requirements. The question therefore is, can development and conservation be reconciled? Evolving Socio-Political System and Future of Forests and NTFPs. At present India is witnessing coalition Governments in states as well as at the central level. There is an emergence of strong regional/local political outfits formed on the basis of local issues. The regional imbalances have disappointed the voters and therefore, they aspire for quick social economic developments through their support to local political parties. The local issues are landlessness, poverty and underdevelopment. The political agenda of the local parties therefore, is to address these issues. In the process these regional political outfits are compelled to take up issues of distribution of land, water, forests and other natural resources. In this process the nationalistic emphasis on conservation and sustainable management of natural resources is subordinated to the ever increasing demand of locals for these resources. There is an example in the state of Madhya Pradesh where the village grazing land was distributed among the landless people leaving the brunt of livestock grazing to common access resource like forests. There are pressures on integrity of Protected Areas for satisfying the needs for grazing, collection of fuel, fodder and other NTFPs and also for regularization of forest encroachments. There pressures are likely to extend further which may have adverse impacts on ecological equilibrium. Economic Development and Forest Resources Economic boom has encouraged the neo rich to go for imported wood and wood products. There is an increasing trend on import of forest products without any commensurate efforts to develop national natural resources. Instead of self-sufficiency in availability of forest products and conservation of natural resources the country is in fact depending heavily on import of forest products. Some of the countries in the region (e.g. Indonesia), which allowed liberal export of timber logs a few years ago has restricted the export to, processed wood. There is another example of economic boom translated into enriching forest resources. In China for example the national government allotted additional $5 bn to improve forest resources to control the dust storm and floods. Such national priorities in the Indian context are required to rejuvenate the depleting forest resources. Indian forestry was well recognized for its progressive outlook as was reflected in the formulation of post independent forest policy of 1952 and then in the revised version of 1988. Much is required to be done to reverse the present trend of depletion of forest resources. Loss of forests will affect the availability of NTFPs and the ‘safety net’. | |||||
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Friday, March 14, 2008
Friday, December 7, 2007
India: Uttarakhand forests valued at $2.4 billion
Source: Hindu Business Line, India, 25 November 2007
The forests in Uttarakhand region have been valued at $2.4 billion (approximately Rs 10,700 crore) per year in terms of the services they provide. This needs to be recognised and compensated, according to a study released here on Saturday.
Globally, it is estimated that the current economic value of the services provided by the earth’s ecosystems is at least $33 trillion per year. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2003 has defined Ecosystem Services (ESs) as a wide range of conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems, and species that make them up, sustain and fulfil human life.
Thirty-two such services, including carbon sequestration, climate management, hydrological regulation, timber, firewood, soil conservation, pollination and other non-timber forest produces (NTFPs) have been identified so far, the study said.
In the forests of Uttarakhand, the average value of about $1,150 per hectare per year for the services provided needs to be reflected in our economic planning and compensated for, said the recent study, ‘Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Forest Governance, in Uttarakhand, as a scoping study’.
Uttarakhand has nearly 70 per cent forest cover, of which 40 per cent is ‘good forest’. While the entire Himalayas are hailed as the water towers of the world, this State is particularly crucial from the ecosystem services aspect, as it has sustained the lives of millions of people (nearly 500 million people living in the Gangetic plain currently) for the past 5,000 years, said ecologist Prof S.P. Singh.
The report has been prepared by Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD) India and its partner organisation, Central Himalayan Environmental Association (CHEA) in Uttarakhand, under the guidance of Prof Singh. It evaluates and quantifies the services rendered by the Himalayan ecosystem in the State. It is the first comprehensive collation of scientific information around various ESs using mainly secondary sources.
LEAD is a global network of individuals and non-government organisations committed to sustainable development.
The research is supported by Heinrich Boll Foundation, a Green Party Affiliate, including stakeholders such as local members of village forest councils, scientists, government forest managers and NGOs.
ENVIRONMENT-INDIA: Tribals Distressed by Ban on Forest Gathering
By Keya Acharya
KANNERI, BRT Hills Sanctuary, Karnataka, Nov 20 (IPS) - The magical trill of the Nilgiri Whistling Thrush deep in the jungles of this remote southern Indian wildlife sanctuary is no comfort to its nearly 2,000 Soliga aboriginal tribal families.
The implementation in 2006 of the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act 2002 now bans adviasis (aboriginal tribes) from gathering non-timber forest produce (NTFP) such as honey, wild herbs, mosses, lichen and fruits for commercial purposes from parks and sanctuaries.
