Contribution of Forestry to Poverty Alleviation - APFNet

various rights, entitlements, and benefits has to be enhanced. There should also be a deliberate focus on
the need for developing enabling forestry and local governance institutions.
Forest is one of the key lifelines for the people of Khapsadera village. It keeps them from falling into
chronic and more severe poverty, and helps them cope with difficult situations during dry periods
and drought. The critical ‘upfront’ intervention needed in this village is building the capacity and
enhancing people’s awareness to access the rights, responsibilities, and privileges arising out of
national policies (such as JFM and FRA) and the potential of enabling institutions. At present, there
is no facility for people to organize themselves for community action. The forest department should
be pro-active and facilitative in institutionalizing community-based forest management in the village
and in implementing the FRA. The people’s trust deficit in government needs to be resolved. New
opportunities can be developed to take forestry beyond subsistence, especially those relying on NWFP
resources. The earlier these opportunities for forest-based development are explored, the better for the
people and forests in Khapsadera village.
Case Study 2: Contribution of NWFPs to Poverty Reduction in a Forest
Village in Orissa State, India
Geographically, Kuanrpur village lies in the tribal belt of Mayurbhanj district of Orissa state, in a
remote forest location inhabited mainly by tribals (60% of the population). In terms of the Human
Development Index (HDI) and per capita income, the district counts among the least developed districts
of India. The old people consider Kuanrpur village to be about 100-150 years old, as they can trace back
their families to three filial generations. The village has 123 households, with 400 residents living on
either side of a canal, which is the mainstay of the village’s agricultural economy.
Importance of forests for the people
The district supports a high forest cover of about 45% of the land area. The older generation shares
the nostalgia of an entire block that was once a dense forest. The passage of time and degradation
brought about by the in-migration of tribals and non-tribals from neighboring states gradually cleared
the forests as settlements took over. With low per capita income and limited livelihood opportunities,
the forests, particularly NWFPs, play a major role in providing cash income to the villagers from nonfarm
sources. The importance of NWFPs is not limited to providing cash income to the poor. NWFP
resources share an organic and evolutionary relation with the people—a relation intertwined in their
culture and beliefs. According to Ranjan Samal, the Ward Member from the village in Gram Panchayat,
people mainly derive their income from the primary sectors like agriculture and NWFP collection.
Although there are different government schemes for people living below poverty line, the people in
Kuanrpur are not getting the real benefits due to leakages. For the people of this village, the forest plays
a very important role especially for the landless and smallholders. They use the forests for a variety of
purposes ranging from collecting medicinal herbs to grazing livestock.
Forest management
Historically, ownership and management of forests in Kuanrpur rested with the government. Until the
end of the 18th century, local communities had free access to the forests and forest products. Later
these forests were considered as a source of state revenue, and rules were put in place to regulate forest
product extraction in the area. The forest department was then created and forests in the area were
categorized as reserved forests and protected forests. Subsequently, in consonance with the Indian
Forest Act, several rules were issued imposing restrictions on user rights of communities. The late
1980s witnessed a large number of local NGOs actively promoting community forest management in
the district. Minnati Kisku, treasurer of newly formed Marshal Cooperative 20 , traced the genesis of
community participation in forest management:
20 This is a cooperative of villagers recently formed for NWFP management and trade.
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