People's Participation, Conservation and Management Practices of Forestry: Some Policy Issues

Abstract

Degraded forests account for significant share in total land degradation of the state. The major land degradation is seen due to water erosion, which account for 80-90 per cent of the total land degradation. Apart from land degradation, people’s participation and area under Joint Forest Management (JFM) are some of the issues that need to be addressed. The afforestation carried out under employment guarantee scheme (EGS) in the state is as high as 60-70 per cent of the total afforested area of the state. The study revels that in order to maintain ecological balance and conserve its forest resources, the Government of Maharashtra has initiated various measures and programmes. Although the measures adopted in more recent times have resulted in an increase in afforested area as well increase in plantations under various crops, these measures have also some adverse effects, especially in terms of harvesting of produce and thereby net returns from state forestry.