Joint Forest Management

JFM in India

What is Joint Forest Management?

India is one of the pioneering countries in the world where forest management regimes stressing on partnerships between the state forest departments and the local communities, generically known as Joint Forest Management (JFM) have been introduced. The driving force behind this path-breaking initiative is the National Forest Policy of 1988, which is one of the most progressive forest policies in the world. Conservation and meeting local community needs have been made the main objectives of forest management, and have been accorded much higher priority than revenue generation through commercial exploitation.

Joint Forest Management (JFM) is a forest management strategy under which the Forest Department and the village community enter into an agreement to jointly protect and manage forest land adjoining villages and to share responsibilities and benefits. The village community is represented through an institution specifically formed for the purpose. This institution is known by different names in different states (e.g. Vana Samaraksha Samitis in Andhra Pradesh and Hill Resource Management Societies in Haryana) but most commonly referred to as Forest Protection Committee or FPC. In some states, panchayats can also enter into JFM agreement with the Forest Department.

Under JFM, the village community gets a greater access to a number of Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) and a share in timber revenue in return for increased responsibility for its protection from fire, grazing and illicit harvesting. The details vary from state to state as each state has issued its own JFM resolution/rules.

The essential difference between "social forestry" and JFM is that while the former sought to keep people out of forests, the latter seeks to involve them in the management of forest lands. JFM also emphasises joint management by the Forest Department and the local community.

Origin of JFM

JFM is an outcome of the realisation that active and willing participation of the forest fringe communities is necessary for any forest regeneration programme to succeed. Further, village communities would have little incentive to participate unless they benefit directly and have sufficient authority to be effective.

The early experiments with JFM approach were started in West Bengal and Haryana in the 1970s by the local officials who saw the futility of trying to keep people out of forests by using coercive measures such as fines and arrests.

Experiment in West Bengal

In West Bengal , a Forest Department Silviculturist started the initial experiment at Arabari in the Midnapore District during 1971-72. He was conducting some silviculture trials that were getting continuously disrupted due to fuelwood extraction or grazing by the local people. He discussed his problem with the people and offered them some incentives in return for protection of the forest. The incentives included a share in the final crop and also gestures like flexible working hours for the local women working as labourers with the Forest Department. The local community was organised into a Forest Protection Committee (FPC) to protect the forest from illegal harvesting, overgrazing, fires and encroachment. The experiment proved to be a success and degraded sal (Shorea robusta) forests of the area regenerated rapidly on being given a rest from incessant lopping and grazing. Consequently, it was extended to other parts of the State as well.

Experiment in Haryana

In Haryana, massive soil erosion due to loss of the hill forests and over grazing was threatening the Sukhna Lake in the capital city of Chandigarh . In 1970s, an effort was made to involve people in the management of forest lands in order to control grazing. People were provided alternatives by building small earthen dams that raised agricultural output and reduced their dependence on unsustainable grazing. For instance, in Sukhomajri village, a small earthen dam was built above a gully head during 1976-77. The water from the dam tripled crop yields of marginal agriculture lands. The improved harvest increased the crop-residues and reduced the dependence on forest lands for grazing. The village communities were mobilised for rehabilitating the hills by focussing on water. The people had seen the economic benefits of rehabilitating the hills and responded enthusiastically by planting grass and controlling grazing. This, in turn, led to a dramatic increase in grass productivity. For instance, in Nada village, it went up from a dismal 40 kilograms per hectare in the 1970s to over 2,000 kilograms in 1986. The Forest Department allowed the people to harvest the grass (at concessional rates) that was earlier on being leased out to the contractors. This programme led to the regeneration of many degraded hills in the State.

Rise of JFM

The early experiments in West Bengal and Haryana paved the way for the JFM programme later on. The programme received legitimacy from the 1988 forest policy but it got real impetus when the Central Government issued a circular to all State Governments in 1990 (Circular number 6.21/89-F.P. dated 1st June 1990). The Central Government recommended the involvement of local communities in the management of degraded forests and also urged the State Governments to involve NGOs as facilitators in the process.

In the ensuing years, a number of State Governments passed their own enabling resolutions and started JFM programmes. These government resolutions, besides declaring the intent of the government in favour of JFM, also specified details regarding composition of village institutions, areas to be taken up under JFM, rights and responsibilities of the partners and usufruct sharing arrangements.

At present, 27 states have started JFM and around 63,000 FPCs are managing over 14 million hectares of forest land. The area under JFM is now comparable to area under protected area network.

Local Initiatives for Forest Protection

In addition to the JFM promoted by the Forest Department, there is also a grass roots forest protection movement in the country. There are several villages that have started protecting forest patches adjoining their villages on their own without any outside help or advice (Forest Department or NGO). These are commonly referred to as Self-Initiated Forest Protection Groups or SIFPGs. This protection movement has emerged as a response to growing forest degradation and the consequent hardship people were facing. These groups usually have well-developed institutional mechanisms for sharing costs and benefits among all members.

Although accurate estimates are not available, numerous case studies and community workshops have indicated that the forest protection movement is very strong in several parts of the country. The movement is especially strong in Orissa and South Bihar . According to one estimate, thousands of village groups are regenerating an estimated 400,000 hectares of forests in the eastern States of Orissa and Bihar and, on a smaller scale, in Gujarat , Rajasthan, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. This, however, appears to be an underestimate as many of these efforts have not yet been documented. According to a later estimate from Orissa, where these efforts have been documented in greater detail than any other state, there are over 4000 village groups in the state protecting at least 400,000 hectares of forests.