Institutional <strong>and</strong> socio-economic aspects Institutional <strong>and</strong> socio-economic aspects 105
<strong>Assessment</strong>, <strong>Conservation</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Sustainable</strong> <strong>Use</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Forest</strong> <strong>Biodiversity</strong> 35 INCENTIVES AND MOTIVATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT Diwakar Sinha Assistant Conservator <strong>of</strong> <strong>Forest</strong>s, Uttar Pradesh Indranagar <strong>Forest</strong> Colony, Indranagar, Dehradun-248006 (UP), India Tel: +91-135-764229 Fax: +91-135-620334, Email: (1) eyesint@nde.vsnl.net.in & diwakar42@hotmail.com Website: http://education.vsnl.com/eyes_international/index.html Keywords: Incentives; Motivations; <strong>Sustainable</strong> <strong>Forest</strong> Management; Watershed Management; attitudinal change Till the late seventies the forests in India were mainly considered as productive ones. They were looked upon as a source for supply <strong>of</strong> fuel, fodder <strong>and</strong> building timber together with minor forest produces such as bamboo, grasses, fibers, honey <strong>and</strong> the like. It was in late seventies that people started investigating the invisible role <strong>of</strong> the forests in maintaining the ecological balance. With this, the environmental group gaining more momentum than the productive group, the ideas regarding the forest management were given a different thought. It was the then, the concept for sustainable management <strong>of</strong> forests crept in <strong>and</strong> words like optimum utilization, sustainability, socio-economic development, community participation, incentives <strong>and</strong> motivations became popular. A review <strong>of</strong> the forestry sector reveals that though there were some self-motivated groups that looked after their forests well, but it was confined only to few pocket <strong>of</strong> the country. To broaden the development base <strong>of</strong> forestry sector, the National <strong>Forest</strong> Policy 1988 was formulated. This introduced the concept <strong>of</strong> participatory forest management on usufruct sharing basis. The new approach included active participation <strong>of</strong> the village communities, especially women, weaker sections <strong>and</strong> voluntary agencies in strengthening the h<strong>and</strong>s <strong>of</strong> the forest department for sustainable forest management <strong>and</strong> regeneration activities. Pursuant to the policy, the Government <strong>of</strong> India issued a notification in June 1990 requesting the State Governments to involve local communities in the management <strong>of</strong> forests. It was envisaged that the communities, in lieu <strong>of</strong> their participation in protection <strong>and</strong> development <strong>of</strong> forest areas, would be entitled to sharing <strong>of</strong> usufructs in a manner specified by the concerned State <strong>Forest</strong> Departments. This led to the development <strong>of</strong> Joint <strong>Forest</strong> Management (JFM) Programme. So far 22 States Governments have issued resolutions in this regard. Nearly 36,130 <strong>Forest</strong> Protection Committees are managing a total <strong>of</strong> about 10.25 million ha. <strong>of</strong> forests. Together with this, National Watershed Development Projects for Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA) was launched in 1990-91, which covered 25 States <strong>and</strong> 2 Union territories. The objective <strong>of</strong> the project was restoration <strong>of</strong> ecological balance in rainfed areas <strong>and</strong> sustainable biomass production. Under this World Bank assisted Watershed Development Projects, Agricultural Development Projects, Danida Aided Projects, Swiss Development Corporation assisted Projects <strong>and</strong> European Commission assisted Doon Valley Project are noteworthy. In most <strong>of</strong> these projects, incentives <strong>and</strong> motivation have been provided to the villagers to bring about attitudinal changes, by satisfying the basic needs, so that they may work collectively for the welfare <strong>of</strong> forests <strong>and</strong> environment. The present paper discusses <strong>and</strong> highlights various issues relating incentives <strong>and</strong> motivation for sustainable management <strong>of</strong> forests in the villages taken up by the Doon Valley Integrated Watershed Management Project which was launched in the year 1993 <strong>and</strong> covers an area <strong>of</strong> about 2508 sq.km covering nearly 303 villages <strong>of</strong> Garhwal <strong>and</strong> Kumaon Regions. It is a joint venture <strong>of</strong> Government <strong>of</strong> Uttar Pradesh <strong>and</strong> European Commission with focus on agriculture <strong>and</strong> social forestry related sectors. The major objectives <strong>of</strong> the project are (1) Arrest <strong>and</strong> as far as possible, reverse the on going degradation <strong>of</strong> the Doon Valley Eco-system (2) Improve the living conditions <strong>of</strong> the rural people (3) Ensure positive involvement <strong>of</strong> rural people in managing this environment. 106