MSG
Environmental Services is an environmental management consulting group
working in the areas of urban development, natural resource conservation,
impact assessment and institutional strengthening.
Recently, we have been approached by Vrikshamitra, an NGO based in
Chandrapur, Maharashtra, to provide research-based inputs for designing
sustainablemanagement strategies
in community-managed forests of Mendha village ( Maharashtra).Vrikshamitra
has been closely involved in tribal empowerment and forest management issues
in the village of Mendha and surrounding areas for nearly fifteen years.
The people of Mendha depend heavily upon forest products for both
personal uses and income generation.They
have been managing their forests under a joint forest management (JFM)
scheme since 1992.The implementation
of JFM in the area has been accompanied by voluntary controls on forest
use, monitoring of forest produce extraction and initiation of forest-based
income generation activities in the village.However,
there are serious concerns regarding the sustainability of forest produce
extraction.The people of Mendha
have recently expressed a need for ecological studies aimed at the design
and implementation of sustainable management schemes for their village
forests.
We propose to undertake a project in the Mendha forests
aimed at assessing the ecological impacts of forest produce extraction,
formulating sustainable extraction strategies and developing a long-term
monitoring system to be implemented by local people for assessing changes
in forest condition.
We
would like to propose this project for funding by donors in the USA.Seeing
the keenness and ability of the people of Mendha in judiciously managing
their forest resources, we feel that our input will be of immense significance.The
use of scientific principles to assess and assist community-based forest
management has been attempted in very few places in India.If
implemented, the project can provide a model for providing a harmonious
meeting ground between local forest use and biodiversity conservation in
India.
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Assessment,
Design and Monitoring of Forest Use Sustainability in a Community-Managed
Ecosystem in Maharashtra
Introduction
The
forests of Central India have historically been a rich reservoir of products
for people providing innumerable items for household and commercial use.Seeds,
fruits, wood, leaves and roots of a wide variety of plants have been collected
traditionally for their use as food, medicine, fuelwood, fodder and timber
and preparation of a variety of industrial items (Shiva 1998).
It has
generally been assumed that small-scale produce extraction from forests
can have little or no adverse impact upon their long-term biodiversity
conservation value.However, in recent
decades, the pressures of extraction have gradually intensified, leading
to a situation where certain kinds of forest use are likely to have become
unsustainable.
Despite
the fact that a large proportion of Indian forests are being exploited
for forest products, there has been little serious evaluation of the accompanying
ecological impacts.The direct effects
of forest produce collection include the declines in density, productivity
and/or regeneration of the targeted plant species, depending on the part
of the plant that is utilized. Collection of fruits and seeds is likely
to reduce the natural regeneration of plant species which may affect their
abundance in the future.Collection
of leaves can reduce photosynthetic ability of plants which in turn may
reduce plant growth rates and future fruit yield.Many
forms of collections such as that of roots, boles or bark may destroy entire
plants and lead to declines in local populations.
In addition
to the direct impacts on plants, intensive forest use can indirectly lead
to visible habitat degradation (pers.obs.).The
sustained use of forests for produce collection and grazing can lead to
reduction in tree regeneration, canopy cover, understorey diversity and
structural heterogeneity over a period of time.Such
changes are often followed by the invasion of exotic plants and changes
in microclimatic and soil conditions, as seen in many places.Finally,
changes in forest structure and plant composition are likely to impinge
upon the existence of native animal species that depend on specific microhabitats
in the forest ecosystem.Guilds of
animals that are especially vulnerable to population declines in such areas
are birds and mammals that depend on commercially important fruits and
seeds, insects that are dependent upon specific micro-climatic conditions
and herbivorous mammals that face competition for grazing from livestock.
Proposed
Field Site
It
is proposed to undertake a detailed study of forest use in the village
forests of Mendha, located in Gadchiroli district of Eastern Maharashtra.The
people of Mendha, have been managing their village forests since 1992 under
the Maharashtra Joint Forest Management Scheme (JFM).The
village has a long history of participatory management of forest resources
even before the initiation of JFM.Under
the JFM agreement with the Forest Department, the Gram Panchayat of the
village organizes collection and distribution of forest produce in an equitable
fashion to village households.Forest
protection duties are shared equally by the local people and the Forest
Department.
The
people of Mendha have traditionally depended upon the local village forests
for a variety of household needs and commercial purposes.The
varied uses of the forest plants in Mendha have been documented in great
detail by Pathak (1999).The principal
needs met from the forest include fuelwood, grazing resources and timber.In
addition, flowers of Mahua (Madhuca indica), leaves of tendupatta
(Diospyros melanoxylon), fruits of amla (Emblica officinalis)
and chiroli (Buchanania lanzan) are collected commercially.A
number of important medicinal plants are also collected from the forests.
