social forestry 002

7/30/2019 Social Forestry 002

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Social ForestryBooklet No 2Forestry FS - 4

Contents

PrefaceI. Forest Situation in India,

II. What is social Forestry

III. Objectives of Social Forestry

IV. Characteristics of Social ForestryV. Scope of Social Forestry

VI. Principles of Plant Selection

VII. Plant GroupsVIII. Constraints of Social Forestry

IX. Model Social Forestry Programmes

X. Why social Forestry Programmes Fail?XI. Role of Voluntary Agencies in Social Forestry

XII. Conclusion

Preface

Social forestry in many places is planting a sapling in the same pit every year during the

Vana mahotsava celebration. Lack of proper under standing and perspective is the main reasonfor the failure of social forestry programmes. These booklet intents to fill this lacuna.

All section except on plant groups require very careful reading and discussion tounderstand in this booklet and to avoid getting the impression of being repetitive. The section on

Plant Groups is only a model for people to classify trees in their own region. The reader should

choose the local trees in their own region. The reader should choose the local trees in their ownregion. The reader should choose the local trees available first and only then search for exotic

varieties.

Dr. K. T. Chandy, Agricultural & Environmental Education.

I. Forest Situation in India,

In ancient times, the population was small and there was enough in the forests for

satisfying everyones needs. As the population increased, more and more forest areas were

destroyed for habitation, agriculture, fuel, timber, dams and industrial complexes. Shifting

cultivation is still a practice responsible for forest clearance in the tribal areas Orissa, MadhyaPradesh and North-Eastern Hill Regions. Needless to say that the forest-based industries play a

major role in the forest destruction, which takes place at an average rate of 1.5 million hectares

per year.

The first Indian Forest Act drafted in 1865 and the subsequent Acts and policies could

not improve the deteriorating forest situation. Even after Independence, the forest policy of 1952and Forest Bill of 1988 was as ineffective as the earlier ones. According to the government


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sources the forest covers in India is now only 22% of the total geographical area of 329 million

hectares as against the 33.35 the minimum requirement prescribed by the government. Many of

the forest are in highly degraded condition and according to the National Remote SensingAgency, forest in India amount to only 11% of the total geographical area. It is estimated that as

much as 4,328 thousand hectares of forest land was diverted for non-forest use between 1951 and

1980 (see Table 1)

Table 1: Forest Land Diverted (1951-1980)

Sl No Purpose for which forest land diverted Area in

hectares

In 000 ha

1.

2.3.

4.

5.

Agriculture

River valley projectsIndustries and townships

Transmission line and roads

Others

2,623

502134

61

1008

Total 4328

Due to the increasing population and continuous dwindling of forest areas, acute shortage

of major and minor forest products is being experienced. Tribals and the rural poor are the worsthit victims of this shortage as they depend on forests for their basic requirements such as food,

fuel, fodder, and small timber and for supplementary income. Roots, tubers, leaves, flowers,

seeds, fruits, tender shoots and mushrooms and small animals and birds from the forest fromsubstantial amount of food for them. Several of these items when gathered in surplus enable

them to earn some money to purchase other things. Latest forest policies hardly permit the

people to enter the forest for collecting the above-mentioned materials, and tribals and rural poorpeople are deprived of even their livelihood. Social forestry was proposed as a solution to this

problem.

II. What is social Forestry,

Mahatma Gandhi enunciated the concept of social forestry in a comprehensive form for

the first time. According to him, a village must be established in such a way that the villagers cancollect their requirements such as fuel wood, fodder, materials of thatch and bamboo in and

around the village.

Gandhiji conceived village as a functional unit of society and all its requirementsincluding the forest products being produced and managed by the villagers. The term Social

Forestry denotes any tree plantation, undertaken on private or common land, outside thejurisdiction of the India Forest Department to provide people their basic requirements, which

they used to collect from forests. It is an activity designed for the benefit of the villagers in

general and the poor and the disadvantaged among them in particular.

Social forestry is a programmed of the people by the people and for the people.


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Hence, strictly speaking, it refers to a collective management and utilization of under or

unutilized common land to meet the requirements of the local people especially by theunderprivileged.