Till the ban, Soligas had usufruct rights to collect NTFP and sell them to their own cooperative LAMPs (Large-scale Adivasi Multipurpose Society) which in turn would auction them to the highest bidder, generally traders who in turn sell the produce to various industries.
Being a cooperative, LAMPS functioned on a non-profit basis.
Approximately 12,500 (of a total population of 30,000) Soliga had subsisted inside BRT (short for Biligiri Rangana Betta), growing a little food and relying heavily on NTFP sales for daily sustenance.
Their close link with the forests has given them a deep knowledge of the ecology and of the forests of BRT. There have been no instances reported of poaching or harming wildlife by Soliga inside the sanctuary.
But without the small income from selling to LAMPS, Soliga families are now facing starvation and distress.
Active contributors to LAMPS, like Chikkananjegowda of the Kanneri advasi settlement inside the sanctuary, are now unemployed.
Chikkananjegowda’s wife, 40-year-old Veeramma found work as a daily-wage labourer in a coffee estate nearby, but that too, dried up.
''Family members are now commuting long distances daily in search of seasonal and menial jobs," say a group of ten elders from the Soliga community to members of the Pune-based non-government organisation (NGO) ‘Kalpavriksh’, visiting BRT to study the situation.
‘ We have to spend half of the daily wage of Indian Rupees 60 ( 1.5 US dollar) to travel by bus to find work, and we have no food to carry or eat.‘
In another hut alongside Veeramma’s, 42-year-old Gowramma says her family manages one meal a day by traveling 25 km daily to cut cane.
"The DFO (divisional forest officer), threatens us if we walk through the forests, so we have to spend money taking a bus."
Earlier she and her husband earned Rs. 5,000-6000 ( approximately 125 dollars) per year from NTFP sales to LAMPS, but now the four self-help groups serving LAMPS in the area have no work.
The problem has now soured relations between Soliga and the forest staff from one of goodwill into one of mutual distrust.
In March 2007, the forest department arrested several Soliga for alleged arson. The Soligas, in turn, say a few misguided youth may have been responsible, but are upset at the DFO’s treatment of the issue.
Magarikhete Gowda, 60, has now filed a police report for physical abuse against the DFO. R. Raju. " Up until now we had no problem with the forest department," says Veeramma, " but this year has been different."
Raju denies using excessive force against the tribals, saying "95 percent of them are innocent, but frustrated at the ban of collection of NTFP’’.
Letters to the government, begun in 2004 and continuing today, argue whether LAMPS, from which the Soliga depend on their daily living, can be defined as ‘commercial extraction’, which is now banned under the Wildlife Act.
The State Wildlife Board, which heard the forest department’s request in August 2007 to allow some extraction of NTFP for Soliga since it was a livelihood sytem and not a commercial process, has passed the matter on to the central government in New Delhi for a decision.
The Indian government’s ban, done in a bid to protect the country’s fast-depleting wildlife, has also affected tribals inside protected areas in other regions such as adjacent Kerala state.
But the plight of this primitive tribe, deeply connected to the forests, is the most dire reported so far.
Meanwhile, the Soliga Association has been pleading with the State’s forest secretary, Governor and other authorities. In desperation, the organisation has organised a ‘sit-in’ protest on Nov. 26 outside the office of the divisional commissioner, the highest ranking official in the district.
"'I think we need jobs", says C. Madegowda, the first Soliga postgraduate from a school set up 25 years ago by a medical doctor, H. Sudarshan, now internationally acclaimed for his work amongst the tribals.
Madegowda says the majority drop out after school because of lack of finances to study further and the forest department does not have a system of recruiting trained and educated local youth. " Some youth have recently been given some ‘weeding’ work", comments Madegowda.
Dr. Sudarshan says India’s rural welfare measure, the National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) scheme, wherein one member of each rural family is guaranteed at least 100 days of paid labour, has not been considered for BRT and the tribals.
" This scheme is absolutely necessary to the tribals, more so because NTFP collection has been banned," feels Sudarshan. "The administration could easily work out 100 days of employment through desilting tanks (reservoirs), rainwater harvesting and watershed construction," he says.
Meanwhile, Kalpavriksh and a Bangalore-based scientific organisation called the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) are working with Sudharshan’s organisation to help the Soliga.
Kalpavriksh is campaigning with central and State authorities to bring attention to the Soliga’s distress.
Sudarshan is offering resources including trained youth to the forest department for forest conservation, in a bid to undertake collaborative and participatory management of BRT.
" I am fully convinced that conservation and livelihood can go together. Give me the chance to show it, " to doctor said.