Recently,
serious concerns have been expressed about the possible unsustainability
of various forest use practices in the village.Preliminary
ecological studies carried out in the study area indicate a higher level
of forest disturbance close to villages as compared to those farther away
(Pathak 1999).People feel that
the availability of grass species for cattle has recently declined in grazing
areas close to the village (Pathak 1999). There are fears that uncontrolled
cutting of trees may affect commercial fruit harvests from the village
forests.The possible unsustainability
of hunting practices prevalent in the area has also been recognized by
people of Mendha (Pathak 1999).
The
seriousness of concerns about the sustainability of forest use practices
is evidenced by the self-imposed restraints on forest use adopted by people
living in the village.Through participatory
methods, the people have decided to impose a ban on cutting of important
fruiting trees for fuelwood and timber.Limits
have been voluntarily imposed on the use of wood for timber and firewood
by each household.The people have
also adopted non-violent sustainable practices devised by a scientist for
honey collection from rock bees (Apisdorsata ) (Agarwal, 1999).
Despite
concerns about sustainability, there has been no systematic or quantitative
evaluation of the ecological impacts of forest use in the Mendha forests.Interviews
indicate that the local people and associated NGO?s perceive a need for
scientific evaluation of their forest management practices.Such
evaluations would help to understand the direct and indirect ecological
impacts of forest use, design simple forest monitoring protocols and promote
sustainable practices for forest produce extraction.
Objectives:
The
specific objectives of the proposed study are:
1.To
study the local status of key plant species that are intensively collected
for household-level and commercial collection in the area and that are
perceived as declining by local people
2.To
study the habitat degradation caused by intensive forest use
3.To
suggest sustainable use measures for important plant resources used by
village people
4.To
help establish a long-term strategy for monitoring of important forest
resources, using indicator species or other indices.
Methodology
The
project is designed to be carried out over six months comprising 4 months
of field work and 2 months for data analysis and writing.Amla
(Emblica officinalis), bamboo (Dendrocalamus strictus), tendu
patta (Diospyros melanoxylon), mahua (Madhuca indica) and
charoli (Buchanania lanzan) will be targeted for the study, as these
have been identified as the most important to the local economy (Pathak
1999).
(a)
Status of used plant species:
The
study area will be mapped, showing different vegetative/human impact zones
inside the village forest.Status
of used plant species will be studied using demographic analysis.Adults
and saplings of targeted plant species will be enumerated using stratified
random sampling methods.Observed
densities, basal areas and plant regeneration of each plant species will
be compared with those recorded in other areas having similar ecosystem
types in order to study the effects of forest use.Utilization
and extraction practices of the plant species will be studied through interviews
and observations of collection during the harvesting seasons.
(b)
Indirect impacts of forest use
Indices
such as understorey diversity, weed cover, canopy cover and basal area
will be evaluated using randomized sampling methods.Indices
will be compared between forest areas located close to the village and
those farther away.
(c)
Sustainable management prescriptions
Information
will be collected on the plant species? natural history, productivity,
local distribution, ecological linkages and microhabitat needs through
interviews with local people, observations and review of secondary literature.Alongside,
information will be collected on the role of the plant product in the local
economy and modes of collection.Management
prescriptions will be formulated using available data and will be focussed
on two aspects: (a) modification of extractive practices for optimizing
productivity and (b) population modeling of species with known demographic
attributes to ascertain sustainable harvest limits.
(d)
Monitoring system
A
monitoring system for direct and indirect impacts of forest use will be
designed, taking into account, simplicity, ease of recording data and efficiency
with regard to time and manpower.
The
primary aim of the monitoring system will be to detect changes in indices
of forest structure and composition over time.Possible
indicators include butterflies, ungulate density, weed cover and understorey
diversity (saplings and shrubs).
Workplan
Months
1: Identification and mapping of field sites, choosing and marking sampling
points within each habitat type, pilot surveys of animal indicator species,
comprehensive literature review on studied plant species
Months
2-4: Collection of data according to a regular sampling schedule, data
entry
Months
5-6:Data analysis and writing up
References
Agarwal,
R. 1999. The swaraj dream. Down to Earth 4(15): 24-26.
Pathak,
N. 1999. Community based conservation in Mendha (Lekha),Maharashtra,India.Kalpavriksh,
Pune (Case Study for South Asian Regional Review of Community Involvement
in Wildlife Conservation, as part of the Evaluating Eden Project of International
Institute of Environment and Development)
Shiva,
M.P. 1998. Inventory of forest resources for sustainable management and
biodiversity conservation.Indus
Publishing Company
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PROPOSED
BUDGET
| Principal investigator:Rs
15,000 x 6 months |
Rs. 90,000 |
| 2 field assistants (Rs. 3000 x 6 months
x 2) |
Rs. 24,000 |
| 2 return trips from Delhi to Chandrapur
(Rs.2000 x 2) |
Rs. 4,000 |
| Local travel |
Rs. 5,000 |
| Boarding and lodging on field |
| Rs. 150 per day x 120 days |
Rs. 18,000 |
| Metre tape, notebook, stationery, photographic
film etc. |
Rs. 20,000 |
| Overheads of base organization |
Rs.19,000 |
|
TOTAL
|
Rs.1,80,000 ($ 4180) |