Joint Forest Management Practices (academic)

Behind agriculture, forestry represents the second largest use of land in India, covering about 22 percent of the India’s total land area, but only accounting for about 1 percent of the countries GDP.  275 million of the countries poorest citizens depended upon forest resources for their livelihood, 75 percent of the rural population depends on the forests for fuel wood, and about half of India’s 471 million livestock are fed by forest grazing or fodder collected from forests.

Recognizing the importance of ecological services provided by forests, the Indian government, in 1990, decided to shift its policies to allow for involvement of local/indigenous people that depend on the forest for sustenance, and know the forest best.  By involving the local people in the management of the forests, the Indian government was able to keep the forest protected while providing local people with a revenue source from timber profits, and protection their livelihoods.  Because of the high levels of autonomy amongst Indian states, varying styles of joint forest management (JFM) are employed.  In some states the government owns the forest and land, and oversees the management of the forests, while in other states, communities own the land and forests, and oversee the management.  Currently JFM is practiced in 27 states and cover 17.3 million hectares.

One problem that has been encountered with the joint forest management process is that as legislation has changed, historic forest resources rights have been pushed to the wayside.  Depending upon the state, there have been historic rights connected to the indigenous forest dwellers that were recognized prior to legislation and are now included in the legislation, but in some cases such as in the state of Jharkhand,  many of these rights have been ignored.

With increased productivity, increased output, and easier access to markets, forest based revenue is expected to increase by at least 200,000 rupees annually in Jharkhand.  For the country as a whole, forest based revenue is expected to increase from $222 million to $2 billion in 2020.

The appearance of the private sector in JFM has also played a helpful role with the creation of fuel wood plantations.  The implementation of fuelwood plantations has increased the abundance of fuelwood, which as help with welfare improvements, especially for women and children, who are usually tasked to gather fuel wood, and has drastically decreased the pressure put on natural forests.  These fuelwood plantations also have decreased intervillage conflicts, by making a once limited resource plentiful, at least in some areas.

For JFM land, forest boundaries are generally ambiguous, and communities can easily generate informal agreements for forest boundaries while forest resources are degraded, but once valuable resources are discovered or generated, conflict arises between communities in dispute over the new resources.  Also, historically, land boundaries differ for different uses, such as grazing, hunting, or fuel wood collecting.  In present times, this causes severe difficulty in assigning set boundaries for neighboring communities.

For the practice of JFM to more effectively address the improve the livelihoods of forest dwelling people, while ensuring the protection of the forests, it is critical that the agencies in charge understand the community and tribal institutions, livelihoods and how current policies address the needs of the communities.  Because of the vast differences in customs, and reliance on certain forest resources across the county, indigenous communities must be viewed microscopically so as to ensure the implementation of effective policies.  For example, in Jharkhand, small scale farming dominates, with forest resources serve as a backup, while in Assam, small scale farming and shifting cultivation are dominant, and in Madhya Pradesh, dependence on forest resources are low across all income groups.  So for each of these states, it is necessary that varying designs of JFM be applied if the policies are to succeed.

Although there have been many positive outcomes in both state and national forests, from the implementation of JFM in 1990, JFM is unlikely to bring poor forest dependent people out of poverty.  It is necessary that many other reforms take place alongside JFM, so as to provided forest depended peoples with a variety of employment opportunities.  These might include improving agriculture performance, strengthen community forest rights, and opening up direct and lucrative access to market channels.

Citation:

-http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INDIAEXTN/Resources/Reports-Publications/366387-1143196617295/Forestry_Report_volume_I.pdf

-lecture at world bank

Ecological Walk Around MCC (academic)

Background:

The Madras Christian College campus was not originally forested, and was actually a degraded and barren landscape when the college first moved to its present location.  The main reason for lack of tree growth on the college grounds was because there was not a fence to keep animals out, such as goats and cows, that graze areas over, and because local people would cut down any trees for fire wood.  The completion of a fence surrounding the campus in 1937 began the process of forest growth on the campus.  With the local people not able to harvest the vegetation for firewood, and the local livestock not able to graze the campus, seeds brought in by birds and bats were able to take root and grow relatively uninhibited.  Helping the birds and bats to reforest the campus was the Barns family, who are now considered to be the “green architects” of the campus.  Professor Barns was a chemist and botanist.  Wanting to bring is love of botany to the rest of campus, be began raising saplings from all over the country, never buying them, and then planting them around campus (including the banyan tree outside the International Guest House).