(END/2007)
By Keya Acharya
KANNERI, BRT Hills Sanctuary, Karnataka, Nov 20 (IPS) - The magical trill of the Nilgiri Whistling Thrush deep in the jungles of this remote southern Indian wildlife sanctuary is no comfort to its nearly 2,000 Soliga aboriginal tribal families.
The implementation in 2006 of the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act 2002 now bans adviasis (aboriginal tribes) from gathering non-timber forest produce (NTFP) such as honey, wild herbs, mosses, lichen and fruits for commercial purposes from parks and sanctuaries.
Till the ban, Soligas had usufruct rights to collect NTFP and sell them to their own cooperative LAMPs (Large-scale Adivasi Multipurpose Society) which in turn would auction them to the highest bidder, generally traders who in turn sell the produce to various industries.
Being a cooperative, LAMPS functioned on a non-profit basis.
Approximately 12,500 (of a total population of 30,000) Soliga had subsisted inside BRT (short for Biligiri Rangana Betta), growing a little food and relying heavily on NTFP sales for daily sustenance.
Their close link with the forests has given them a deep knowledge of the ecology and of the forests of BRT. There have been no instances reported of poaching or harming wildlife by Soliga inside the sanctuary.
But without the small income from selling to LAMPS, Soliga families are now facing starvation and distress.
Active contributors to LAMPS, like Chikkananjegowda of the Kanneri advasi settlement inside the sanctuary, are now unemployed.
Chikkananjegowda’s wife, 40-year-old Veeramma found work as a daily-wage labourer in a coffee estate nearby, but that too, dried up.
''Family members are now commuting long distances daily in search of seasonal and menial jobs," say a group of ten elders from the Soliga community to members of the Pune-based non-government organisation (NGO) ‘Kalpavriksh’, visiting BRT to study the situation.
‘ We have to spend half of the daily wage of Indian Rupees 60 ( 1.5 US dollar) to travel by bus to find work, and we have no food to carry or eat.‘
In another hut alongside Veeramma’s, 42-year-old Gowramma says her family manages one meal a day by traveling 25 km daily to cut cane.
"The DFO (divisional forest officer), threatens us if we walk through the forests, so we have to spend money taking a bus."
Earlier she and her husband earned Rs. 5,000-6000 ( approximately 125 dollars) per year from NTFP sales to LAMPS, but now the four self-help groups serving LAMPS in the area have no work.
The problem has now soured relations between Soliga and the forest staff from one of goodwill into one of mutual distrust.
In March 2007, the forest department arrested several Soliga for alleged arson. The Soligas, in turn, say a few misguided youth may have been responsible, but are upset at the DFO’s treatment of the issue.
Magarikhete Gowda, 60, has now filed a police report for physical abuse against the DFO. R. Raju. " Up until now we had no problem with the forest department," says Veeramma, " but this year has been different."
Raju denies using excessive force against the tribals, saying "95 percent of them are innocent, but frustrated at the ban of collection of NTFP’’.
Letters to the government, begun in 2004 and continuing today, argue whether LAMPS, from which the Soliga depend on their daily living, can be defined as ‘commercial extraction’, which is now banned under the Wildlife Act.
The State Wildlife Board, which heard the forest department’s request in August 2007 to allow some extraction of NTFP for Soliga since it was a livelihood sytem and not a commercial process, has passed the matter on to the central government in New Delhi for a decision.
The Indian government’s ban, done in a bid to protect the country’s fast-depleting wildlife, has also affected tribals inside protected areas in other regions such as adjacent Kerala state.
But the plight of this primitive tribe, deeply connected to the forests, is the most dire reported so far.
Meanwhile, the Soliga Association has been pleading with the State’s forest secretary, Governor and other authorities. In desperation, the organisation has organised a ‘sit-in’ protest on Nov. 26 outside the office of the divisional commissioner, the highest ranking official in the district.
"'I think we need jobs", says C. Madegowda, the first Soliga postgraduate from a school set up 25 years ago by a medical doctor, H. Sudarshan, now internationally acclaimed for his work amongst the tribals.
Madegowda says the majority drop out after school because of lack of finances to study further and the forest department does not have a system of recruiting trained and educated local youth. " Some youth have recently been given some ‘weeding’ work", comments Madegowda.
Dr. Sudarshan says India’s rural welfare measure, the National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) scheme, wherein one member of each rural family is guaranteed at least 100 days of paid labour, has not been considered for BRT and the tribals.
" This scheme is absolutely necessary to the tribals, more so because NTFP collection has been banned," feels Sudarshan. "The administration could easily work out 100 days of employment through desilting tanks (reservoirs), rainwater harvesting and watershed construction," he says.
Meanwhile, Kalpavriksh and a Bangalore-based scientific organisation called the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) are working with Sudharshan’s organisation to help the Soliga.
