Foreword

The rising unemployment despite high growth in non-farm sector in India is causing concern to every
one. The growth in Agriculture which provides livelihood to about 50 per cent of the work force in
India and 66 percent in Rajasthan is tardy. A very sizeable number has to be moved away from
agriculture for the remaining persons to earn well. Due to continuing high growth rate of population,
annual addition to the work force is over 10 million a year. In Rajasthan, about 8 lakh livelihoods are
needed annually for over the next decade to deal with the problem. Realizing the enormity and
urgency of the task of livelihood promotion, the State Government set up Rajasthan Mission on
Livelihoods in 2004.

In order to understand various facets of livelihood issues across segments, sectors and spatial regions,
RMoL has undertaken 25 rapid assessment studies, held 25 consultations and initiated 4 pilot projects
involving stake holders, academics, researchers, Government functionaries and civil society
organizations. The booklets being published now including the present one contain our learning about
complexities of livelihoods in a summarized manner, derived from the field studies and consultations.
These illuminate various facets of livelihoods in the State and would be helpful in proper
understanding of the issue and in developing proper perspective in this regard. I do hope that all those
who are concerned with the problems of livelihoods, particularly the livelihoods of the poor,
unemployed and the under privileged would find these booklets very useful. Both the content and the
views expressed therein represent summation of views expressed by many persons and we would like
to thanks all those who made it possible for us to bring out these booklets including the State
Government, UNDP and BASIX. My colleagues at the RMoL worked tirelessly for holding
consultations and undertaking field studies. Appreciation is due to them as well.

M.L. Mehta
Deputy Chairman
RMoL

RMoL-BASIX Page 1 of 21
 Revisiting Joint Forest Management

A study on
Livelihoods through Joint Forest Management in
Rajasthan

By

Foundation for Ecological Security (FES)

Udaipur

RMoL-BASIX Page 2 of 21
 1. Introduction

Forest Land in Rajasthan is about 9.26% of geographical area while forest cover in the state is 4.52%.
Furthermore, about 45% of Rajasthan’s geographical area can be considered under Common Property
Land Resource (including forest land) and it is on this resource that the livestock population, which is
11.2% of the total livestock population of India, mainly subsists. Though rural livelihoods in
Rajasthan are generally woven around Agriculture and Animal husbandry but forest have been
playing vital role traditionally in the life of those living in or around forest areas. The roles of
common property resources have been very significant in this concern. Through providing subsistence
products of mainly fuelwood, fodder and in some areas NTFPs (Non-Timber Forest Produces), these
common lands have shielded them during the drought periods, which is a common phenomenon in
Rajasthan.
As per various forest laws, about 1/3rd of the total forest area in the state is categorized under
protected area category, on the resources of which people have limited or almost no access. Most of
the forest cover at present exists in Southwest and Southeast of the state. These are also the areas
where focus under JFM (Joint Forest Management) program till now has been. Rajasthan state issued
guidelines for people’s participation in protection, regulation and management of degraded forest in
1991. According to these guidelines the village community can form a VFPMC (Village Forest
Protection and Management Committee) to protect and regenerate the forest, over which they would
have usufruct rights. This concept has by now resulted in formation of over 4000 VFPMCs managing
around 18% of the total forest area in the state.
Although livelihood improvement of concerned village communities is not explicitly mentioned in the
agenda of JFM, which aims at protection and conservation of forests, but still through providing
critical subsistence livelihoods in the form of fuelwood, fodder and NTFPs from the forests to people,
not to count the intangible socio-economic and environmental benefits that the forest resource
provides, the JFM guidelines do imply improved livelihoods of the community.

2. Objectives of the Study

The present study aims to understand JFM Program in Rajasthan to document and suggest strategies
for institutional interventions and measures to strengthen forest-livelihood linkages through it. It
explores forest-livelihood interactions especially in the context of JFM in the state and suggests
measures, through which livelihoods of the community from forests could be improved. The study
from the outset is designed to provide information to the policy makers on the aspect of community –
forest livelihood linkages and identify gaps that may be realized or rectified for improving livelihoods
from the forests through the JFM arrangement. The study focused on the importance of institutions
and the nature of people’s livelihoods from forests, the mechanisms or institutions through which the
resource available to them transforms into livelihood outcomes and whether the processes are
enhancing their livelihood outcomes or not. The study had tried to examine the processes of JFM at
different scale and with different agencies i.e. at the household level, community level, facilitating
agencies of forest department, NGO and other government agencies that are related to community
livelihoods from the forest, and aims to understand the evolution of JFM and its present status in
Rajasthan. The main objectives of the study are three fold:
1. To study the existing status of policy and implementation of JFM in Rajasthan,
2. To identify and document learning from the JFM program in Rajasthan and suggest measures for
institutional arrangements and strengthening linkages between and within components of
conservation and livelihoods with specific roles detailed for various institutions,
3. To identify problems and constraints in JFM with regards to livelihood improvement.

3. Methodology
In order to achieve the objectives of the study in total 6 cases of successful JFM interventions in
Jaipur, Baran, Bhilwara, Pratapgarh, Udaipur and Banswada Divisons (from the FD criteria) were

RMoL-BASIX Page 3 of 21
undertaken in addition to 2 villages where JFM has not been implemented but have forest as a land
use. The study was conducted in 173 VFPMCs from 43 Ranges in seven forest divisions across the
state. Broadly conjectured, success has been defined in terms of resource availability (presence of
forest cover) and presence of a dynamic village institution that is managing this resource with the help
of an external agency (FD/ NGO). FD has categorized the VFPMCs in three categories viz. A, B, and
C. A category means Good VFPMC, B means Average and C means non-active 1. All the six
successful cases selected were from category A and some of them have also received other awards for
better performance. The selection of VFPMC in a division was done in consultation with FD officials
mainly DCF and/ or RFO as they were more familiar with the local context and successful or non-
successful VFPMCs in their area. Except in the case of Baran, where a CIG has been formed and
supported under DPIP program by the FD, in all other areas a successful VFPMC was selected for
conducting parts of this study.

The surveyed VFPMCs and their status

S. No. VFPMC Division Category/ Remarks
Award
1. Lahrooni Baran CIG
2. Virasana Jaipur A
3. Ganoli Bhilwara A
4. Balicha Pratapgarh A Awarded
Umedmal Lodha
Award
5. Palasama Udaipur A
6. Ambada Dungarpur A
7. Talai Udaipur (Seva Mandir) Successful
8. Lohagarh Pratapgarh C
9. Gundali2 Udaipur Non-JFM

A number of institutions were involved in the study to strengthen the institutional and livelihood
components. Household level surveys were conducted to understand the awareness level,
participation, role of women, role of different institutions, livelihood dependence and the benefits
accrued and opinions of the individuals towards JFM arrangement and its impact on their livelihoods.
Around 30 samples from each VFPMC areas were planned. A stratified sampling based on Gender,
Caste and location of the hamlets was undertaken to select household. The information on number of
hamlets and different castes was taken during group meetings prior to the household surveys. FGD
with the respective VFPMCs and one CIG was conducted with the purpose of triangulating the
information gathered at household level as well as to get information regarding functioning of the
VFPMC. Semi-structured Interviews with FD and NGO officials were done with the purpose of
getting their opinions on the processes adopted by them in facilitating JFM. Various individuals
involved in the JFM were also interviewed. In addition, interviews with FD officials as well as of
other departments like State Medicinal Plant Board and NGOs were conducted.