III. Objectives of Social Forestry

The objectives of social forestry are not only material but also human. They are:

1. To fulfill the basic requirements such as fuel, fodder, small timber, supplementary food

and income from surplus forest products,

2. to provide employment opportunities and to increase family income considerable for

alleviating poverty,3. to tap the dormant energies and skills of the villagers for their own development by

enabling them to manage their own natural resources,4. to popularize economic tree farming along with crop farming,

5. to integrate economic gains in the distribution of other benefits to the socially and

economically poor in a village,6. to organize them in their struggle for socio- economic development,

7. to conserve soil and water and to maintain ecological balance by enhancing biomass

generation,

8. to provide congenial environment to the tribal and to help them to preserve their culturalidentity as their life and culture is intimately related to forest.

9. to reduce encroachment on the existing forests,

10. to inculcate the value of village level self-sufficiency and self management in theproduction as well as distribution of forest products with social justice,

11. to foster the spirit of cooperation and to encourage cooperative enterprises, and

12. to form the villagers into a well-knit community and an effective functional unit ofsociety which can shape its own destiny.

IV. Characteristics of Social Forestry,

Social forestry in its broad sense is a programme of community forestry development and

should be characterized by the following.

1. Involvement of the beneficiary from the planning to consumption stage,2. Production and distribution of common forest products suck as fuel, fodder, small timber,

fruits and other things which were obtained earlier from the forest,

3. use of community lands to produce such products,4. adoption mixed production system i.e. grass, fodder, fruits and other things people

require,

5. Maintenance of minimal government control in production, management and distribution

of benefits,


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6. Collaboration by the government, panchayat and voluntary agencies in the supply of

inputs (funds, seedlings, materials and labour),

7. Measures taken to conserve soil and water,8. An in built mechanism for recycling of organic matter and waste of the area,

9. Full use of all the natural resources in social forestry area,

10. Training components to make people to reflect both on the social aspects as well astechnical aspects,

11. Educational measures to bring villagers together as a community based on the egalitarian

values and12. Encouraging people to help themselves not only to survive but also to develop.

V. Scope of Social Forestry,

In India 35% land remains unused or underutilized. This includes cultivable waste lands,

permanent pastures and grazing land, land under miscellaneous tree crops, follow lands, barren

and uncultivable lands and lands along road sides, railway lines, canal banks and drains. Most of

these wasteland can be used for social forestry programmes.

The catchment area of village percolation taken is an excellent place for social forestryplantation. Seasonal crops should not be cultivated in the catchment areas to avoid soil erosion

and siltation. But implementation of a planned social forestry on the same area increases

infiltration of rainwater, reduces siltation to minimum and augments water storage in thereservoir. Social forestry on the catchment area and its percolation tank from an ideal eco-system

with a symbiotic relationship between them. The former increases water storage in the tank and

avoids siltation whereas the latter supplies moisture to trees during dry seasons.

The demand for fuel wood in India is steadily increasing. The estimated current firewood

consumption is 157 million tones. Most of it is used for cooking. To cook 1 kg of food, 1.2 kg of

fuel wood is required. This clearly indicates the need for producing more fuel wood than food.

About 400 million tones of cattle dung, which is equivalent to about 60 million tones of

fuel wood, is burnt annually in India. The annual loss of plant nutrients by this wasteful practiceamounts to approximately 300 thousand tonne of nitrogen, 156 thousand tones of phosphorous

and an equal amount of potassium. If cattle dung were incorporated into the soil instead of using

it as fuel, it would increase food grain production by about 15-20 million tones. This can be

achieved only when fuel wood is supplied to the rural poor in sufficient quantity.

Fodder problem of livestock population needs immediate attention. The fodder available

at present is very low both in quality as well as in quantity. It can meet only 23% of the proteinrequirement and 39% of the carbohydrate requirement of the livestock population. Growing

perennial fodder crops becomes a necessity to solve the fodder problem. Similarly, seeds and

fruits of some trees are excellent ingredients for concentrates. All these can be grown in socialforestry.

Small timber and bamboo are usually used by the poor for building and repairing their

houses and for making agricultural implements, as cement, iron etc. are beyond their purchasing


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capacity. The demand for small timber and bamboo will remain for a long period and will

increase along with the increase in population. Social forestry can provide the rural poor with

timber and bamboo.

Similarly, social forestry can solve the food problem of the poor to a great extent. Certain

edible fruits like cashew, mango, coconut and palms have high nutritional value and can grownunder social forestry programmes.

Social forestry can play a vital role in the reclamation of degraded lands, conservation ofsoil and moisture, improvement of agricultural production and prevention of environmental

deterioration.