Kalpavriksh is campaigning with central and State authorities to bring attention to the Soliga’s distress.
Sudarshan is offering resources including trained youth to the forest department for forest conservation, in a bid to undertake collaborative and participatory management of BRT.
" I am fully convinced that conservation and livelihood can go together. Give me the chance to show it, " to doctor said.
(END/2007)
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
ENVIRONMENT-INDIA: Tribals Distressed by Ban on Forest Gathering
By Keya Acharya
KANNERI, BRT Hills Sanctuary, Karnataka, Nov 20 (IPS) - The magical trill of the Nilgiri Whistling Thrush deep in the jungles of this remote southern Indian wildlife sanctuary is no comfort to its nearly 2,000 Soliga aboriginal tribal families.
The implementation in 2006 of the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act 2002 now bans adviasis (aboriginal tribes) from gathering non-timber forest produce (NTFP) such as honey, wild herbs, mosses, lichen and fruits for commercial purposes from parks and sanctuaries.
Till the ban, Soligas had usufruct rights to collect NTFP and sell them to their own cooperative LAMPs (Large-scale Adivasi Multipurpose Society) which in turn would auction them to the highest bidder, generally traders who in turn sell the produce to various industries.
Being a cooperative, LAMPS functioned on a non-profit basis.
Approximately 12,500 (of a total population of 30,000) Soliga had subsisted inside BRT (short for Biligiri Rangana Betta), growing a little food and relying heavily on NTFP sales for daily sustenance.
Their close link with the forests has given them a deep knowledge of the ecology and of the forests of BRT. There have been no instances reported of poaching or harming wildlife by Soliga inside the sanctuary.
But without the small income from selling to LAMPS, Soliga families are now facing starvation and distress.
Active contributors to LAMPS, like Chikkananjegowda of the Kanneri advasi settlement inside the sanctuary, are now unemployed.
Chikkananjegowda’s wife, 40-year-old Veeramma found work as a daily-wage labourer in a coffee estate nearby, but that too, dried up.
''Family members are now commuting long distances daily in search of seasonal and menial jobs," say a group of ten elders from the Soliga community to members of the Pune-based non-government organisation (NGO) ‘Kalpavriksh’, visiting BRT to study the situation.
‘ We have to spend half of the daily wage of Indian Rupees 60 ( 1.5 US dollar) to travel by bus to find work, and we have no food to carry or eat.‘
In another hut alongside Veeramma’s, 42-year-old Gowramma says her family manages one meal a day by traveling 25 km daily to cut cane.
"The DFO (divisional forest officer), threatens us if we walk through the forests, so we have to spend money taking a bus."
Earlier she and her husband earned Rs. 5,000-6000 ( approximately 125 dollars) per year from NTFP sales to LAMPS, but now the four self-help groups serving LAMPS in the area have no work.
The problem has now soured relations between Soliga and the forest staff from one of goodwill into one of mutual distrust.
In March 2007, the forest department arrested several Soliga for alleged arson. The Soligas, in turn, say a few misguided youth may have been responsible, but are upset at the DFO’s treatment of the issue.
Magarikhete Gowda, 60, has now filed a police report for physical abuse against the DFO. R. Raju. " Up until now we had no problem with the forest department," says Veeramma, " but this year has been different."
Raju denies using excessive force against the tribals, saying "95 percent of them are innocent, but frustrated at the ban of collection of NTFP’’.
Letters to the government, begun in 2004 and continuing today, argue whether LAMPS, from which the Soliga depend on their daily living, can be defined as ‘commercial extraction’, which is now banned under the Wildlife Act.
The State Wildlife Board, which heard the forest department’s request in August 2007 to allow some extraction of NTFP for Soliga since it was a livelihood sytem and not a commercial process, has passed the matter on to the central government in New Delhi for a decision.
The Indian government’s ban, done in a bid to protect the country’s fast-depleting wildlife, has also affected tribals inside protected areas in other regions such as adjacent Kerala state.
But the plight of this primitive tribe, deeply connected to the forests, is the most dire reported so far.
Meanwhile, the Soliga Association has been pleading with the State’s forest secretary, Governor and other authorities. In desperation, the organisation has organised a ‘sit-in’ protest on Nov. 26 outside the office of the divisional commissioner, the highest ranking official in the district.
"'I think we need jobs", says C. Madegowda, the first Soliga postgraduate from a school set up 25 years ago by a medical doctor, H. Sudarshan, now internationally acclaimed for his work amongst the tribals.