For the purpose of analysis of the data, Sustainable Rural Livelihoods framework is used. It is an
approach that ‘puts people’s livelihoods, meaning their interactions with the environment at its center’
(Ehrichs 2002: 4). This framework provides “a holistic and integrated view of the processes by which
people achieve (or fail to achieve) sustainable livelihoods” (Scoones 1998:13). Evolving from the
entitlement approach of Amartya Sen, the framework sees livelihood security of an individual
entitlement. The stress or focus of this framework is social and economic, with renewable natural
resources seen as managed ecosystems, and the management modes and technologies used in their
exploitation as important as the social distribution of access to them and their benefits. Through this
framework, NRM is linked with other sectors of the local economy, the social system, and the wider
regional, national and international system from which markets, employment, policy and other forces
emanate.
1
There are 869 A category, 1213 B category and 1805 C category VFPMCs in the state
2
Only livelihood aspects were surveyed as there was no institution formed.

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 Elements for Livelihood Aspects studied Methods used
Analysis
Contextual analysis of Bio-physical and socio- Literature review, secondary
conditions and trends, and economic conditions and trends data analysis
assessment of policy setting in the state, assessment of JFM
policy in Rajasthan
Analysis of livelihood Micro level socio-economic and Household surveys,
resources; trade-offs, bio-physical conditions, asset observations, secondary data,
combinations, sequences and availability, livelihood options/ interviews
trends combinations exercised,
livelihood from JFM
Analysis of institutional/ Types of institutions and their Secondary literature, primary
organizational influences on roles, Access and rights of the data from FGD, interviews
access to livelihood resources communities
and composition of livelihood
strategies portfolio
Analysis of livelihood strategy Type of livelihood strategy Household surveys, interviews,
portfolios and pathways emerging, resources required for FGD
that,
Analysis of outcomes and trade- Effect of JFM on the livelihood; Literature, household survey,
offs type and extent interviews, FGD
Methods of data collection like household surveys, semi-structured and unstructured interviews,
observations, literature review were used. The analysis of data was done with the help of SPSS
software. The study was done in a very limited time period and this has been a major constraint in
capturing all the nuances of this complex issue. The study has used a mixed methodology involving
quantitative and qualitative tools. It was also difficult to cover the vast area in the state so therefore
secondary data sources have been relied on. For these reasons, the findings of this paper should be
treated as tentative and exploratory. More serious and long-term research is needed to answer several
specific questions relating to the interaction between policy, people’s livelihoods through JFM and
Institutions in the JFM.
4. Duration of the Study
To start with a meeting of FES, RMoL and Consultant to the study was organized on 14 th October
2006. The study was commenced soon afterwards though the main limitation for the study was
availability of time in relation with data constraints. It was desirable that all the Agro-ecological
regions in the state were covered in the study but considering the time required for such a huge task, it
was thought that the study area to be limited to areas where there is more forest land and the scope of
expanding JFM in future is also high.
5. Context in Rajasthan
India’s 1988 Forest Policy paved the way for a new strategy called Joint Forest Management or JFM,
which was adopted by the government in order to protect and regenerate the degraded forestlands in
the country. Rajasthan, the largest state in terms of geographical area in the country with a total area
of 342,239 sq. km, which covers 10.4% of the country, is 10 th having around 4.1% of the forest area
having total livestock population of 49136000 located in the poverty pockets of the state. Nearly a
third of Rajasthan’s forests are classified as sanctuaries, national parks and closed areas to which
access by people is highly regulated and restricted in order to protect bio diversity and wildlife.
5.1. Socio-Economic Context
As per the Census 2001 the population of the State, more than 56.5 million, comprises of 5.5% of the
total population of India with density of 165 persons per square km. as compared to 325 as the
country average. The State is characterized by a dispersed pattern of settlement, with diverse
physiography ranging from desert (covering 60% of the total area) and semi- arid regions of Western
Rajasthan to the greener belt east of the Aravallis, and the hilly tribal tracts in the South. Agriculture
and animal husbandry are the principal source of livelihood in Rajasthan, as reflected in the pattern of
employment in the State. Although the contribution of other sectors to the State’s economy has

RMoL-BASIX Page 5 of 21
increased, the primary sector, which includes agriculture and allied activities (includes forestry) as
well as mining and quarrying, has continued to be the main source of employment 3.
Forests are an important source of livelihood for the poor people, mainly of tribal communities, in
Rajasthan. Nearly a third of Rajasthan’s forests are classified as sanctuaries, national parks and closed
areas to which access by people is highly regulated and restricted in order to protect bio diversity and
wildlife. In view of these on a most conservative estimate the total contribution of forestry sector in
the state, in the form of recorded and unrecorded withdrawals works out to Rs.716 crores. From the
forestry development activities 85% of expenditure goes for employment, creating man-days.

Contribution of Forestry Sector to the State Domestic Product (Source: FD, GoR)

Contribution of Forestry Sector to State GDP

For Amo 10%
3%

est unt
Pro (in 12%
duc Milli
e on
Rs.)
Fuel
woo 75%

2000
d
Fodder Fuelw ood Timber NTFP
Fod 12,6
der 75
Since its beginning in 1991, JFM has spread to all the districts in
Tim the state and now covers an area of 5751 sq. km managed by 4224
1680 VFMPCs. There are two main policies that are affecting the JFM
ber
arrangement in the state. These are JFM guidelines based on the
NT 1988 Forest Policy and Panchayat Raj and PESA Act. On one hand
520 JFM guidelines provide for a user based community institutions at
FP
local level and confer rights of usufruct on these micro level
institutions, on the other hand Panchayat Raj and PESA Acts,
Tot 16,8
which have been hailed as a strong legislations towards
al 75
decentralized governance in India, regard Panchayats and Gram
Sabhas as the supreme bodies for having rights over the natural resources in their area. Panchayats in
Rajasthan are formed from a group of villages and therefore the sharing of benefits by micro level
institutions with other villages in a Panchayat that have not been involved in protection and
conservation of forest in the first place would become a definite source of conflict. Progressive
decisions with regards to removal of monopoly in case of NTFPs and provision of Minimum Support
Prices for the NTFPs from tribal areas in Rajasthan is a welcome step but it has to be seen whether
removal of monopoly rights would result in enhanced benefit to the tribal community or not.
The main benefits from the forest in Rajasthan come in forms of fodder and fuelwood. Although
providing less of direct cash income in the rural household economy, these forest resources are of
high subsistence value. Without these, the households would be in a worse situation. NTFPs are very
few and are quite dispersed in the state and are characterized by low production and low value. There
is lack of systematic information on availability of NTFPs from forest areas as also the current level
of extractions. Tendu leave is the main NTFP other than Jatropha in few locations.
5.2. Biophysical Context- Rajasthan is broadly divided into five Agro-Ecological sub-regions as per
the WWF 2000 classification. Although Forest Land is only 9.26% of the total geographical area in
the state, its concentration is more in a few districts of South and East Rajasthan. There are only five
districts viz. Udaipur, Chittaurgarh, Sawai Madhopur, Alwar and Baran that have more than 1000 sq
3
Rajasthan Human Development Report, UNDP, 2002