VI. Principles of Plant Selection,

Selection species is important for the success of social forestry. The selection should be

based on the following criteria:

1. trees should be fast growing, early maturing and yielding,

2. they should have multiple usages ( for food, fodder, fuel, manures),3. the tree trunk should be strong and stout,

4. the species should be suited to climate and soil of the place,

5. they should have dense foliage,6. they should possess capacity to tolerate adverse climate and soil conditions,

7. they should have deep root system,

8. the leaf shedding should be in early spring and not in summer,

9. they should have coppicing capacity (ability to produce shoots from cut portion),10. they should not have prominent thorns and

11. their planting and caring should be easier and economical.

It is essential that the species selected for planting should be directly or indirectly related to

the socio-economic needs of the people. Therefore, there must be full participation of local

people in selecting species for planting. At the same time people have to be taken through theprocess of reflection and analysis to make them aware of the socio-economic conditions of the

their life in relation to social forestry before they choose the type of trees to be planted. Planning

should take into account not only the immediate needs but also the future increasing

requirements.

VII. Plant Groups,

Trees can be grouped according to peoples requirements. For the selection of trees, people

should identify locally available species first and then only go for exotic species. This principle

should be kept in mind always before a species is selected for social forestry. One can alwaysfind at least half a dozen local species suitable to various needs of the people. Given below is a

model classification of trees according to the needs of people and major agro-climatic conditions.

However, the list is neither exhaustive nor the classification rigid or exclusive. The scientific


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names with Hindi names in parenthesis are given in the classification. It is up to the people to

identify local trees for various purposes and plant them.

A. Fuel trees: Fast growth and high yield are the most important criteria for selecting

firewood trees. Tress requiring 5-15 years to attain full growth are considered suitable

for fuel production. Fuel wood can be grown by two methods: (a) coppicing (cutting andregrowing branches continuously). All the trees do not have regrowth capacity. Some

fast growing cropping fuel trees are: alder eucalyptus, subabul, poplar and sallow. Some

of the common firewood trees are classified climate wise though some of them aregrown under a wide range of climatic conditions.

1. Tropical dry regions: (a) Acacia nilitica (Babul); (b) Albizia lebbeck(Siris) (c)

Azadirachta indica (Neem); (d) Emblica officinalis (Amla); (e) Prosopis julifera

(Vilayati babul); (f) Zizyphus mauritiana (Ber); and (g) Tamarindus indica(Tamarind).

2. Tropical humid regions: (a) Acacia nilitica (Babul); (b) Albizia lebbeck (Siris)

(c) Azadirachta indica (Neem); (d) Casuarina equisitifolia (janglijhau); (e)

Dalbergia sisoo (Shisam); (f) Ficus religiosa (Pipal); (g) Salix daphnoides(Willow); (h) Madhuca longifolia (Mahua); (i)Moringa olifera (Drumstick); (j)

Tamarindus idica (Tamarind); (k) Leucaena leucocephala (Subabul); and (1)Mangnifera indica (Mango).

3. Subtropical regions: (a) Acacia catechu (Khair); (b) Grevillea robusta (Silver

oak); (c) Populaus spp. (Popular); (d) Salix spp. (willow); and (e) Toona ciliata(Toon).

B. fodder species: fodder species should be included in a social forestry programme to

ensure balanced feed to the animals. Fast growing leguminous species are more valuable

as fodder due to their high protein content( Subabul ). In addition to being a legume,trees with succulent and dense foliage with better silage making quality are preferred for

fodder. Fodder trees are generally planted close and maintained in the form of a bush by

repeated coppicing. Some of the fodder trees are classified according to climate.

Tropical dry regions: (a) Acacia nilotica (Babul); (b) Leucaena leucocephala

(Subabul); (c) Cordia rothii (Gondi); (d) Zizyphus mauritiana (Ber); (e) Albizia lebbeck

(Siris); (f)Bauhinia vareigata (Kachnar).1. Tropical humid areas: (a) Morus alba (Shatoot); (b) Moringa olifera

(Drumstick); (c) Acacia nilotica (Babul); (d) Albizia lebbeck (Siris); and (e)

Artocarpus heterophyllus (Kat-hal).

2. Subtropical regions: (a) Ficus religiosa (Pipal); (b) Toona ciliata (Toona); (c)Bauhnia purpurea (Lal kachnar, Kaliar); and (d)Acacia catechu (Khair).