Madegowda says the majority drop out after school because of lack of finances to study further and the forest department does not have a system of recruiting trained and educated local youth. " Some youth have recently been given some ‘weeding’ work", comments Madegowda.
Dr. Sudarshan says India’s rural welfare measure, the National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) scheme, wherein one member of each rural family is guaranteed at least 100 days of paid labour, has not been considered for BRT and the tribals.
" This scheme is absolutely necessary to the tribals, more so because NTFP collection has been banned," feels Sudarshan. "The administration could easily work out 100 days of employment through desilting tanks (reservoirs), rainwater harvesting and watershed construction," he says.
Meanwhile, Kalpavriksh and a Bangalore-based scientific organisation called the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) are working with Sudharshan’s organisation to help the Soliga.
Kalpavriksh is campaigning with central and State authorities to bring attention to the Soliga’s distress.
Sudarshan is offering resources including trained youth to the forest department for forest conservation, in a bid to undertake collaborative and participatory management of BRT.
" I am fully convinced that conservation and livelihood can go together. Give me the chance to show it, " to doctor said.
By Keya Acharya
KANNERI, BRT Hills Sanctuary, Karnataka, Nov 20 (IPS) - The magical trill of the Nilgiri Whistling Thrush deep in the jungles of this remote southern Indian wildlife sanctuary is no comfort to its nearly 2,000 Soliga aboriginal tribal families.
The implementation in 2006 of the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act 2002 now bans adviasis (aboriginal tribes) from gathering non-timber forest produce (NTFP) such as honey, wild herbs, mosses, lichen and fruits for commercial purposes from parks and sanctuaries.
Till the ban, Soligas had usufruct rights to collect NTFP and sell them to their own cooperative LAMPs (Large-scale Adivasi Multipurpose Society) which in turn would auction them to the highest bidder, generally traders who in turn sell the produce to various industries.
Being a cooperative, LAMPS functioned on a non-profit basis.
Approximately 12,500 (of a total population of 30,000) Soliga had subsisted inside BRT (short for Biligiri Rangana Betta), growing a little food and relying heavily on NTFP sales for daily sustenance.
Their close link with the forests has given them a deep knowledge of the ecology and of the forests of BRT. There have been no instances reported of poaching or harming wildlife by Soliga inside the sanctuary.
But without the small income from selling to LAMPS, Soliga families are now facing starvation and distress.
Active contributors to LAMPS, like Chikkananjegowda of the Kanneri advasi settlement inside the sanctuary, are now unemployed.
Chikkananjegowda’s wife, 40-year-old Veeramma found work as a daily-wage labourer in a coffee estate nearby, but that too, dried up.
''Family members are now commuting long distances daily in search of seasonal and menial jobs," say a group of ten elders from the Soliga community to members of the Pune-based non-government organisation (NGO) ‘Kalpavriksh’, visiting BRT to study the situation.
‘ We have to spend half of the daily wage of Indian Rupees 60 ( 1.5 US dollar) to travel by bus to find work, and we have no food to carry or eat.‘
In another hut alongside Veeramma’s, 42-year-old Gowramma says her family manages one meal a day by traveling 25 km daily to cut cane.
"The DFO (divisional forest officer), threatens us if we walk through the forests, so we have to spend money taking a bus."
Earlier she and her husband earned Rs. 5,000-6000 ( approximately 125 dollars) per year from NTFP sales to LAMPS, but now the four self-help groups serving LAMPS in the area have no work.
The problem has now soured relations between Soliga and the forest staff from one of goodwill into one of mutual distrust.
In March 2007, the forest department arrested several Soliga for alleged arson. The Soligas, in turn, say a few misguided youth may have been responsible, but are upset at the DFO’s treatment of the issue.
Magarikhete Gowda, 60, has now filed a police report for physical abuse against the DFO. R. Raju. " Up until now we had no problem with the forest department," says Veeramma, " but this year has been different."
Raju denies using excessive force against the tribals, saying "95 percent of them are innocent, but frustrated at the ban of collection of NTFP’’.
Letters to the government, begun in 2004 and continuing today, argue whether LAMPS, from which the Soliga depend on their daily living, can be defined as ‘commercial extraction’, which is now banned under the Wildlife Act.
The State Wildlife Board, which heard the forest department’s request in August 2007 to allow some extraction of NTFP for Soliga since it was a livelihood sytem and not a commercial process, has passed the matter on to the central government in New Delhi for a decision.
The Indian government’s ban, done in a bid to protect the country’s fast-depleting wildlife, has also affected tribals inside protected areas in other regions such as adjacent Kerala state.
But the plight of this primitive tribe, deeply connected to the forests, is the most dire reported so far.