RMoL-BASIX Page 6 of 21
km of total forest cover and these districts account for 53% of total forest cover of the state. Udaipur
district alone accounts for around 20% of the total forest cover of the state. The concentration of
forest cover in the 5 tribal districts (Udaipur, Chittaurgarh, Dungarpur, Banswara and Sirohi) is also
high. Only 28% of the total forest cover in Rajasthan falls under dense forest cover category and more
than 30% of this is located in Udaipur district in the year 2003.
Per capita Forest area in Rajasthan is 0.06 in 2001, which compares favorably with the Indian average
of 0.07. However, for the same period the per capita forest cover in Rajasthan is only 0.02 whereas
the Indian average is 0.06. Per capita forest area in Rajasthan has reduced considerably (by 1/3 rd) in
the last 40 years. This reduction has mainly been due to increase in population. The main factor that
affects stress on forest area is the number of livestock. Rajasthan is home to around 10% of the total
livestock population in the country. Livestock numbers per hectare of forest area in the state are on
the rise. This puts these already degraded forest lands into further stress.
5.3. Policy Context
There are at present various policies and laws that affect people’s livelihood from forest, these are
various forest related acts and rules of center and state government. Besides, Panchayati Raj Act,
PESA Act, rules regarding trade of NTFP etc is also important for people’s access and livelihood
from forests. The main institutional mechanism by which people can organize themselves and benefit
from the management of forests is through JFM arrangement. The process of initiating and
implementing JFM and manner in which the people can access benefits from forests is laid down in
the JFM resolutions/ guidelines of the state.
There have been a total of six resolutions that have been issued by state government since the
beginning of JFM in Rajasthan. The latest one was applied on17th October 2000. The salient point of
this JFM resolution and its analysis is given below. A study under EERN was conducted by Seva
Mandir, Udaipur in collaboration with Rajasthan Forest Department. The findings of the study
provide an insight into the status of JFM in Rajasthan vis a vis the latest guidelines issued.
5.4. Policy related to NTFP Collection and Trading
In the state contribution of NTFP to the state domestic product as a percent of total forestry sector
revenue is 3%. Total contribution of forestry sector in the state, in the form of recorded and
unrecorded withdrawals works out to Rs. 716 crores. Nearly 60 million man days are generated in the
primary sector for harvesting these forest products.
There are two main policies related to collection and trade of the forest produce i.e. Forest
Conservation Act and Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 and Rajasthan Panchayati Raj (PESA) Act,
1999. The institutional mechanism of sale of NTFP is based on the concentration of tribals in the area.
In the Scheduled areas, the right to collect the NTFPs has been conferred to the RTDCF. RTDCF was
formed in 1976 under the Rajasthan Cooperative Societies Act 1965 with an objective to save tribal
from being exploited and to promote, supervise, develop and finance production, procurement,
processing and sale of agricultural, fisheries and forest produce as well as agricultural inputs and
consumer goods.
RTADCF, which has monopoly to collect the forest produce, except for Bamboo, Gum and Tendu
leaves, in scheduled areas, undertakes collection of NTFPs through LAMPS. LAMPS in turn appoint
agents who are in direct contact with the villagers and collect NTFPs from the villagers. LAMPS get a
commission of 8% from RTADCF on the sale produce including commission of the Agent, which is
6%. At present 337 LAMPS are formed and operating in Rajasthan.

Trade Channel for NTFP in tribal Areas

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 Primary Collector

LAMPS Agent LAMPS

FD issues transit pass

RTADCF

Open Market TRIFED

Trade Channel of NTFP in non-tribal areas Parallel Trade Channel in tribal areas

Primary Collector
Primary Collector
Petty Trader

Contractor
Petty Traders Medium Traders
Big Traders

Big Traders

Open Market Processing Mills

A brief description of the agencies involved in collection and sale of NTFP and their role is given
below:
TRIFED
TRIFED was formed in 1987 to develop the system of marketing through backward and forward
linkages horizontally and vertically in close association with state level federations and LAMPS for
tribal communities in order to eradicate the problems faced in the marketing of MFP and insure that
the tribals get correct value for their product. It provides marketing support to the RTADCF for the
marketing and export of the NTFP and surplus forest produced by the tribals so as to protect them
from exploitation from the hands of private traders.
RTADCF
TRIFED, registered under the Rajasthan Cooperative Societies’ Act, 1965, the basic function of
RTADCF to prevent tribals from exploitation and to give them remunerative prices for their surplus
agricultural produce and NTFP, has given right of marketing of NTFP to RTADCF in Rajasthan. The
Rajasthan Government has promulgated a resolution according to which purchase and sale of all the
NTFP from the tribal areas by the private traders has been prohibited. This resolution gives the

RMoL-BASIX Page 8 of 21
monopoly over the sale and the purchase of all the NTFPs to the RTADCF. Government of India
gives a reimbursement of 24% to RTADCF on the collection of NTFPs.
5.5. Procurement Price fixation of NTFPs
A committee, which comprises of Representative of TRIFED, Finance Manager, Regional Manager,
Manager Marketing of RTADCF does price fixation for all the items under the monopoly purchase
mechanism.
LAMPS
LAMPS are elected people’s body where RTADCF appoints various LAMPS agents in the villages,
who are engaged in purchasing of NTFP from the tribals and the traders. These agents bring NTFPs
collected to the warehouses. From these smaller warehouses the NTFPs are brought to the warehouse
that is a collection center of NTFPs. For the transportation a permit called ‘Phokri’ is needed. Then
goods are stored in the RTADCF warehouse until it is auctioned to the parties.
5.6. Panchayat
Panchayats are involved in the sale of NTFP in non-tribal areas. An order of forest department, dated
17 July 2003, recognizes the rights of Panchayats in the state over collection and sale of NTFP in non-
tribal areas. According to this order Panchayats, in areas where VFPMCs or EDCs are functioning,
would function as per the MoU signed between FD and these VFPMCs. In case of Tendu leaves
collection the State would transfer the income from the Tendu leaves to the respective Panchayats
through Zila Parishadss after deducting administrative expenses. Till now the Panchayats have not
been given the royalty taken by FD not only from Tendu Patta but also from other MFP auction. In
cases where Panchayats are involved in collection of NTFP, they give the contract for collection on
the basis of open auction. In case of Gogunda, the Panchayat has to pay 15% of the contracted amount
to Tehsil office and remaining amount is kept by Panchayat for development works.
5.7. Contractors
In the non-tribal areas certain contractors are involved in collection and sale of NTFPs. These
contractors have their contacts with local traders as buying agents at village level and with big traders
in cities to sell the NTFPs to them. The local buying agents get their commissions on the purchase
from concerned contractors. Once a contract is given to some contractor he is free to decide the
purchase price of the NTFP at the village level. Generally, the contractor also appoints a guard to keep
a watch so that the produce is not sold outside the Panchayat area.
5.8. Collection Process of Tendu leaves in the State
According to an order issued by the Principal Secretary (Forest), dated 17 July 2003, all the Tendu
leave collection and trade related activities will be done by the Forest Department as usual. The state
government would transfer the income from the Tendu leave sales to the respective Gram Panchayats
through Zila Parishads after deducting the administrative expenditures.
Amongst all categories of NTFPs, Tendu leave is the biggest source of revenue for the State, about
Rs.60 million every year. Moreover, about Rs.100 million are accrue annually as wages paid to
labourers during the collection season 4. The Tendu leave trade operates on generous margins but the
returns to the leaf collectors have remained extremely low. In order to ensure higher returns to the
tribal collectors, a few Non-Government Organisations in Southern Rajasthan have promoted a
number of co-operative groups of tribal forest produce collectors. These co-operatives have been
engaged in Tendu leave trade for nearly a decade now and have been able to press the demands for
higher purchase rates for Tendu leave. The territorial circle wise rates for Tendu leave collection each
year are fixed by the Government of Rajasthan on the basis of the recommendations of an Advisory
Committee constituted for the purpose for that particular year by the State Government. The
committee recommends the collection rate on the basis of deliberations held in the meeting convened
for this purpose. The collection rates prevalent in the neighboring States, particularly Madhya Pradesh
and Gujarat, are also taken into consideration for arriving at suitable recommendation of the collection

4
FD records

RMoL-BASIX Page 9 of 21
rate. The collection rates for the collection year 2007 are fixed at Rs.350 per standard bag, comprising
of 50,000 Tendu leaves, as compared to Rs.70 per standard bag paid in 1989.