Fruit trees

Choice of the local people should be given due consideration for selecting fruit trees insocial forestry along with soil and climatic factors as the fruit trees do not florish unless

they get a suitable environment. The objective for raising the fruit trees should be also

ascertained. If it is for commercial purpose, marketing facilities should be first ensured.Following species can be grown according to the specific region.

3. Tropical dry regions: (a)Zysyphus mauritana (Ber); (b) Tamarindus indica

(Tamrind); (c)Moringa olifera (Drum stick); (d)Emblica officinalis (Amla); (e)

Carissa carandas (Karaunda); and (f) Ceratonia siliqua (Kharnub).


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4. Tropical humid regions: (a) Anacardium occidentale (Cashew); (b)Areca

catechu (Supari, Betelnut); (c)Artocarpus heterophyllus (Kat-hal); (d) Cocos

nucifera (Coconut); (e) Tamindus indica (Tamerind)l (f)Madhuca longifolia(Mahua); (g)Embnlica officinalis (Amla); (h) Mangifera indica (Mango); (i)

Moringa olifera (Drumstick); (j)Morus Alba (Shahtoot); and (k) Syzygium cumini

(Jamun, Jambu).5. Subtropical regions: (a)Litchi chinensis (Litchi); (b)Emblica officinalis (Amla);

(c)Magnifera indica (Mango); (d)Psidium guajava (Guava); (e)Prunus persica

(peach); and (f)Pyrus communis (Pear)

C. Timber trees: Timber trees are of two types namely small timber and commercial

timber for logging. For social forestry purposes, normally small timber is raised which is

used for village housing for making farm implemts and tools handles. Here, too, the local

species are given preference over the exotics. Some of the major timber speciaesaccording to their purpose, climatic requirements are grouped.

1. Rural housing and fencing: (a) Albizia lebbeck (Siris); (b) Azadirachta indica

(Neem); (c) Cocos nucifera (Coconut); (d) Madhuca longifolia (Mahua); (e)

Syzygium cumini (Jamun); (f) Dalbergia sisoo (Shisham ); and (g) Phoenixdactylifera (Khajur).

2. Big housing and furnitures: (a) Acacia catechu (Khair); (b) Acasia nilitica(Babul); (c) Cassia fistula (Amaltas); (d) Dalbergia sisoo (Shisham); (e)

Madhuca longifolia (Mahua); (f)Pinus spp. (Pine); (g) Shorea robusta (Sal); (h)

Tectona grandis (Teak); and (i) Terminalia arjuna (Arjun, Kahu).3. Farm implements: (a) Acacia catechu (Khair); (b) Acacia nilotica (Babul); (c)

Azadiracht indica (Neem); (d) Cassia fistula (Amaltas); and (e) Syzygium cumini

(Jamun)

4. Tool handles: (a) Pongamia glabra (Karanj); (b) Leucaena leucocephala(Subalul); (c) Bambusa spp. (Bamboo); (d) Grewia oppositifolia (Bhimal); (e)

Azadirachta indica (Neem); (f) Acacia catechu (Khair); (g) Acasia Nilotica

(Babul) and (h)Dalbergia sisoo (Shisham)

D. Trees for soil erosion control: for soil erosion control, planting methods and designs

are more important than the kinds of tree. Generally trees useful for soil erosion control

are classified.1. Tropical dry regions: (a) Acacia catechu (Khair); (b) Acacia nilotica (Babul);

(c) Albizia lebbeck (Siris); (d) Azadirachta indica (Neem); (e) Bambusa spp.

(Bamboo); (f) Leucaena leucocephala (Subabul); and (g) Prosopis julifera

(Vilayati babul).

2. Tropical humid regions: (a)Acacia catechu (Khair); (b)Acacia nilotica (Babul);

(c) Albizcia lebbeck (Siris); (d) Azadirachta indica (Neem); (e) Bambusa sp.(Bamboo); (f) Leucaena leucocephala (Subabul); (g) Prosopis julifera (Vilayati

babul); (h) Salix sp. (Willow); and (i)Pongamia glabra (Karanj)

3. Subtropical regions: (a) Populaus spp. (Poplar); (b) Eucalyptus spp,

(Eucalyptus); (c) Bombax ceiba (Semal); (d) Azadirachta indica (Neem); (e)

Dalbergia sisoo (Shisham); (f)Morus alba (Mulberry); and (g) Prosopis julifera

(Vilayati babul).


