Showing papers on "Forest produce published in 2014"

Conservation of a Tropical Wet Semi-evergreen Forest Ecosystem by an Indigenous Community in the Bandarban Hill District of Bangladesh: The Role of Intervention

Abstract: Indigenous communities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh had been conserving small patch of forests, commonly called village common forests (VCFs), especially for drinking water and non-timber forest produce. The size of VCFs has been decreasing, due to increasing population and conversion of forests for shifting cultivation. To restore the degraded forest resources and conserve the forest ecosystems in the VCF of the CHT, an intervention was undertaken in Bandarban, Bangladesh by Arannayk Foundation, an organization established jointly by the Government of Bangladesh and the United States of America. A training program on leadership, organizational development and alternative income generating activities was implemented to build the capacity of the members of the VCF management committee. The impact of the interventions was measured at the end of third year. Incomes of VCF-dependent communities were found to increase with resultant reduction of their dependence on VCFs. The intervention encouraged women’s participation in forest management and facilitated a written format of the constitution of the VCF management. The study identified that more training and awareness-raising activities are needed to ensure sustainability of the interventions. Mobilizing funds for the communities for sustainable alternative livelihoods was found effective. Appropriate compensation for conservation was found to make the restoration and conservation activities sustainable.

Marketing Facilitation for Improving Livelihoods of Tribal Producers

Abstract: Government regulations constrained tribals’ integration with market economy and its benefits. Marketing facilitation institutions established by Government of India for minor forest produce trade h...

Impact of New Forest policies on Collection and Marketing of Minor Forest Produce in Karnataka, with Special reference to LAMPS

Abstract: There has been increasing trends in the trade of forest products particularly Non Timber Forest Products (NTFP). Increasing trade of forest products has supported economic growth of a number of emerging countries. There is strong evidence that forest products play a significant role in the livelihoods of the rural poor. Forest products are the main sources of income for the tribal population of many countries. In India the central government came with legislation named as The scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006 popularly known as Forest Rights Act (FRA) 2006 to recognize the tenure and occupational rights of forest dwellers. The forest rights act was the first act enacted in independent Indian that addressed the question of community ownership of MFP and rights and management/governance of forest at the legislative level. The present study is based on primary and secondary data related to collection and marketing of Minor Forest Produce through LAMPS and dependency of Tribal population on Minor forest Products. The study intended to understand the collection and marketing status of MFP in LAMPS and how new forest policies impact on the collection and marketing of MFP’s in LAMP Societies.

A Socio-Economic miserable condition of the tribals in Chhattisgarh (A case study of Dhanwar, Surguja district, C.G.)

Abstract: The author intends to study the socio-economic conditions of the tribals residing in the remote hilly and forest areas, in the area of Dhanwar. The people are very poor economically, socially and politically. They are living hand to mouth. They depend mostly on the forest produce and agriculture for their livelihood. The author wants to attract the attention of the government officials for the upliftment and development of the tribals over there. The government programmes are almost nil except MNREGA. However, this Programme is also under the clutch of the corruption.

Tribal Identity and the implications for Political and Cultural Development: A Sociological Analysis

Abstract: The tribal's, who live in forest areas and other remote place, have got their own culture, customs, practices and religion. They have not remained uninfluenced through the sources of change. The changes have taken place even among the tribal groups that who lived separate from non-tribal. The tribal population in the State of Karnataka, and in the country as a whole, is the most deprived and vulnerable community that faces severe economic exclusion. Although certain constitutional safeguards are provided, no significant economic, social and political mobility has taken place across this community. Therefore it is important to find out the type of changes that have taken place and the factors in effecting these changes and finally the pace and direction of changes that have taken place among them Our paper on “Tribal Identity And The Implications For Political And Cultural Development: A Sociological Analysis” the situation of the Scheduled Tribes in the background of various policies of the state during the successive plan periods and its impact on their socio-economic mobility. Politically, this community is the most voiceless in the state. Their unsecured livelihood position in terms of lack of legal entitlements of the resources they use, both land and non-timber forest produce, push them into deep economic vulnerability.