6. Institutional Development
Strong community institutions are the key to improved livelihoods from the forest resources that can
cater to the community’s subsistence needs.
6.1. Institution Design and Initiation of a VFPMC
The use regime on the forest lands or even other common lands has a historical root and communities
irrespective of the recently created administrative boundaries have continued to use it in the fashion
they feel customarily appropriate. It is a factor of micro socio-economic and cultural context that
differs from region to region within the state. The fact that most of the forest area falls in the regions
where tribal community is predominant requires that the design of the institutions for co-management
of forest takes into account the customary rights of the users. In some of the areas people have
adopted the administrative boundaries as a means for demarcation of their access rights, in some other
areas mostly tribal, the use regime still presents a picture of complex arrangements that have
continued from the past and are in the process of adapting to the system of administrative boundaries.
Although the recent JFM guidelines of the state provide the scope to form the VFPMCs on the basis
of user groups, most of the time prior rights of users outside the proposed area are not taken into
account while forming the institution. This has been found in the cases of Lohagarh and Talai where
some hamlets within the village in case of Lohagarh and some hamlets outside the village in case of
Talai were not included in the VFPMCs formed.
To avoid such worries of conflicts, it would be pertinent that community groups and facilitating
agencies take into account prevailing formal and informal resource rights. It would require a
considerable time that the facilitating agency would have to devote on the process of working out
mutually acceptable agreements to establish community access control systems. The reduction in
conflict and the increased ownership of the management by the communities would help in achieving
the objectives of JFM as well as sustaining the institution for a longer period of time.
6.2. Strengthening Institutional Base at Village level:
The awareness about JFM in the village communities where these are being implemented is both a
necessary precondition as well as an indicator of the efficacy of processes that have been adopted by
the facilitating agency. The communities are aware about JFM in their villages and about the agency
that is facilitating it. As most of the VFPMCs were successful as per the criteria of the FD it was
expected that the awareness level would be more in these VFPMCs. The understanding of aspects like
sharing arrangements, process of formation of committees, requirement of women and SC/ ST in the
committee, minimum number of meetings required in a year etc is more in the elite group that is made
up of village leaders and upper castes in the village than the general community and lower castes.

The state guidelines on JFM prescribe the criteria for universal membership in the VFPMCs, which
means that all the adults in the village/ hamlets where the VFPMC is located, will be members in the
institution research findings indicate that not all the adults in the VFPMC area have become members.
Moreover, the membership registers at most locations have not been updated for a long time.

Community and members’ meetings are an important platform in the JFM arrangement where
processes with regards to planning for forest resource development other resource development,
benefit sharing and conflict resolution beside other agendas are worked out. For a vibrant institution
having high social cohesion, high participation rate of community members in the committee
meetings is expected. In the surveyed VFPMCs most of the committees show high or medium
attendance (at least one member of the surveyed household attending the meeting- most of the time)
in the VFPMC meetings except for Virasana, which is the only VFPMC where funding is withdrawn
and the regenerated plot is handed over to the VFPMC. The reasons given by households who never
attend the meetings or attend sometimes are mostly related to work load or whenever there is an issue
of their interest then they would attend. A significant number of respondents also said that due to lack
of information about the meeting they are not able to attend it. Though from most of the surveyed

RMoL-BASIX Page 10 of 21
families in the VFPMCs, at least one member attends most of the meetings, but attendance and
participation of women in the meetings is very low, sometimes nil as in case of Ganoli and Virasana.
It means that even in successful cases where attendance in the meetings is high, these are male
members taking decisions and planning for forest management rather than women who are the major
contributor and user of forest resource are more in direct relation with the forests. However, wherever
or to whatever degree women have participated they had a role in decision making. While initiating a
new group, progressive changes in terms of ensuring women involvement in the executive committee
and giving priority to equity and gender issues in the new institutional structure and functions can
easily be done. This is truer for the communities that have a high stake in a benefit-sharing
partnership with FD.

Although working plans of the Forest Department have traditionally been based on primary guidelines
for forest management in India, collaborative management agreements between forest protection
committees and the Forest Department are based on Micro-plans which are ideally to be made in
consultation with the community members and their development priorities should be incorporated in
the plan document. Although in all the cases micro-plans were prepared as told by the community and
the Forest Department officials, however, copies of only 4 out of 7 VFPMCs were made available.
The copies of the Micro-plans were not available with any of the VFPMCs, except in case of Talai,
and were kept at the Range office/ Naka only. Only in two cases, Ambada and Talai, people could
recollect the process of preparation of their Microplan. In Ganoli people were already protecting and
managing their forest for a long time without a Micro-plan. In Ambada people said that the microplan
process took 12 months to be completed.
6.3. Women in JFM
In the VFPMC meetings the attendance of the women has been low for various reasons. There is a
provision in the JFM resolution of the state for the formation of a women sub-committee of women
alongside the Executive Committee. The main role of this sub-committee as envisaged in the
guidelines is to communicate the problems of women before the executive committee. All the studied
VFPMCs had women sub-committee formed but only one institution in Talai has regular meetings of
the sub-committee with active participation of women members regarding decision making on major
issues.
In the case of Talai VFPMC, Self Help Groups (SHGs) were also formed by the facilitating agency
and women’s participation was relatively better than the other VFPMCs. People related this with the
presence of SHGs rather than their taking part in women sub-committee meetings.

6.4. Benefits Sharing Mechanisms

The concept of benefit sharing is devised to motivate the people to participate in the programme right
from planning till harvesting, and in the follow-up processes 5. According to the JFM guidelines of
Rajasthan, NTFPs including fodder and fuelwood should be available freely to the VFPMC members.
An important function of the VFPMCs is to devise rules and regulations for harvest and collection of
forest produce by its members.
Fodder is the primary thing in the livestock based economy of Rajasthan villages. The rules relating to
fodder harvesting under a JFM area fall in two categories, the one where an area is allocated to a
household on fixed or lottery basis, and the second where persons in committee decided numbers
from each household can harvest grass for determined number of days. In both the cases a fee,
decided collectively by the members of committee, is taken from each household. In most of cases the
fee charged for harvesting of grass is about Rs.10-50 except in the case of Ambada where the fee
charged is Rs.100 per household for a period. In Virasana the plot is divided in 14 strips and
auctioned to groups of households in the village at the rate of Rs.1500-3000 for pruning of the trees
and collecting fuelwood. Each group includes 10-20 households. The auction system is able to
manage fodder and fuelwood needs of the poor households as well. The poor in these villages are