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Trees with the following characteristics are suited for soil erosion control:

1. profuse branching from the base (eg.Vilayati babul),2. extensive root system (eg. Casurina)

3. trailing branches (eg. Cashew),

4. ability to produce saplings from cutting (eg. Shisham); and5. tolerance to close growing condition (eg. Bamboo).

E. Improvement of poor soils: Saline, alkaline, usar, waterlogged and marshy landconstitute the poor soil. These lands cannot be used for agricultural purposes. Planting

trees resistant or tolerating these types of soils, sill not only help in reclamation of soil,

but also yield useful products like fuel or fodder. Planting trees on water logged areas

will lower the water-table to certain extent. Following trees are suitable for theimprovement of soils.

1. Saline, alkaline and usar soils: (a) Acasia nilotica (Babul); (b) Albizia lebbeck

(Siris); (c) Azadirachta indica (Neem); (d) Butea monosperma (Dhak); (e)Casurina spp. (f)Emblica officinalis (Amla); (g)Madhucalatifolia (Mahua); (h)

Morus alba (Shahtoot); (i) Pongamia glabra (Karanj); (j) Terminalia arjuna(Arjun), (k) Zizyphus spp. (Ber); (i)Prosopis julifera (Vilayati kikar); (m)Nerium

indicum (Kaner); (n) Cassia fistula (Amaltas); and (o)Ficus religiosa (Pipal).

2. Short duration water logged areas: (a) Acacia nilotica (Babul); (b) Buteamonosperma (Dhak); (c) Dalbergia Sissoo (Shisham); (d) eucalyptus spp: (e)

Pongamia glabra (Karanj); (f) Terminalia arjuna (Arjun); (g) Syzigium cumini

(Jamun); and (h) Salix spp. (Willow).

3. Damp and marshy lands: (a) Pongamia glabra (Karanj); (b) Salix spp.

(Willow); (c) Popular spp. (Popular); (d) Casuarina equesitifolia (Jangli Jhau);and (e) Toona ciliata (Toona).

F. Windbreaks: Windbreak refers to one or three rows of trees planted as a protectiveagainst strong wind. Windbreaks are planted perpendicular to the direction of the wind in

the locality. In India, there are generally planted north-south direction to check the wind

force from south-west and north-east. They reduce the wind velocity and consequent

movement of sand and soil is arrested.. thus they (1) reduce soil erosion (2) conserveprecipitation and (3) increase soil moisture. The following are a few examples of trees

suitable for planting as windbreaks.

1. Dry and arid regions: (a)Albizia lebbeck(Siris); (b)Azadirachta indica (Neem);(c) Artocarpus heterophyllus (Kat-hal); (d) Pongamia glabra (Karanj); (e)

Sesbania grandiflora (Agast); (f) Tamarindus indica (Tamarind) and (g) Tamarix

dioica (Jhau).

2. Coastal areas: (a) Anacardium occidentale (Cashew); (b) Grevilea robusta

(Silver oak); (c) Casuarina equisitifolia (Casurina), JangliJhau); (d) Saraca

indica (Ashok).


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VIII. Constraints of Social Forestry

Several factors constrain social forestry programmes. Some of the more significant ones are

mentioned below:

A. Absence of comprehensive research findings on the suitability of certain species for

various agro-climatic regions of the country, techniques for growing such plants

successfully and economically, optimum spacing of trees, subsequent management andharvesting practices etc. is a major hurdle for social forestry.

B. A remunerative support price for tree corps grown by beneficiaries is lacking. Instead the

middlemen take away most of the profit.

C. Rules and regulations regarding the harvesting, transport and marketing have to be

simplified so as to eliminate hurdles in obtaining permission. For example, sandalwood

production in Karnataka has been steadily decreasing despite the increasing demand.One reason for low production is absolute state control over sandal trees even on private

lands. Similarly most of the trees except eucalyptus, babool, saijana and few others areforbidden to be cut and transported outside the village even by the producer himself

without permission from the forest department. The farmer, there, is reluctant to grow

these trees as he has no right either to cut or sell them.

D. Harassment by government officials is another problem in the implementation of social

forestry programmes. They demand illegal gratification from villagers for transporting

and trading in minor forest products produced under social forestry programmes. Hencepeople are not interested in social forestry programmes.

E. Most social forestry programmes are undertaken on community wastelands, roadside andcanal margins where it is very difficult to grow and protect the saplings. Moreover, most

of the plantations are very small in size and scattered making management and protection

impossible.

