About us

Background and Mandate

RUPFOR - A Stakeholders' Forum

RUPFOR is a neutral stakeholders' forum promoting interaction among various stakeholders in participatory forestry in India and has been functioning from 2001. It is presently housed within Winrock International India's (WII) office in New Delhi and is supported by the Ford Foundation , New Delhi . It acts as the secretariat to the JFM network constituted by the JFM Cell of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF ). In addition RUPFOR also undertakes policy studies, action research and Information dissemination on various participatory forestry issues.

RUPFOR has gained recognition as a neutral forum on participatory forestry among the officials of the MoEF and state Forest Departments as well as NGOs. An Advisory Committee having representatives from the government as well as NGOs guides the work of RUPFOR. The MoEF has granted formal recognition to RUPFOR vide their letter number 3.37/2000 - FPD dated July 3, 2001.

Mandate

1. To act as a regular mechanism of consultation between various agencies engaged in JFM work in the country; and
   
   
2. To obtain constant feedback from various stakeholders on the JFM programme for proper policy formulation and suitable direction to the states.
   
   
3. Carry out research on emerging issues including cross cutting areas and global reach

Main Roles

•  To provide a neutral forum where different stakeholders, such as community members, NGOs and Forest Department, can share information and freely discuss various issues related to participatory forestry

•  To collect, collate, analyze and disseminate information on participatory forestry among different stakeholders

•  To assist the national policy makers in monitoring the progress of JFM and providing inputs for policy making

•  To assist in cross learning between India and other countries practicing participatory forestry and to track new opportunities for participatory forestry in India

Advisory Group

1. Deputy Inspector General / Inspector General in charge of the JFM Cell as Chairperson (ex-officio)
   
   
2. Assistant Inspector General in charge of JFM (ex-officio)
   
   
3. Representative from an organisation actively involved with community forestry policy issues
   
   
4. A person having experience in JFM implementation at the field level
   
   
5. Representative of the donor agency providing primary funding to the Unit
   
   
6. Representative of the host organisation (WII)
   
   
7. Co-ordinator of the Unit as the Secretary (non voting)