After 70 years of growth, the campus of Madras Christian College is considered a dry evergreen forest.  Currently, much of the vegetation on campus is not very tall, thorny, and poisonous, resulting from the introduction of deer in the 1980’s.  The deer snuck onto the campus from Gandhi National Park, and have since kept the undergrowth a bay.  Prior to their introduction, it was nearly impossible to see through the forest between buildings, but because of grazing, one can now easily see through the forest.  It is predicted that in the future, only vegetation that is inedible to the deer will be present on MCC campus.  Although the deer pose a serious threat to the diversity of flora on the campus, it is illegal to kill them.  The only legal option is very costly, and involves capturing them and moving them to another location. 

Plant species:

1. The plant Memeceyon in ancient Tamil literature dating over 2000 years old.  During monsoon season the plant flowers and has dark and cloudy petals.  The fruit are small but can help identify the plant because the berries are similar size the bark pieces.
2. The plant Zizi Fufs have small berries and has sweet smelling flowers which are rich in vitamin C.
3. The plant Todalia Asiotica has a strong pungent aroma along with a strong bitter taste.
4. The plant Gliricedia Sepium was introduced by the British because when it is mulched, it adds nitrogen to the soil.  Also, it has been used for rat poison.
5. The plant Scivia Murtinu has edible berries.  When ripe, the berries are a deep blue color, but are extremely bitter!
6. The plant Cycas Carcinalis evolved during the Jurassic period and has since persisted in mild tropic climates.  It produces hundreds of golf ball sized fruit, but they must be processed before eating.
7. The plant Muraya Cauricalata is a distant relative of Jasmine, but smells nearly identical.  It is recognizable by its scent, small white flowers, and waxy leaves.
8. The Pipul tree is sacred to Buddhists because it is the tree where Buddha got his knowledge, and is recognizable by its heart shaped leaves.  The Pipul tree is a part of the fig family, and serves as a keystone species, supporting birds, rodents, and inscets.
9. The Tamarindus tree has brown edible pods and is thought to be derived from dates.  Consequently give the plant the name tamar-indus.  The Tamarindus family originated in Africa, but unlike Indian food that incorporates the tamarind fruit into many dishes, Africans do not use it in food.
10. The plant Scalpania Ferria, also known as Ironwood, is not native to the area, and is identifiable by its unique characteristic of grafting its branches together when they come in contact with one another.
11. The plant known as the Mother-in-law tree has white flowers, and symbolizes victory in Tamil Culture.  The common name originated because the tree is very noisy when strong winds shake its branches.
12. The state flower of Tamil Nadu is the Glorioga Superba.  The tubers of the plant are used in medicinal purposes for treating arthritis, but if not properly processed, it can be deadly.
13. The Sapoti Fruit, which comes from the family Matuka Lowifolia, has oily seeds that have been used for lamp oil, cooking, and distilling of liquor.
14. The Aloni tree produces a key ingredient in a Hawaiian miracle drug.
15. The wild yam has traditional medicinal purposes that include birth control
16. The plant Ralina Seppertina has been used to treat snake bites, and is effective because it calms the victim which keeps the venom from flowing through the blood stream as fast.
17. The Calabash Tree has produces large fruit that grow from the trunk.  It was introduced from Africa as an ornamental plant, and is pollinated by bats.

In total, there are over 600 know plant species on campus.  However, with the continued grazing of deer, many species could be overgrazed and taken over by other species inedible to deer.