F. Encroachments of the land also deprive the poor from his due benefits. The rich and the

influential people encroach and take possession of most of social forestry plantations and

the poor are marginalized. People should be involved at every stage with real convictionand understanding. Otherwise they become mere workforce. Special task forces need to

be mobilized in every region to create awareness among the people and to motivate

them. It should be made a movement both in thinking as well in practice. For the successof social forestry it must become a peoples movement involving as many villagers as

possible.

G. Extension is a two-way communication between researches and people; better and new

ideas about social forestry should flow from researchers to people and the people should

provide the feedback to the researchers. At present there are neither such facilities nor

competent personnel in extension methodology.


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H. Lack of proper distribution system for the sharing of the social forestry products is yet

another constraint. Neither government nor voluntary agencies have evolved anacceptable and equitable system of product distribution.

I. Non-availability of required seedlings is another major handicap. Hence, people plantwhatever they get which ultimately proves unsuitable to them.

IX. Model Social Forestry Programmes,

Few models of social forestry progarammes are presented here. These case studies provide

some insights into the way they have been planned and implemented.

A. Bharatiya Agro-Industries Foundation, Urulikanchan, Maharastra: The MahatmaGandhi Vidyalay, started in 1950, has been active in promoting afforestation. More than

2,750 students planted one lakh subabul trees for fodder and other uses in 1981. Eighty

per of these have survived. Encouraged by this, they planted about 2 lakh saplings more

in and around their farms and farmstead in 1982. The experiment shows the potential theschool systems hold in strengthening social forestry programmes.

B.Experimental social forestry in Garadgaon, Maharastra: Dr. Arvind G. Raddi and hiscolleagues prepared a social forestry scheme to make Garadgaon self sufficient in its fuel

and fodder requirements. For this they utilized the funds available under the employment

guarantee scheme of the state government. Through an informal survey they identifiedthe following.

1. Total boundaries of the village land under cultivation was more 1,50,000 metres

where 23,150 trees could be planted. Fodder grass could be grown in the spacebetween these trees.

2. The village stream is 2.67 km and about 26,700 trees could be planted on its banks.

3. As many as 3,330 trees could be planted along the road to 1.67 km. A total of 3,730trees could be planted if other small roads were also taken into account.

4. A nursery could be raised near the perennial stream.

The total budget of the scheme was about Rs.4.25 lakh. Dr. Raddi estimated that 241.5

tones of fuel wood would be required every year (805 tree) for the whole village. Similarly,

fodder requirement was also calculate. He thought of establishing a fuel wood depot and a fodder

bank in the village to be managed by the gram panchayat. The progamme was implemented in1979. By and large, the results were quite encouraging. This experiment successfully combined

private initiative, proper use of the government wasteland and administrative resources for the

community benefits.

C. Government of Orissa: Orissa has a forest area of 38.44% of the total geographic

area of the state. Although this is higher than the average forest area of the country,the rate of deforestation is also higher in the state. In 1983, Orissa Government in

collaboration with Sweden started implementing the social forestry progamme in the

state.


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1. The aims of the programme were:

a) to meet the fuel, fodder and other domestic needs of the rural

population,b) to restore the ecological balance,

c) to check soil erosion, conserve soil moisture and increase the soil

fertility andd) to meet the needs of forest based industries.

2. The project had the following targets:a) Establishment of village plantation,

b) Rehabilitation and replantation of degraded forests,

c) Stimulation of private forest plantation through various assistance,

andd) Exploring new possibilities for Forest Farming for Rural Poor.

The social forestry programme, started in four districts in 1984-85, was extended to

another five districts in 1985-86. The evaluation of the project shows that the achievements weremuch higher than the targets.

The project was implemented in 5000 villages helping the people meet some of their basic

needs improve the quality of their life. It inspired them for collective community management

and sharing the benefits among the poor.

D. Gram Vikas, Kolar, Karnataka: Gram Vikas is a voluntary organization set up by

Dr. Arentha Iyer in the Kolar district of Karnataka. He motivated the children to plant

trees adjacent to the school or balwadi. Following its success, men and women wereurged to join the afforestation programme and nursery raising in a big way.

1. They decided to raise a nursery for:a) farm forestry of private persons e.g the Neyveli Lignite Corporation,

b) the forest department for their distribution purposes,

c) local requirements for planting trees under community woodlotsprogramme,

d) farm forestry-Casuarina and Eucalyptus

e) community plantation- coconut, mango, jackfruit, medicinal plants,

subabul and other trees for fuel wood; andf) fruit yielding trees, flower plants and trees for fuel wood near their

houses.