Meanwhile, the Soliga Association has been pleading with the State’s forest secretary, Governor and other authorities. In desperation, the organisation has organised a ‘sit-in’ protest on Nov. 26 outside the office of the divisional commissioner, the highest ranking official in the district.
"'I think we need jobs", says C. Madegowda, the first Soliga postgraduate from a school set up 25 years ago by a medical doctor, H. Sudarshan, now internationally acclaimed for his work amongst the tribals.
Madegowda says the majority drop out after school because of lack of finances to study further and the forest department does not have a system of recruiting trained and educated local youth. " Some youth have recently been given some ‘weeding’ work", comments Madegowda.
Dr. Sudarshan says India’s rural welfare measure, the National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) scheme, wherein one member of each rural family is guaranteed at least 100 days of paid labour, has not been considered for BRT and the tribals.
" This scheme is absolutely necessary to the tribals, more so because NTFP collection has been banned," feels Sudarshan. "The administration could easily work out 100 days of employment through desilting tanks (reservoirs), rainwater harvesting and watershed construction," he says.
Meanwhile, Kalpavriksh and a Bangalore-based scientific organisation called the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) are working with Sudharshan’s organisation to help the Soliga.
Kalpavriksh is campaigning with central and State authorities to bring attention to the Soliga’s distress.
Sudarshan is offering resources including trained youth to the forest department for forest conservation, in a bid to undertake collaborative and participatory management of BRT.
" I am fully convinced that conservation and livelihood can go together. Give me the chance to show it, " to doctor said.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
| FOREST CRITICAL TO THE ISSUE OF CLIMATE SECURITY: S REGUPATHY | |
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Shri Regupathy said that forests fires are an area of concern as every year large extent of forest areas are affected by forest fires. In India, forest fires are annual feature. Consequences of uncontrolled forest fires are serious degradation of forests, ecological changes as well as deterioration of social and economic conditions. The main ecological damage occurs in form of destruction of biodiversity extinction of plants and animals, deterioration of soil ecosystem resulting in erosion and loss of soil fertility, loss of wildlife habitat and depletion of wildlife, degradation of watershed zone resulting in loss of water as well destruction of natural regeneration leading to forest reduction. Ecological and social losses due to fire destruction include losses of valuable timber resources, NTFP fuel wood and fodder. The factors like high biotic pressures, large areas of dry, deciduous forests, hot and dry climate etc. render the precious wealth of forests prone to the current fires. In such circumstances along with conventional approach for fire prevention, reduction and control need to be planned properly. Besides this we must look newer and effective methods of fire detection modeling and control. Effective and fast response tools like remote sensing and GIS based assessments in conjunction with ground data can play a significant role.
Ms. Meena Gupta, Secretary, Environment and Forests, said that the policy towards fire in India has been one of separation for atleast the past century. She said the National Forest Policy of 1988 emphasizes forest protection against fires and also stresses the use of improved and modern fire management practices which echoed in various forest protection schemes and guidelines issued. She said much has been changed over the past century in our perception and understanding of both – fires and forests. The forests are not just a source of timber but also a source of essential eco system, goods and services. Fire suppression leads to build up of flammable materials and can result in occasional fire out breaks. She further added that fires in forests are essential to maintain eco system of dynamics, bio diversity and productivity. Therefore, she said this is a good time to revisit our perspective on fires in this altered context. We should think fire as part of our tool kit for sustainable forest management. To some extent, this is already being practiced. Some state forest departments use fire as a means to create and maintain habitat for certain species of wildlife in protected areas; many forest departments use prescribed fires to create fire lines, thereby preempting the occurrence of more intense and destructive fires. we need to institute research and monitoring of both the ecological and the socio-economic consequences of fire. This is necessary both to determine the potential benefits of fire, as well as to determine what kind of fire management may, or may not, be appropriate in different ecological settings.
Shri D.N.Tewari, Vice Chairman, State Planning Board, Chattisgarh, in his key-note address said that a good level of fire management involves fire prevention, detection and pre-suppression and suppression. Most of the countries have lost to prevent the setting up fires and have developed fire prevention programmes but only few of them have ability to enforce them. Shri Tewari said early warning systems and fire danger rating systems are increasingly being used. The remote sensing data and number of satellite and airborne remote sensing systems help impressing fire.
Referring to the Fire Alert and Messaging System (FAMS) adopted by Madhya Pradesh, he said it is a very useful computer programme which combines GIS and MIS technologies. He also referred to Joint Forest Management Committees and suggested to use their services in fire control system.
Two Books namely: Impact of Forest Fires and Exhautics of Nilgiris and Pines Of South - East Asia were released on this occasion.
