Abstract
Van (forest) Panchayat (hereafter VP) is one of the largest and most diverse experiments in common property resource management in the Himalayan ranges of the state of Uttarakhand, India. The idea of establishing VP originated in conflicts between people and the British authorities for controlling resources. The people of this region are dependent on the utilization of forest products, such as firewood and non-timber forest products for their livelihood. In this study, a field survey was carried out on VP in the village, named 'D' village of Tehri-Garhwal district in the state of Uttarakhand, in order to investigate VPs impact on people's livelihood with a focus on the participation of the people in forest management. Two study objectives were examined as follows: first, to clarify the people's perception under the VP, and second, to reveal the characteristics of the VP management committee (MC), which is directly responsible for managing the community forests. We used the semi-structured interview approach to determine the villagers' perception for the VP activities and condition of the community forest. Results revealed people's satisfaction with the condition of the VP and common utilization of the forest resources. In case of the MC, people did not appear to show an overall interest such as not joining the meetings and activities. The reason for this can be related to the organization of the MC that was functioning for more than 20 years with the same leadership and almost unchanged MC members. To summarize, people's participation in the forest utilization was not only dependent on their own personal contribution towards VP activities, but also more importantly, on their involvement in the forest management via the MC.
Highlights
In the 1960s and 1970s, pressure on forests in developing countries intensified due to poverty and population growth, in particular India, leading the forest management authorities to recognize the socio-economic aspects of local population such as social forestry
We have looked at a van panchayat (VP), which was suggested by the forest department (FD) to be a successful case in terms of CBFM, to clarify the actual conditions of forest management and utilization as a case study
This research presented the case study of a VP (D village) that was highly recommended by the FD officers
Summary
In the 1960s and 1970s, pressure on forests in developing countries intensified due to poverty and population growth, in particular India, leading the forest management authorities to recognize the socio-economic aspects of local population such as social forestry. The case of Pakhi VP (Kumaon hills) illustrates the effect of the top-down planning and implementation of a ‘participatory’ forestry project In this case, the state government of Uttarakhand had tightened its control over the VP management [13]. Local power in the VP system in general is in decline because of increasing control by the FD, resulting in the overall loss of autonomy and intensified conflicts within and among the MCs of the VPs [7] Despite these literatures, there is still a lack of studies focusing on different cases of VPs, and the conditions behind their failure or success. Data compiled from VP Atlas 2007, Uttarakhand Forest Department; in Bold: the small VPs number and the areas
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