Forest Rights
Andhra Pradesh Community Forest Management Project – A preliminary independent evaluation of a World Bank forestry project by Forest Peoples Programme & Samata – May 2005
This report summarises some key findings of a preliminary NGO and community evaluation of an ongoing Community Forest Management (CFM) Project in Andhra Pradesh. The Project, which is funded by a loan of US$ 108 million from the World Bank, has been under implementation since 2002 and is described by the Bank as a “Community Driven” intervention that aims to reduce poverty and “empower” communities to take autonomous decisions regarding forest management on lands assigned to existing village forest protection committees – Vana Samrakshana Samithi (VSS). Many of the 5000 VSS involved in the CFM project were established under a previous controversial Bank-assisted
JFM Project (1994-2000), which was heavily criticised for involving forced evictions of tribal people who received little or no compensation. Some of the main findings of the assessment are…..more
Forest Management Issues in East Godavari – A Case Study of Pedda Mallapurm – Ravi R Pragada
The paper is presented in three parts. The 1st part gives a description of the traditional system and how its distinct traits ensured the protection of the ecosystem. The 2nd part explains the break up of the traditional systems under pressure from the colonial state, commercialization and inflow of non-tribal/plainsman with different pattern of behaviour. The 3rd part poses issues relating to the protection of ecosystems under the changing conditions…more
Joint Forest Management – A Critique Based on People’s Perceptions
Conflict over control, management and decision-making over resources is the primary consequence of the increasing changes in politico-economic trends and policies. These conflict situations, having led to an alarming degradation of natural resources has given rise to new thoughts on the need to take people into confidence and involve them in the process of development. One such effort made by the government is the Joint Forest
Management programme (JFM) initiated by the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department…A study was undertaken to analyse the relationship between empowerment and control over resources vis-à-vis the JFM program in Andhra Pradesh….more
Indigenous and tribal communities, biodiversity conservation and the Global Environment Facility in India
General overview and a case study of people’s perspectives of the India Ecodevelopment Project – The remit of the study is to undertake a summary review of the GEF portfolio in India and to examine briefly the impacts of the GEF’s Biodiversity-related projects on tribal and local communities, with a particular focus on the India Ecodevelopment Project funded by the Global Environment Facility and the World Bank. The study was undertaken by the Samata team in January – February 24 by doing an overview of the GEF projects in the seven national parks in India and visiting two parks for detailed case studies…more
For more information on Forest related issues, please check the following two links