Indian Forest Administration and People Participation in Forest Management

Abstract

Public participation has become a very common word in present-day policy-making, management decisions, and also within the academic circles. But the first thing we need to rectify is the perception that we, the urban dwellers, own the forests and we can only ensure participation of tribal communities in the management of resources. Actually, the fact is that they are the real owners of forests, and they have been residing in these forests and managing their resources for centuries. It is, we, who need to learn to be party to forest management. But forest administration all over the world except in a few cases is governed by outsiders. These outsiders who represent the state generally favor the absolute monopoly of the state over the forests and ignore the knowledge and property rights of actual owners. The case of India is not different.

In colonial India forestry started with the notion of state formation, and in between they tried to institutionalize forests as a state resource and made institutional hierarchies so that it slipped out of control of local people and shift toward the vested commercial interests of the Britishers. Many people particularly those who exercise power, utilize material value of forests such as short-term profit, which are more important to them rather than long-term survival and sustainability. This formed the essence of forest management during the colonial era and also took legal shape in the National Forest Policy of 1894 and 1952 post-independence. For a long time, the state disregarded the traditional practices of forest dwellers and villagers as they lack a scientific credibility and were considered of no use. They were deprived of their basic forests rights. This raised different social movements throughout India due to the feeling of alienation among the local people from the forestland, and many voices were raised against the use of forests by various classes of people for their needs. As the result in 1988 the Government of India presented a new Forest Policy which was a major shift over emphasizing the local needs which stressed public participation in safeguarding forests as a stable resources source to supply fuel wood, fodders, and small timber to native group of people as well as to improve the forests for refining the ecosystem. This set the stage for the introduction of Joint Forest Management (JFM) which undermined the conflict among local people and increased the access of local resources to them. The implementation of JFM remains varied from state to state, but cumulatively it was a unique program which for the first time provided an opportunity to native communities to participate in the administration and conservation of forests and convey economic benefits of the forests to the local people as a matter of right.

This chapter tries to see the involvement of people in Indian forest administration and present a summary account of the transition in forest management approaches encompassing a paradigm shift from a profit driven to a process response approach, the importance of linking government structures with concerned people and emerging challenges.