Forest Policies and NTFP - Based Livelihoods in India - Need for better Interventions

Abstract: Non-timber forest produce have always been integral part of income and consumption of tribal people. However, their access and usufruct rights to forest resources have been affected by various policies and legislations adopted in pre and post-independence India. As in other parts of the world, there is marked change in forest and NTFP related policies. While earlier, there was a top-down planning for forest management with a clear bias for industrial needs, now there are laudable attempts at devolution of power and conservation of forest wealth while ensuring livelihood concerns of forest dependent communities. After social forestry and JFM, the tenurial rights given to forest dwellers under the FRA 2006 is a step forward in evolution of forest policies in India. The marketing structure for trade in NTFP does not ensure fair returns to the forest dwellers who continue to live in poverty and are unaware of the potential income through value-addition to their produce. There is, thus, a need for a more holistic approach to tap the potential of NTFP's contribution in the tribal/rural economy.

The Munda and their Lac Culture: A case study of Gulllu Area of Murhu Block of Khunti District

Abstract: The State is endowed with vast and rich natural res ources mainly those of minerals and forest and 80% of its population residing in 32620 village s depend mainly on agriculture and small allied activities for their livelihood. In spite of being so rich in natural resources, the tribal regions in Jharkhand are amongst the poorest region of the country. Over 80% of the tribal population of the region is rural, and mostly depen dent upon agriculture. In spite of the fact that most of them hold some land, agricultural practices are very much primitive and therefore productivity remains very abysmal. Subsistence agri culture coupled with population growth and many other hindering factors have put the tribal of the region at a very disadvantaged situation. Most rural households here are engaged in subsisten ce farming under adverse environmental conditions. The families are often engaged in low p aying non-agricultural activities as well. After the live saving paddy, migration to northern India is a normal phenomenon. The livelihood basket consists of agriculture (that meets food sec urity only for few months in a year), income from forest (fuel wood and NTFP), livestock, and wa ge labour (local as well as migration). The weak links in the livelihood basket are low agricul tural productivity, small and fragmented land holding, poor soil and water resource condition, de graded forest, lack of access to quality and certified seeds, fertilizers/compost, poorly/ non-m anaged CPR, lack of marketing linkages for forest produce and non availability of local wage l abour.

Partnerships, value chain upgrading and performance in the forestry sectors of Tanzania and Uganda

Abstract: Uganda faces several constraints in its forestry sector. Fragmentation of the sector and a lack of collective strength result in lost opportunities in policy advocacy; product development; sharing of market information; expanding to new markets; developing market standards; and taking advantage of training and support offered by government or non-government organizations funded initiatives. Specifically in the forestry sector the Uganda Government has asserted that “the key to poverty alleviation and sustainable forest management lies with those stakeholder groups that are involved in production, utilization and processing of forest produce” (Uganda Forest Sector Coordination Secretariat, 2001). As highlighted by Auren & Krassowska (2004), a broad spectrum of forestry-based associations exist in Uganda in terms of their geographical scope, their level of formalization and their objectives – from those focusing primarily on social welfare of members to those entrepreneurs who collaborate to achieve some commercial advantage in a competitive market. To empower tree growers associations in Tanzania, the Forestry and Beekeeping Department (FBD) in conjunction with service providers like Green Resources Limited provide a number of development support activities to them ranging from technical forestry, associations’ management guidelines and establishment of alternative income generating activities to marketing techniques. For more detailed information on the forestry sectors in the two countries, see Walusimbi (2014, forthcoming). This paper thesis explores the quality of partnerships between small to medium sized commercial forestry producers in Tanzania and Uganda, and their associations, and the impact these partnerships have on upgrading of activities and ultimately business performance.