5
Status of Participatory Forest Management in India: An analysis, Murali, K.S. et al

RMoL-BASIX Page 11 of 21
also involved in the pruning operation and get wages through that along with the fodder that is made
available by pruning.
While protection, harvesting of NTFPs, grass etc. could engage a major section of the community,
other aspects like control of funds, harvesting of major produces i.e. timber, bamboo, Tendu leaves
etc is still very much in the hands of the Forest Department. We found that in almost all the cases, the
account records were kept at the FD offices instead of in the villages. It was found that the
information on how much fund is available in the VFPMC account is more with the elite group in the
village namely post bearers than with the community members. In most of the cases resources are not
regenerated to an extent where harvesting could take place except in case of Palasama where bamboo
harvesting has taken place and 50% share of benefits from the harvesting of Bamboo is deposited in
the VFPMCs account. Any kind of benefit-sharing system, if the VFPMC members feel that the
distribution mechanism is equitable according to the relevant criteria in that particular context and is
based on need, prior rights and contribution in the systems of protection and management, then the
chances of the institution sustaining for a longer time period are more. If the system is seen as biased
and unfair, or corrupt and inefficient, the institution may lose credibility.
6.5. Linkages with Panchayats
The 73rd Constitutional Amendment of 1992 supports decentralization of governance through
Panchayat Raj Institutions based on the provisions of the Indian Constitution. Under the Panchayat
Extension to Scheduled Areas Act (PESA)-1996, gram sabhas or village assemblies in Scheduled
Areas are endowed with powers over community resources generally, to prevent alienation of land in
the scheduled areas and to take appropriate action to restore any unlawfully alienated land of a
Scheduled Tribe; and the power to manage village markets.
In terms of rights of Panchayats over forest resource the government order confers the right on all the
income from Minor Forest Produce in the state from forest or non-forest areas to the Gram
Panchayats. It further states that wherever there are VFPMCs or Eco-Development Committees
operating the respective Gram Panchayats would work. The new policy scenario under Tribal Bill
(2006) also requires that working relationships are established between tribal agencies, forest
departments, tribal communities and local authorities. In Palasama, NTFP were being collected by the
community members, the Panchayat was conducting auction of the Jatropha whereas the Forest
Department auctions other MFPs in the area.
Consequent to the rights enshrined in Panchayat Raj Act and PESA to Panchayats, efforts to link
Panchayats with the JFM institutions at village level has been made in Rajasthan. However, the links
with Panchayats are limited to obtaining no objection certificate and nominating Sarpanchs and Ward
Panchs as member of the VFPMC. The JFM guidelines do not go beyond prescribing the need for
NOC from Panchayat and Sarpanchs/ Ward Panchs being a member of the EC. The VFPMC members
are generally not very positive about the involvement of Panchayats in JFM practices though in the
case of Balicha and Talai Ward Panchs regularly attend the VFPMC meetings.
In most issues involved in collective action at a community level, users arrive at transactional
arrangements within the community itself at a hamlet or habitation level. Such issues are thus best
addressed by community-level institutional arrangements like VFPMCs. As communities need to
interact with neighbouring communities, to share linked and/or commonly held resources, and agree
on rights and responsibilities, appropriate inter community level arrangements are required. These are
best addressed by the Panchayats.
Although Panchayats have been vested with the rights on forest resources, and assuming clarity on the
role of Panchayats and VFPMCs is build, their capacity to regulate and manage forest resources
would need to be developed. Moreover, awareness on forests and forestry issues at meso-level 6 and
building effective partnership with forest department for specialized technical services is much
needed. The new policy scenario under Tribal Bill (2006) also requires that working relationships are
established between tribal agencies, forest departments, tribal communities and local authorities.
6
By meso-level we mean at a level larger than village boundaries where various functional institutions like
VFPMCs transact for resource development and sharing of resource benefits.

RMoL-BASIX Page 12 of 21
6.6. Capacity Development
Global experiences show that many communities are capable of assuming greater responsibility for
micro-planning and implementation of forest management prescriptions, harvesting, marketing, and
protection, underpinned by improved security of tenure over forest resources. This is usually
predicated on substantial up-front investments in building appropriate capacities. Most often the
trainings or capacity development programs are focused on the elite in the village who are more close
to the FD staff and/ or are post bearers in the VFPMCs. As the observations of this study indicate
there is a need for more investment in the capacity development of the community members on
different aspects.
6.7. Reasons for Success/ Failure of JFM in Villages:
It is evident that the inclusiveness, transparency and equitable institutions are the prerequisite for
success of JFM in the villages, which is reflected in terms of improved availability of resources from
the forests. The main indicators of success of JFM is reflected in increased availability of grass for
fodder, fuelwood and wage work opportunities while the development of forests, improved social
cohesion through JFM related community practices, reduced migration and development of
community organizations are the main visible features of success in this concern. Oppositely, issues
like internal disputes within villages and committees, poor village setups and lack of interaction and
cooperation among villagers indicate about the reasons of failures. These reasons are shown
graphically as follows:

Reasons for Success Improved Grass availability

3%
Improved fuelw ood availability
3%

7% Increased Labor opportunity

7% 32%
Forest has developed

11% Improved social cohesion

Reduced Migration

15% Increased MFP benefits

22%
Development of community
organization

Reasons for failure Corruption leading to conflict in the

village
Dam issue
16%
24% Lack of social cohesion

15% Internal dispute

15%
The village is not good
15%
15%
FD/ Committee w ork w ithout
consulting

7. Supporting Livelihoods through JFM

Forest and Livelihood Linkages

RMoL-BASIX Page 13 of 21
Direct or indirect use of forests, provide a range of benefits in the form of goods and services. Forest
services are generally non-tradable uses of the forest. They may be services benefiting local
communities, such as nutrient cycling, maintenance of microclimates, shades for livestock,
windbreaks and contour barriers against erosion. But forests also provide ecological and
environmental services of regional, national and global importance. These include watershed
protection, acting as a sink filter for air pollution emissions, watershed protection, carbon
sequestration and the conservation of biodiversity.
There have been very few studies of the costs and benefits of forest management. One, which focuses
on a forest plantation in Rajasthan, concluded that the internal rate of return (IRR) when only the
tangible benefits (grass, firewood and bamboo) were taken into account was less than 2% over a 25
year period.
A large number of rural households in Southern Rajasthan get a portion of their subsistence needs
from the forest in terms of fuel, fodder, timber, NTFPs and other goods. Large numbers of people,
primarily in tribal regions, also draw upon forest to generate some of their income. In other areas, the
forest products fill gaps and complement other sources of subsistence livelihood rather than having a
greater magnitude or share in overall household inputs 7.
Many commercial forest product activities offer low skill and capital thresholds of entry, and cater for
extensive if widely dispersed rural markets 8 which means that it is an important source of livelihood
for a large number of women and poor in areas where agriculture is not able to provide for all the
livelihood needs and few other options exist. However, many of these activities are likely to decline
once rural infrastructure improves, and as other opportunities and alternative products become
available9.
7.1. Livelihood Benefits from Forests
A livelihood encompasses a broad definition which includes people’s capabilities, assets and activities
required for a means of living. Agriculture is the primary source of livelihood in the sample VFMPCs
surveyed except in case of Lahrooni. Lahrooni being a Sahariya dominated village has very few
households having agriculture land holdings. In all of these villages only few people, 3% of the total
respondents, reported that forest is a primary source of livelihood and 5 out of 7 respondents who
reported this are from Lahrooni village.

Besides employment from the work on forest, most of the people in the VFPMCs regard fodder and
fuel wood as the major benefits from the forests. This finding supports the World Bank report
“Unlocking Opportunities for Forest Dependent People” which states that ‘Subsistence products,
particularly fuel wood and fodder, are the main contributors to local livelihoods from the forest’.