2. Gram Vikas extended help to the people in the form ofa) Initial capital

b) Technical guidance

c) Organizational supportd) Animators and

e) Introduction to various government officials

f) The organization had to face several constraints such as

(i) Lack of support and cooperation from the forest department,


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(ii) lengthy government procedures involved in the land

distribution to people for affoestation

(iii) shortage of polythene bags, and(iv) scarcity and poor quality seeds.

In the final analysis the success or failure of a project depends on its economic viability.From this stand point, this programme has been successful. The cost of production under this

programme was Rs. 11 per 100 seedlings, whereas the sale price was Rs. 15 per 100 seedling in

1984-85 and Rs 20 in 1985-86.

For the success of social forestry, it is essential to have a joint and collaborative effort of

all the people. In the absence of assured support from the political, bureaucratic, panchayat and

the local people social forestry cannot achieve its objective. However, direct economic benefit isthe key to peoples participation in social forestry programmes. There is no substitute for

peoples participation to make social forestry programme a success as proved by the pioneering

projects in Gujarat.

X. Why social Forestry Programmes Fail ?

It is a fact that many social forestry programmes have failed miserably. Instead of presenting

case studies, an attempt is made here to identify the common factors that lead to in the failure ofsocial forestry programmes. Special effort is made to explain each factor separately for emphasis

though some of them appear to be overlapping.

1. Lack of involvement of people: Often social forestry is started by the initiative of somepersons without conscientising and motivating the people on the need to cooperate in it.

In such cases people do not feel that the plantation is theirs nor do they feel responsible to

look after it.

2. Absence of requirement and resource survey: Plantation is carried out without proper

survey and assessment of the local resources (land, local species, labour, marketing,

facilities etc.) and requirements of the people in terms of firewood, fodder, small timber,fruits and manure. Instead of selecting species according to the requirement of the people

and agro-climatic conditions whatever available is planted. Hence social forestry

becomes irrelevant to people.

3. Lack of awareness: There is a strong feeling among people that planting and caring oftrees does not require any technical know-how. People say, Just dig a small hole in the

soil, plant the seedlings or sow the seeds and they will come up by themselves. You see,

in the forest no one cares for the trees and yet they come up. Theoretically this argumentsounds convincing. But practically it is not true. Saplings planted in social forestry areas

do require care and protection like small children. They have to be looked after and

protected regularly at least for five years. Several operations should be carried out one byone during the first three to five years period after plantation.

4. Improper method of planting and caring: Method of planting influences greatly the

survival and growth rate of saplings in a social forestry programme. The size and depth of

pits and distance between them, planting design 9square, rectangular, diagonal,


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hexagonal contour and random planting, (for more details consult Booklet No. 14, OMS-3,Establishing an Orchard) size of seedlings, depth of planting soil and moisture

conservation measures, weed, pests and disease control have to be planned and executedaccording to the soil, climate, rainfall, topography and location of the area. The only

method of planting people adopt is to dig a hole and plant whatever saplings available.

For more details about planting and caring of trees consult Booklet No.21 Planting &Management of TreesFS-6).

5. Lack of preparation: Proper planting requires sufficient preparation and planning. Pits

have to be dug moths earlier if not an year ago, seedlings should be raised at least oneyear in advance according to the species and number required. Social forestry cannot

succeed without planning and preparation.

6. Lack of target orientedness: Most of the social forestry programmes are implemented

as a social even once a year. Every year Vana mahotsava (festival of forests) iscelebrated mobilizing as many people as possible to pant as many trees as possible. It is

celebrated with pomp and gaiety and is used as an occasion to politicize and socially

organize people. The actual implementation part of social forestry is completely

neglected. The result is that the social forestry area is left with empty pits. Every yearVana mahotsava is celebrated and saplings are planted. Even the prestigious Wasteland

Development board, which was constituted to afforest 5 million hectares of wasteland peryear, could not afforest one million hectare even in three years. Hence the remark: Vana

Mahotsava is planting trees in the same pit every year.

7. Lack of technical education: Raising a suitable social forestry is a technical operationwhich necessarily requires technical know-how. Social forestry is a planned plantation

utilizing land, labour, capital and plant and animal resources. Hence the planning has to

be scientific and technically viable. To prepare a budget for a technically viable social

forestry programme, one should have the technical know how without which he cannotmake a proper financial proposal. Lack of proper technical know-how leads to:

a) poor planning

b) non-viable financial proposals (under or over financing),c) improper utilization of resources such as labour, lands, water, plants and animals,

d) improper management practices and poor organization.

e) Poor organization.Surely such social forestry programmes will fail.

