Criteria and Indicators for SFM through community participation for communicating sustainable development of forests By Dr. P.C. Kotwal Professor, Faculty of Technical Forestry Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal, India At Forest C&I Analytical Framework and Report Workshop Finnish Forest Research Institute, METLA May 19-21, 2008
Background • The current Forest Policy (1988) envisages having 1/3 rd of the land area under forest and tree cover • The principal aim of the National Forest Policy is to ensure environmental stability and maintenance of ecological balance including atmospheric equilibrium, which is vital for sustenance of all life forms, human, animal and plant. The derivation of direct economic benefit must be subordinated to this principal aim. • It also envisages Joint Forest Management (JFM) with participation of communities in and around forest for protection, management of forests and benefit sharing. • About 20 million ha of the forests of the country are jointly managed by 1,06482 Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs). • There has been a system of “Forest Working Plan/ Management Plan” at the Forest Division level (Forest Management Unit) prepared for a period of 10 years as per the guide lines of National Working Plan Code.
C&I approach in SFM, India • In India the national level Criteria and Indicators(C&I) came in the form of Bhopal-India(B-I) Process in the year 1999 and refined in subsequent years (2005,2008). • The Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM) evolved Forest Management Unit (FMU) level indicators involving communities • Being applied in 6 States on pilot basis in 14 FMUs covering main tropical forest types of the country (Teak, Sal Miscellaneous and Himalayan).
C&I in India contd… Operational frame work of C&I for SFM Levels Function Development Organizatio n • • Strategic National National Forest National set of 8 SFM cell at Policy/National Forestry criteria and 37 MoEF, GoI Action Programme indicators finalized + • National set of C&I as Bhopal-India IIFM, (Bhopal-India Process) process in • National Working Plan accordance with Code the National Forest • Policy Technical and financial • support and liaison with Incorporation of State SFM Cells C&I in national • Monitoring ,assessment working plan code in process and reporting on SFM at National level
Operational frame work of C&I for SFM Contd… • • Tactical State level State Forest Policy State level cells on SFM Cell • State Working Plan SFM initiated to Guide lines work as per • Coordination with national C&I with Forest Divisions appropriate • modifications. Monitoring • ,assessment and Incorporation of reporting on SFM at C&I in State State level Working Plan guide lines.
Operational frame work of C&I for SFM Contd… • • Operational Division Working Plan of Refining people’s (FMU) Division indicators to suit the • FMU Development and • application of C&I Incorporation of C&I at FMU level in working plans. • • Enhancing capacity Monitoring, information and documentation • • Management Micro-plan Sensitization of Grassroots Committees • Working Groups at communities on (JFMC) JFMC level sustainable • development of forests Observation, • data/information Evolving peoples’ indicators • Developing capacity for monitoring through indicators
Peoples’ Indicators (FMU level) • People’s have their own way of understanding and defining sustainability of resources • They foresee the forest resources up to Seven Generations, • Forest dwelling communities: Mostly Illiterate, poor, High dependency on forest and remote from the developed areas. • The approach of developing People’s indicators and its use in communicating the sustainability of forest at higher level have done through;
Developing people’s indicators at FMU level Process Objective Tools Out come Sensitization Orientation Facilitated Understanding - C&I of towards need for discussions, context working Bhopal-India assessing direction specific and local definition of Process of change, analogies, games SFM, need and understanding highlighting the ever importance of concept of SFM existence of forests C&I as and C&I and sustainable monitoring tools availability of forest for SFM goods and services Participatory Evolve FMU level Focused Group Draft set of FMU development indicators based Discussions, brain level indicators of FMU level on local storming sessions, indicators knowledge, presentation and experience involve discussion all actors
Developing people’s indicators at FMU level … contd. Process Objective Tools Out come Field validation Field Field visits, Draft indicators of draft set of verification of transects, are verified, indicators draft indicators presentation and locally relevant discussion indicators based on local knowledge and experience Communication Refinement of Discussion, Finalization of of the evolved evolved C&I as presentation with FMU level C&I to higher per objectives higher authorities on indicators by the authorities of management the evolved C&I authorities
Minimum Acceptable Standards (MAS): Minimum Acceptable Standard (MAS) or norm, defines the sustainable/ optimum level of that particular indicator. This is the threshold value that needs to be achieved for an indicator for monitoring progress towards SFM. MAS for different indicators can be defined and described in four different ways as follows: Baseline values : Baseline or benchmark is the reference point from which the trend or change is projected with respect to SFM. This baseline describes the status of the indicators at the time of data collection. Average values : The Indicators for which it’s difficult to reach on the fixed norm due to lack of defined benchmark, the data of previous 3-5 years was used to find out the average value and chosen as norm. Published Standard values: The published values and data available from authentic sources are used as standard value or MAS. Values arrived as a result of discussion among different stakeholders : In some cases it’s difficult to reach on a concluding norm/standard value. Therefore the values are arrived after discussion among the stakeholders including community members on their experience and wisdom and hence has been taken as norm.
Norms for the indicators of the FMU The data of identified indicators are compared against the Norms which may be qualitative/quantitative. Indicators Norm Criteria 1: Maintenance/increase in the extent of forest and tree cover 1.1 Total Forest Area (ha) 1/3 of the geographical area should be under Reserved forest, Protected forest, forest and tree cover. No decrease in forest area of the FMU Unclassified forest 1.2 Area under various Forest types The area under respective forest types should be Teak, Bamboo, Miscellaneous maintained 1.3: Forest area under encroachment There should be no encroachment in the forest area 1.4 Percentage of forest with secured All the forest areas are surveyed and mapped, boundaries well demarcated on the ground. No. of boundary pillars 1.5 Change in area of forest cover - There should be no reduction in the area of dense dense, open and scrub forests, pastures forest and attempts should be made to convert and deserts open and scrub forests into dense forest. 1.6 Change in tree cover outside forest Tree planting needs to be encouraged on non- area forest land, community land and along road/ rail/ canal etc.
Data of Indicators FMU level indicators were identified based on the national set of 8 Criteria and 37 indicators (B-I Process) beside identifying site specific indicators. Periodical data were collected from communities and records of the FMU. The periodicity of observations / recording data of indicators varies from one year (such as incidences of forest fires) to 10 years (such as standing stock of forest at the time of revision of the working plan). Data of some indicators remain static (Area of the FMU). Out of 32 indicators the data of 13 indicators are of primary nature and remaining are collected from the records/reports.
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