The reason for low earning of community living around forest as mentioned during interviews and in
literature are government regulations on NTFP trade, a focus on low value products, poor forest
quality and weak market linkages. There are other benefits that are specific to certain locations
depending on the community’s dependence on the forestland for those benefits as well as the
livelihood profile of those communities. There is ample evidence in the literature that development of
forests in a catchment area lead to increased water availability down streams. A positive effect on
water availability due to forest development was felt in case of Ambada, Balicha and Ganoli and in
almost no case people felt that water availability has decreased.

Forest Outputs and Rural Livelihoods

7
Arnold JEM, DfID
8
Arnold JEM, DfID
9
ibid

RMoL-BASIX Page 14 of 21
 Livelihood Characteristics
inputs
Subsistence Supplement/complement inputs of fuel,
goods food, medicinal products, often filling
seasonal and other food gaps; forest
foods enhance palatability of staple diets,
provide vitamins and proteins
Trees on farming land provide shade,
Farm inputs windbreaks and contour vegetation;
trees/forests also provide low cost soil
nutrient recycling and mulch;
Arboreal fodder and forage, fiber baskets
for storing agricultural products, wooden
ploughs and other farm implements, etc.
Easy access to resources, low capital and
Income skill entry thresholds; mainly low return
activities, producing for local markets,
part-time engagement of rural
households, often done to fill particular
income gaps or needs (though have the
potential to be developed as major
sources of employment and income for
forest dwellers); very small in size and
usually household based enterprises:
Few forest products provide the basis for
full time and higher return activities;
usually associated with higher skill and
capital entry thresholds, and urban as
well as rural markets
Important in diversifying farm based
Reduced household economy-e.g. providing
vulnerability seasonal sources of food, fodder and
additional income
Important in providing a reserve for
subsistence and income generation
during crop failure, drought, shortage of
wage employment, etc or to meet special
needs related with education and
weddings etc
(From: J.E.M. Arnold and P. Bird, Forests and the Poverty-environment nexus, Prepared for the
UNDP/EC Expert Workshop on Poverty and the Environment, Brussels, Belgium, January 20-21
1999)
7.2. Impacts of JFM on the Benefits Derived from Forest
The main benefits that are derived from the JFM forest are fodder, fuelwood, MFP and NTFP.
Although these benefits are available from forest lands where JFM program is not underway, the
benefits either tend to decrease over a period of time due to lack of community management systems
RMoL-BASIX Page 15 of 21
Impacts of change
Potentially important where farm output
and/or non-farm income declines but
decline in importance as incomes rise and
supplies come increasingly from purchased
inputs or divert subsistence supplies to
income generating outlets
Trees can become increasingly important
as a low capital means of combating
declining site productivity;
Increased capital availability, and access to
purchased products, likely to lead to
substitution by pasture crops, fertilizer and
plastic packaging
Increased commercialization of rural use
patterns; some low-input few low-return
activities are displaced by factory made
alternatives, while others become
unprofitable and are abandoned
High return activities serving growing
demand are more likely to prosper,
particularly those serving urban as well as
rural markets
Industrial raw materials tend to be
displaced by domesticated supplies or
synthetic substitutes
The "buffer" role of forests and trees can
continue to be important well into the
growth process
Declining importance various due to
effectiveness of relief programmes, arrival
of new crops, access to remittance incomes
etc
and effort to develop these resources or are simply not available. The communities concerned with
this study expressed their desire to (re)initiate JFM program in their villages pointing out the benefits
that communities, in other villages where JFM was underway, were deriving. The impacts of JFM on
the benefits derived from forests are observed below with respected of the following points:

Fodder
Rajasthan has a large livestock population but there is a large gap between the demand and supply of
fodder which is going to be remained in future. The state has a large area under common lands
(around 40%) out of which around 9.26% of the area are under forest land. The Forest Department of
the state estimates that average withdrawal of fodder biomass from forest areas excluding core areas
of PAN (Protected Area Network) is about 4 tonnes per hactare 10. Excluding the core areas a net area
where animals graze or fodder is harvested by fringe communities comes to 2.8 million hectares. Thus
green fodder produced from the forests comes to 11.20 million tonnes or 3.70 million tonnes of dry
fodder. In the sample VFPMCs surveyed, largest source of fodder for the families was forest land
except in the case of Ganoli, Virasana and Lohagarh.
Major impact of JFM and consequent protection and development of forest has been on the
availability of grass and fodder. Wherever protection mechanisms under JFM have been instituted,
fodder production has risen and forest lands have become the main source of fodder in these areas.
However, in areas that are designated as progressive agriculture areas and where average livestock
number is high Agriculture replaces forests as the main source of fodder. Not only the quantity of
Grass available improved in these VFPMCs (except Lohagarh) but the quality also improved as low
quality/ low nutritious species like Aristida sp. were replaced by better quality species of Sehima sp.
and Cenchrus ciliaris in different regions. Increased quantity and improved quality has supported the
dairy activity in many villages and people reported that they have started keeping buffalos now.
Livestock grazing is one of the main activities and a significant amount of time of mainly women and
children is spent on grazing animals. Increased grass and fodder production from the forestland
through JFM and practice of stall-feeding has resulted in reduction of time taken by the women and
children to graze their livestock11.
Fuelwood
Consumption of fuelwood by rural households of Rajasthan is a common phenomenon. As per forest
department’s estimates the contribution of fuelwood from forest amounts to Rs.2000 million12. This
study analyzing fuelwood consumption pattern in Rajasthan suggests that in areas where agriculture
and livestock economy has developed and which are high in Human Development Index, the energy
sources at household level have changed from fuelwood to cowdung or fossil fuels.
As in case of fodder, fuelwood availability is not restricted only to forest lands. People collect
fuelwood from their agricultural fields, other common lands or purchase it. It is only in case of
Virasana that significant number of families (33%) was purchasing fuelwood. In the VFPMCs, in 4
out of households 8 VFPMCs have experienced increased availability of fuelwood whereas in other 4
VFPMCs availability of fuelwood has become less available. In Lohagarh the reason for decline in
fuelwood availability is the non-functioning of committee and subsequent degradation of forest
whereas in case of Lahrooni the forest area under JFM has been taken up in 2004 and is highly
degraded. It can be safely assumed that due to protection and regeneration operations the availability
of fuelwood has improved in all the successful JFM cases but due to lack of access in terms of
restriction people perceive in case of Ambada and Palasama, that the availability of fuelwood has
declined.

