This article provides notes on Joint Forest Management (JFM) in India.
In 1971, a small experiment over 1250 of degraded forests called Arabari Socio Economic experiment was initiated in Arabari Range, East Midnapore Division of West Bengal.
The objective of the experiment was to see whether the degrading forests in the area could be rehabilitated with fringe people (616 families) participating in its protection in lieu of certain forest benefits that they would be legally entitled to including a 25% share of the net income from the final felling of the forest.
The experiment showed a remarkable recovery of die forest, which encouraged the fringe people of other degrading forest areas to start protecting blocks of forest next to them. The Government of West Bengal agreed in 1987 to the promised 25% share of the net income to the people in lieu of the efforts made by them to protect the Arabari experimental area.
As a means for forest management Government of India replicated this order with certain modification requesting the states to follow this order. JFM was adopted by most of the states and by today about 27 states have issued the orders. After the adoption of new Forest Policy of 1988, JFM considered at a national model for forest management. By 2000, JFM covered 10.24 million ha managed jointly by the 36130 committees.
Major important features of JFM are as follows:
1. It is a decentralised forest management operation where usually a small forest block is associated with the people living on its fringe.
2. A committee called Forest Protection Committee (FPC or with different names in different states) is constituted of one or two members (one male and one female) from each family of the village. This committee with the local Forest Department jointly manages the forest block.
3. A small executive committee constitutes of members of the village and some local official and a Panchayat member. The local forester generally acts as the secretary of the committee. The committee runs the routine management of the forest and discusses with the FPC when any important decision is required.
4. A micro-plan is prepared jointly. The plan incorporates the measures and works that would be undertaken to manage the forest for a specific period of time after which it would come for revision.
5. In lieu of the responsibility taken over by the village people, the FPC would be entitled to some benefits of the forest products (generally all of non-timber forest products) and a significant share of the income from final felling of the forest.
The Government of India reviewed the JFM progress in the country during 1999-2000 and after wider consultation with all the stakeholders decided to further strengthen it and on February 21,2000 fresh guidelines were issued to all the State Governments.
The circular inter alia provides:
(a) Legal backup to the JFM committees.
(b) 50% members of the General Body and 33% in the Executive Body with at least one office bearer being a woman.
(c) Extension of JFM in good forests areas (crown density above 40%) with sharper focus on activities concentrating on NTFP management.
(d) Recognition to self-initiated groups.
(e) Conflict resolution mechanism.
(f) Integration of micro-plan with the working plan.
(g) Contribution for regeneration of resources.
(h) Monitoring and evaluation.
In a new innovative policy initiative for involving the JFM Committees in integrated land development and employment generation activities, State Governments have been requested by the Government of India to constitute Forest Development Agencies (FDAs) as federation of these institutions at the district level.
The FDAs will registered bodies legally and will be funded for carrying out afforestation and regeneration activities in tandem with other rural development and employment generation programmes. This will not only ensure regeneration of forests but also decentralisation of administrative powers and genuine participation of people in resource management.
During the last six decades, around 35 million hectares of land has been planted under various national programmes in private land only with a survival rate of 60 to 70%. Subsequently with public initiatives, since 1980s several other categories of forests were developed viz., social forestry/Farm forestry/Agroforestry for reduction of population pressure on natural forest.
In some areas industry has also developed linkages with the local farmers by supplying planting materials, technical advice and making buy-back arrangements. Today over 20 million hectare of forest (Trees) cover exists in farm land only.