Impact of Joint Forest Management (JFM) on Environmental Stress Migration

Abstract

In this study, an attempt has been made to unravel the impact of forest protection committees (FPCs) under JFM on stress migration in four forest divisions of Orissa. In order to undertake this study, field investigations have been carried out in 12 villages of four forest divisions of the state. Our study has covered 318 households comprising of landless and agriculture labourer, marginal, small, and medium farmers from 12 different villages where FPCs are operating since early 1990s. The household level benefits have been estimated in terms of employment generation, income from timber and non-timber forest products (NTFP), and fuel wood collection from community managed forests. Further, we have examined the impact of JFM via FPCs on environmental stress migration (ESM) by adopting a Logit Regression Model at household level. It has been found that the employment opportunities have increased significantly since the establishment of FPCs. The findings of the study establish that the improvement in forest cover under JFM has positive impact on the reduction of stress migration in the study area. The ESM, which was severe in these villages before the implementation of JFM, has come down significantly over the years. Our results have also established that the health of local labour market has improved a lot due to the proper and sustainable utilization of the CPRs through JFM.