10
Study on biomass estimation from forest areas done by FES in collaboration with Udaipur University provides
a value of ton per ha. In a site protected for ??? year in Udaipur.
11
In case of Balicha where people reported spending more time in collection of fodder, it was due to the
availability of more fodder in the plot.
12
http://rajforest.nic.in/mutual.htm

RMoL-BASIX Page 16 of 21
The quality of fuelwood is determined by the stock that is regenerated or planted on the forest land.
The quality of fuelwood (or the calorific value) is an important aspect in terms of health as poor
quality fuelwood tends to generate smoke and causes in long term health problems for women. In
Balicha, Ganoli and Virasana VFPMC that we surveyed, quality of fuelwood was reported as
improved by the respondents. Only in case of Palasama and Ambada people responded that the
quality of fuelwood has declined.
In Ambada, Balicha, Lahrooni and Palasama VFPMC majority of the respondents reported that they
take more time now to collect fuelwood, whereas in case of Ganoli, Talai and Virasana majority said
that they take less time than before in collection of the fuelwood. In case of Lohagarh most of the
respondents reported it made no difference in the time taken for collection of fuelwood. The main
reason as reported by 82% of the respondents who said that it takes more time for fuelwood collection
was the restriction on the collection of fuelwood from the forest area.
NTFPs
As with the forest cover, NTFP distribution in Rajasthan is also dispersed in south west and south east
of the state. Although there is no definition of NTFP that is available within or outside the state,
normally grass, leaves, pala, pods, fruits, flowers, seeds, dried dead wood/ branches, munja, buhari,
khas, are considered as\NTFPs that are freely available to the community as per the JFM guidelines of
the state. Tendu leave and gum, although are NTFP, but are not freely available to the VFPMCs.
Collection of gum has been banned by the Forest Department. Tendu leaves are sold through the
system of tender and people are involved in collecting for the contractor.
There is complete lack of systematic information on the availability as well as collection of different
NTFPs in different parts of the state except for Tendu leave. However, as per the Forest Department
estimates the total contribution of NTFP to the state economy works out to approximately Rs.520
millions per annum while Tendu leave contributes around Rs.160 million (Rs 100 million in wages
and Rs 60 million in revenue), Bamboo harvesting contribute around Rs.100 million and unrecorded
offtake of various types of forest products in the form of leaves, fruits, flowers, bark, roots, tubers,
medicinal plants which are locally collected by the right holders contribute roughly Rs.200 million.
In surveyed VFPMCs only 13 households in two VFPMCs (Palasama and Lahrooni) reported that
they were selling NTFPs other than fuelwood and fodder and earning cash income from these. The
income earned through the sale of these NTFPs ranged from Rs 300 to Rs 2100 per annum. The
average income drawn from NTFP in these households was about Rs.750.
In Palasama, Jatropha, castor seeds and custard apple are the main NTFPs whereas Tendu leave in
Lahrooni. In Lahrooni most of the Tendu leaves collected was used in the household itself as it was
available in lower quantity with poor quality. Besides providing benefit at the household level, the
sale of NTFPs generates income for the community institutions. In case of Palasama, Panchayat
earned Rs.45000 in 2005 through the auctioning of Jatropha. Chitrawas Panchayat which is near to the
Palasama Panchayat, got more than Rs.100000 by auctioning Jatropha seeds. The bamboo harvesting
takes place in Palasama village. Some 14585 bamboo culms were auctioned at Rs.154221 in the same
year of study. After deducting expenditure on harvesting, as per the JFM guidelines of 17 th October
2000, a sum of Rs.67966 was deposited in the VFPMCs account.
Other NTFPs in Rajasthan
Revenue generated for the government alone is not a good indicator of a particular item’s importance
from people’s point of view. NTFPs such as mahua flowers and seeds, Jatropha, custard apple and
recently cassia tora, are consumed or traded locally by the forest dwellers without contributing much
to government revenues.
The official data on collection of two main NTFPs in Udaipur and Rajsamand districts is given below.
By comparing collections done by RSMM from 10 Panchayats in Rajsamand with total amount of
Jatropha seeds collected by RTADCF, it becomes clear that a major portion of NTFPs is traded
through unorganized and illegal route.

RMoL-BASIX Page 17 of 21
 Collection of important NTFP by RTADCF
Products/ year 2002-03 (qtl) 2003-04 (qtl) 2004-05 (qtl)
Dolma 262.47 2.84 243.68
Kanaji 376.44 36.51 23.34
Aritha 154.83 16.67 120.42
Ratanjot 2475.69 997.7 1890.81
Puwad 466.1 5392.3 1104.47
Aonla 79.89 14.37 0
Honey 12.54 0 8.85
Baheda 177.29 392.96 4.7
Palas seeds 0 0 0
Source: Rajas Sangh, Udaipur

In 2006, 120.902 Tonnes of Jatropha was collected by 10 Panchayats of Kumbhalgarh Tehsil and sold
to RSMM13. The seed was collected @ Rs 7.00 per Kg and sold to RSMM @ Rs 10.30. Total amount
given in 10 Panchayat was Rs 1245291and people got wages total Rs 846314.

7.3. Changing Policy Environment

There are two main policies, which affect JFM and livelihoods of the community at the ground level:
(1). The JFM guidelines, and (2). Panchayat Raj or PESA Act. There is also an important presence of
the roles of the RTADCF in collection and marketing of the NTFP that needs to be reviewed for
people so they could derive more benefits from the sale of NTFPs in Tribal areas and become owners
of the produce instead of being petty collectors. The major decisions taken in this regard are:
 LAMPs, Gram Panchayats and VFPMCs should be the only authorized agents to collect the MFPs
and subsequently to sell to Rajas Sangh,
 To check illegal transportation and marketing of MFPs, Transit Pass (T.P.) should be issued only
in the name of these authorized agents,
 The MFPs (other than Tendu leave) should be purchased on a Minimum Support Price (M.S.P.) to
be finalized by a committee,
 The M.S.P. should be widely publicized and displayed in Gram Panchayat notice boards and other
such mediums,
 The MFP should be exempted from Sales Tax,
 All the VFPMCs should be registered under the Registration of Societies Act,
 VFPMC/ LAMPs/ Gram Panchayats shall be free to sell the collected MFP to anybody offering
more than MSP fixed by Rajas Sangh,
 Net proceeds of MFP (excluding Tendu Patta) should be distributed between Gram Panchayats
and VFPMCs (wherever participating) equally,
 The net proceeds of MFP (other than Tendu Patta) should be transferred from Rajas Sangh to
Panchayat Raj, which, in turn, will be passed on to Gram Panchayat and VFPMCs accordingly,
and
 Fifty percent of the net proceeds from Tendu Patta will be transferred by the Gram Panchayat to
VFPMCs, wherever existing, to strengthen and encourage the JFM program in the state.
These are decisions that may certainly affect the livelihoods of the community in tribal areas in a
positive manner; however, implementation of this order at the ground level is still to be seen.

7.4. Institutional Development in JFM

Three main issues regarding the institution development in JFM are in terms of Institutional design
and processes, women participation and capacity development. The fact that most of the forest covers
falls in the regions where tribal community is predominant requires that the design of the institutions
for co-management of forest takes into account the customary rights of the users. Although it would

13
Panchayat Samiti records

RMoL-BASIX Page 18 of 21
require a considerable time that the facilitating agency would have to devote on the process of
working out mutually acceptable agreements to establish community access control systems, the
reduction in conflict and the increased ownership of the management by the communities, would help
in achieving the objectives of JFM as well as sustaining the institution for a longer period of time.

The institutional processes of micro-planning, involvement of all the stakeholders in the decision
making still require a lot to be done. The main constraint as reported by most of the Forest
Department officials is the lack of qualified staff at field level. It is also important in this regard that
there is no woman field staff in the Forest Department. Assuming that this personnel related scenario
is going to continue, efforts at developing village resource persons to undertake institution
development processes in other villages can be done. A good beginning has already been made in
terms of undertaking Van Sahayogi/ Van Sahayogini trainings under the WFP in Southern Rajasthan.

Capacity development is the area where a lot of intensive work is still needed. The responsibility and
rights over the forest resources are being devolved to the Panchayats now and probably in future these
may emerge as the main institution for management of forest. Learning from the capacity
development in other sectors for Panchayat suggests that the programs should not only focus on
Panchayat representatives but should instead develop capacities of the community in general. This
would require use of innovative methods to reach to the community at large. Although it would
require a considerable time that the facilitating agency would have to devote on the process of
working out mutually acceptable agreements to establish community access control systems, the
reduction in conflict and the increased ownership of the management by the communities, would help
in achieving the objectives of JFM as well as sustaining the institution for a longer period of time.

