COMMUNITY-BASED FOREST MANAGEMENT IN INDIA: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF TENURE

Abstract

SUMMARY Background The policies embracing the Community-based forest management systems in India have not yielded significant results. The National and State Governments have responded to the demands for community rights over forests by various policy statements, but the tenure of forest land remains the most contentious issue in the field of forest management in India. This paper examines policies in their local and external environments in both historical as well as current contexts. Important elements for understanding the local view points and assigning forest tenure are: • the community concerns for the state of forest resources and their efforts at its conservation, • rural poverty, • access to basic needs for livelihoods and • the condition of the forest resources. Relevant forest policies of the national and state governments are discussed with specific reference to the recent Joint Forest Management programme and questions of tenure. The topic is placed in context with the development of other sectors of the rural economy and international concern for the environment.