This National Workshop on Forest Fires has been organized by the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
Principal Chief Conservators of Wild life and Chief Wildlife Wardens from states, organisations like Indian Council of Forestry, Research and Education ( ICFRE ), Dehradun, Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun, Forest Survey of India (FSI),Dehradun, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment ( ATREE), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) and officers from the ministry are participating in this workshop.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
NTFP ban: Barter, haat system collapse
Saturday October 27 2007 12:58 IST
Saturday October 27 2007 12:58 IST
Express News Service
NUAPADA: Barter system, which until recently remained an informal source of credit and trading, received a setback ever since the proposal for the tiger project at Sunabeda wildlife sanctuary in Nuapada district was made.
A ban was put on the collection of minor forest produce (MFP) and non-timber forest produce (NTFP) and the age-old ‘barter system’ collapsed in the area.
Prior to imposition of the ban, traders used to do business in NTFPs from sanctuary giving the tribals a fair price for their collection.
The ban instilled fear among the traders as sanctuary laws deter them from involving in any kind of NTFP trading. Similarly, trading of NTFP in the local haat also stopped.
Not only that, even if people managed to collect some NTFP, their collection fetched less returns as they no longer enjoyed the control they had on their resources.
Earlier, access to NTFP facilitated people to have a potential liquid assets, which could be bartered for meeting consumption and other needs.
Sunabeda Sangharsa Bahini (SSB) secretary Duryodhan Majhi said the informal financial linkage stopped after people lost their control over the forest resources.
Before the ban, tribals used to collect amla, harida, bahada and mahul and sell them. The traders would pay the tribals either in cash or in the form of essential commodities like clothes, soaps, edible oil and other eatables, informed Majhi.
Tribals were being benefited through NTFP collection in many ways. They could source credit from the traders who were willing to extend financial support considering the NTFP potential of the area and control of people over their resources.
This informal financial linkage, one of the major bulwarks for the people, was snapped after the ban.
Sunabeda is spread across 600 sq km. There are 75 villages among which 17 hamlets are coming under core area of the sanctuary. Nearly 2,000 persons are going to be evicted following the project. As per 2004 census, the big cat population in the sanctuary stood at 68.
However, the 2005 census has reported presence of only 34 tigers. While the SSB is spearheading a movement to stop the tiger project, the Forest Department is waiting for the Central Government’s nod.
SSB members, however, argue that Primitive Tribal Group (PTG) and pre-agricultural communities cannot be evicted from the forest on any ground.
‘‘If forest dwelling tribals are evicted, it will be a historical injustice to them,’’ said Sunabeda GP Sarpanch Narad Singh Chhatria.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Conservationists vs. conservation
| A more balanced approach to conservation and livelihoods is urgently required since the current one is alienating local people. ASHISH KOTHARI |
Dignified but dispossessed: The Soliga adivasis of Biligiri Sanctuary.
Even as the tiger crisis makes the headlines, conservationists should be doing all they can to garner greater public support for wildlife conservation. Instead, we are making many more enemies.
Across the country in dozens of sites, the fragile livelihoods that communities living within forests have carved out for themselves are being snatched away by insensitive conservation laws and programmes. The people, who have for centuries considered forests their mother, are being alienated from them.
Forest fires
In March this year, there were reports of widespread forest fires in the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary (BRT WLS), in Karnataka. Once famous as the hideout of Veerappan, BRT WLS is a stronghold of the elephant and other wildlife, as also home to a few thousand Soliga adivasis. Newspaper reports cited forest officials blaming these adivasis for the fires, suggesting that they were probably taking out their anger on the government for having banned collection of non-timber forest produce (NTFP).
An investigation by Kalpavriksh revealed that indeed the Soliga adivasis were angry and upset. The ban on collection of produce like amla (gooseberry), medicinal plants, honey, and lichen, had hit them badly. In some cases such prod uce comprised over 60 per cent of their income, apart from their own use for food, health, housing, and other requirements.
Gauramma, an elder of Kaneri Colony, a Soliga settlement, had this to say: “Ever since we have been stopped from collecting forest produce, we are in a desperate situation. We used to have two full meals a day, now even one is difficult to get.” She and her husband now migrate out of the sanctuary to work, earning a meagre amount as labour in the fields of non-adivasis.
Our investigation found that the Soligas could not be blamed for most of the forest fires. However, the alienation caused by the NTFP ban led to a lack of interest in reporting fires or helping the Forest Department to douse them, as was the case earlier.
Additionally, local researchers reported that outsiders had chopped down several dozen amla (gooseberry) trees in the WLS.