8. Conclusion
Government agencies like Forest Department and Tribal Development Department, in assistance with
the civil society organizations, should be involved in the communication and information sharing
process to the concerned communities and NTFPs gatherers regarding prices prevailing in different
markets, improve marketing practices for better livelihoods through forest management.

The institutional processes of structural, normative and functional aspects still require a lot of
attention at operational levels. While designing village institutions for forest protection this should be
made sure particularly that all the stakeholders are rightfully involved in the process, operational
practices, benefit sharing etc to avoid inter-community and inter-village conflicts. For this, the
VFPMCs should be structured and formed on a priority basis rather than in a project mode, which will
give time for undertaking groundwork before the VFPMCs undertake any physical activity or
protection of an area. Processes of MoU signing, Micro-planning, inclusion of decision making and
above all women’s involvement in JFM more than the efforts made so far in this direction. The major
bottleneck is the capacity and number of staff of the Forest Department at field levels. There have also
been some innovative approaches trying to overcome issues regarding trainings of the village resource
persons that require to be scaled to other areas of the state.

Therefore it is needed that the agro-livestock economy of communities in the forest fringe villages is
taken into account while planning for forest management interventions. Broadly, two kinds of
approaches could be adopted and practiced in this regard. The first, where the objective is to have a
good forest cover, planning for providing medium and long term benefits at the level of households in
terms of NTFPs and timber should be done vis a vis the cost incurred by the community due to
changing forest composition. And the second, forests around the villages may be managed as
silvipasture areas, in which case people will continue to get fodder and fuelwood for their livestock
and subsistence needs and would get additional benefits from the sale of NTFPs and timber produce.
In the areas where forests are regenerated, initiation of cultural practices in a fresh and relevant
manner in terms of pruning and thinning so that people can get at least the subsistence benefits for
which they have protected that forest may have a long-term positive impact. It is also needed that in
areas where NTFPs are available concerned VFPMCs can be informed and trained in collection of
NTFPs in a better manner so they can fetch good returns through forest related activities. In a meeting

RMoL-BASIX Page 19 of 21
on 13th October 2006 in the chairmanship the Chief Secretary, Rajasthan at Secretariat, Jaipur, few
decisions regarding collection and sale of NTFPs in tribal areas, mainly pertaining to LAMPs, Gram
Panchayats and VFPMCs being the only authorized agents to collect the MFP and subsequently to sell
to Rajas Sang, issuing Transit Pass (T.P) in the name of these authorized agents only, the MFP (other
than Tendu Patta) being purchased on a Minimum Support Price (M.S.P.), wide publicity measures of
the M.S.P., the MFP being exempted from Sales Tax, all the VFPMCs being registered under the
Registration of Societies Act, VFPMC/ LAMPs/ Gram Panchayats being free to sell the collected
MFP to anybody offering more than MSP fixed by Rajas Sang, net proceeds of MFP (excluding
Tendu Patta) being distributed between Gram Panchayats and VFPMCs (wherever participating)
equally, the net proceeds of MFP (other than Tendu Patta) being transferred from Rajas Sangh to
Panchayat Raj, which, in turn, will be passed on to Gram Panchayat and VFPMCs accordingly, fifty
percent of the net proceeds from Tendu Patta being transferred by the Gram Panchayat to VFPMCs,
wherever existing, to strengthen and encourage the JFM program in the state etc. While properly
implemented these decisions have full potential to affect the livelihoods of the community in tribal
areas positively and progressively.

The growth of VFPMCs in the initial phase was relatively slow. In 1994-95 the number of FPCs
constituted was 869.In western Rajasthan, the advent of JFM is fairly recent. Over the past 16 years,
JFM has spread to all the districts in the state The total area under JFM as a proportion to forest area
(including protected area) is around 18% whereas the number of villages covered under JFM (out of
total villages that have forest as a land use) is around 45%.

Majority of the forest land is located in the south of the Aravali range with a greater concentration of
forest in east (Baran, Karauli, Bundi and Kota) and south (Sirohi, Udaipur, Chittaurgarh, Dungarpur
and Banswara). Udaipur district has the maximum forest area in absolute and percentage terms in the
state and is significant for JFM program. Four divisions, 3 from the south and one from the east, were
selected from the districts where JFM implements. There are more villages that are non-tribal and
heterogeneous in nature and the ecological conditions are also towards arid, two districts namely
Bhilwara and Jaipur were selected.

9. Recommendations
Based on the findings of the study and conclusions drawn the following recommendations may be
incorporated for further strengthening of the process of JFM to bring better results:
 There is a need to put focus on the institutional design and strengthening processes in JFM. Issues
of inclusion of all the stakeholders, micro planning, involvement of women and other minorities
in the village etc. require constant facilitation by the Forest Department.
 The community development processes is at relatively better level where SHGs or women groups
have been participating in JFM. This not only builds their explicit involvement in the decision
makings, but also helps them in overcoming the social customs, which might be hindering their
participation in the village meetings in the first place.
 The recent orders and decisions of the Forest Department have given many responsibilities to
Gram Panchayats in terms of collection and sale under the NTFP trade. This is a newfound role of
Panchayats. Their involvement in the system that determines the prices can be the first step
towards this. Similarly, proper coordination and cooperation between the Gram Panchayat and
VFPMCs involved in the process need to be stressed.
 An effective resource assessment system should be developed in the state at community level as
well as at the level of divisions, particularly for fodder grass and NTFPs.
 Grass or fodder development is one major area, which needs to be looked into in terms of
livelihood improvement.
 Proper methods of collection of NTFPs and processing is another area that needs to be looked into
 The government may encourage local bulking, storage and processing, and bring large buyers in
touch with gatherers, so as to reduce the number of layers of intermediaries (in case of grass also).

RMoL-BASIX Page 20 of 21
Composition of RMoL:

Sl. No. Name & Designation

1. Hon’ble Chief Minister Chairman
2. Shri M.L.Mehta, IAS (Retd.) , Ex-Chief Dy. Chairman
Secretary, Rajasthan
3. Dr N S Hegde, Chairman, BAIF, Pune Member
4. Dr Tushaar Shah, International Water Member
Management Institute
5. Shri V K Ladia, CMD, Shree Rajasthan Syntex Member
Ltd. Dungarpur
6. Shri Rajiv Jain, Managing Director, M/s Member
Sambhav Gems, Jaipur
7. Shri Dilip Baid, Chairman, Federation of Member
Rajasthan Handicrafts Exporters Association
8. Shri Brij Mohan, ED (Retd.), SIDBI, Lucknow Member
9. Shri Vikram Golecha, Ex. Chairman, CII, Member
Rajasthan Chapter
10. Shri Arun Goyal, Director, Academy of Member
Business Studies, New Delhi
11. Shri Ravi Srivastva, Professor, Center for Member
Regional Development Studies, Jawaharlal
Nehru University, New Delhi
12. Shri Vijay Mahajan, Chairman, BASIX Principal Advisor
13. Shri D P Bagchi, Former Secretary, SSI, GoI Principal Advisor
14. Shri Apurva Kumar, ED, Hotel Clarks Amer, Member
Jaipur

RMoL-BASIX Page 21 of 21