In previous years, they would have been stopped by the Soligas who had a stake in protecting the trees. Clearly, the NTFP ban is not only causing widespread impoverishment and misery, but also backfiring on conservation itself. This will intensify if the anger among the Soligas grows, and if, as some local social workers fear, “Naxalite” groups active in nearby areas gain a foothold among the disgruntled adivasis.
BRT WLS is not an isolated example. A recent study revealed that thousands of families in various protected areas of Orissa have suffered a similar fate. In Baisipalli and Satkosia Sanctuaries, the ban on NTFP collection has reduced already thin earnings, by 50 to 90 per cent. Many families are migrating to find work, with serious impact on social life and greater chances of exploitation. The government has provided no alternatives.
This is an issue of grave constitutional and human rights violation, as the right to life can only be sustained if access to basic livelihood resources is ensured.
At the heart of the issue is Section 29 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act 2003, which permits the extraction of forest produce only as a means of wildlife management. Such produce is to go to local people, but only if the extraction is for “personal bona fide” and not for “commercial” purposes.
When conservationists in New Delhi formulated this provision, they undoubtedly had in mind large-scale industrial extraction of bamboo, timber, and NTFP, which are serious threats to wildlife. But, by providing no definitions to the term “commercial”, they also dealt a blow to small-scale community-based traditional collection of forest produce.
Interpretations
Adding to the crisis is a Supreme Court order. In February 2000, the Court directed that all states were required to refrain from ordering any removal of “dead, diseased, dying or wind fallen trees, drift wood and grasses, etc from any National Park or Game Sanctuary…”
Subsequent to this, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) in 2003 and the Centrally Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court in 2004 greatly expanded the interpretation of this order by asking all State Governments to cease any further enjoyment of rights within protected areas, without central permission.
This over-zealous interpretation, coupled with the language of Section 29 of the WLPA, has prompted many State Governments into the kind of action mentioned above, mostly in the last year or two.
In the case of BRT WLS, the Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) in charge of the Sanctuary, Dixit Kumar, argued in 2004 that stopping NTFP collection would create suffering and backfire on conservation. He said that basic livelihood activities should be considered “bona fide” and not “commercial”.
This is an argument that State Governments could have used to continue NTFP collection. Of course there are many areas where even local forest use may be ecologically damaging but, in hundreds of initiatives across India, communities have shown that they can adopt restrictions and regulations to make it sustainable, especially with government or NGO help. Ironically, in BRT WLS, scientists have shown that the NTFP extraction is already within sustainable limits… the last place a ban was justified.
Integrate livelihood
There is a crying need for a more balanced approach to conservation and livelihoods. The Wild Life Act is a valuable law, one of the few standing in the way of wholesale destruction of our natural ecosystems. But its proponents must accept that some of its provisions, and interpretations of these by the courts, are archaic and against the interests of conservation itself. Refusal to accept this has meant that human rights activists have become increasingly strident in their demands. Indeed, if conservationists had integrated livelihood concerns as part of conservation policy over the last few decades, adivasi activists may never have had to push for separate forest rights legislation.
As it now stands, the enactment of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest-Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006 is likely to have very mixed results, with some substantial gains by adivasis and forests, and some disastrous losses.
Why many conservationists are blind to this reality is baffling. Why can’t we see the widespread hostility generated, creating situations where it is much harder to protect critical tiger populations?
Why would forest-dwelling communities report poachers and fires to forest officials when all they have received is suffering? Conversely, can’t we see that most communities would not support poaching if their basic needs are being ensured by conservation programmes, if we help strengthen their long-term stake in protecting ecosystems and wildlife?
One needs only to look at what has happened in a handful of sites where officials have taken such an approach. At Periyar Tiger Reserve, communities (including hardcore poachers) have been aided with better marketing facilities for their agricultural produce, and alternative livelihoods such as ecotourism. In turn they actively patrol the forests and report untoward incidents. Both livelihoods and conservation are strengthened.
In BRT WLS itself, the availability of participatory monitoring, intense scientific research, Soliga traditions of conservation, and active NGOs provide an ideal situation for collaborative protected area management. Such initiatives are happening across the world but here, in India, we remain blinkered by outdated western conservation visions, which the West itself is discarding.
The writer is a member of Kalpavriksh Environmental Action Group.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
| Trouble brewing? | |
| Soligas in Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary are a distressed lot. The Forest Departments ban on the collection of non-timber forest produce for commercial use has affected them to a great extent, writes Keya Acharya. | |
| It is mid-May and the rains are still awaited at Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary (BRT) in Chamarajanagar district. Somewhere inside, a Nilgiri's whistling thrush spellbinds with its magical trilling. | |
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