8. Planting too small saplings:Normally one year old or one metre high saplings should be

planted in the field. However, the practice is to plant very small saplings which may beonly few months old. Those who raise the nursery do not like to keep the saplings up to

one year because of additional expenditure and lesser profit.

9. Planting naked saplings: Naked saplings are those with bare roots or without a mud ball

in the polythene bad. These are saplings, which are pulled out from the nursery, and in

that process several roots get damaged. Besides there delay of several hours between theremoval of seedlings from the nursery and planting in the field. During such long

intervals the naked saplings wilt without water and nutrients and these cannot survive in

the field. It is important that the saplings used for social forestry should be grown in the

polythene bags or be removed with a mud ball from the nursery. (Consult Booklet No. 5.


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Nursery Raising 5, FS-5 for details on Nursery raising of plants and Booklet No 6.

Propagation of Fruit Trees OMS-4 for details of different methods of plant

propagation).

10. Indiscriminate grazing: To ensure the success of social forestry, cattle should not beallowed to graze till the trees have grown beyond their reach. Cattle can browse one-year-

old saplings. That means the time, labor and capital spent during one year is wasted.

11. Exploitation: When social forestry programme starts yielding, the rich and powerful of

the place misappropriate the yield leaving the poor with nothing.

12. Poor or no marketing facilities: People will not work for social forestry unless it is

paying to them. Adequate remuneration for the work and the product is everyones right.

Unless marketing is organized and prices are stabilized it will be impossible to obtain

adequate remuneration for every one in social forestry programmes.

13. Lack of a suitable administrative system: Malpractices and exploitation by the rich andpowerful in the distribution of social forestry products occurs mainly because there is no

alternative body authorized to handle the distribution. Each operation in social forestry

such as protection, maintenance, harvesting distribution should be administrativelystreamlined and should not be left to the rich and powerful.

14. Lack of legal protection: People who are involved in social forestry should get theirrights. Sufficient legal safeguards should be ensured to protect the legal rights of the

beneficiaries of social forestry programmes. Illegal occupation of land, misappropriation

of social forestry products should be prevented by legislation. Clear laws should beformulated regarding social forestry.

15. Lack of vision: Often social forestry is implemented as an end in itself for meeting thebasic, immediate needs and to generate additional income. It should further move into

village level processing social forestry products and agro-industries based on them. These

in turn will give rise to other enterprises in marketing, storage and transport resulting in

more employment opportunities for unemployed youth. Thus one should go beyond themere physical implementation and management of social forestry.

16. Lack of soil and water conservation: Like any other plants in the nature soil and water

are the basic requirements for the growth of trees in a social forestry. Though

conservation of soil and water one of the main objectives of social forestry programme,the successful establishment and growth of saplings up to five years require special

attention to the soil and water conservation practices which are seldom included in the

programme (Consult Booklets on Soil and Water Conservation Nos. 1 to 15),


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XI. Role of Voluntary Agencies in Social Forestry

The role of voluntary agencies may be described as follows.

1. Voluntary agencies can play a pivotal and catalytic role in the social forestry

programme. First of all, they can educate people by providing an analysis of socio-

economic aspect of their like in relation to the minor forest products such as fuel,fodder, small timber, leaves for various purposes and seeds, flowers, fruits and tubers

for food. They can make the people realize the need to reproduce minor forest

products themselves instead of gathering them. Further, they should highlight the

interrelation of trees with water, soil, other plants, and animals, the environment andfinally man himself. Voluntary agencies themselves must become familiar with

environmental analysis to fulfill this function.

2. Voluntary agencies should become the real representatives of the locality. Theyshould take leadership in the beginning but gradually build up leadership among the

people and withdraw entrusting the entire responsibility to them. But this process willtake several years. Voluntary agencies should have a thorough knowledge about the

people, the needs and resources of the people before starting social forestry

programmes.

3. They should act as mediators between the people and government departments.

People should be introduced to government officials so that they can interact with theofficials. Voluntary agencies should make them articulate their demands to the

government officials and whenever there arises any problem of communication they

should help both the people as well as the officials. Voluntary agencies should helpboth the people as well as the officials. Voluntary agencies should, as far as possible,

choose the path of collaboration rather than confrontation with government officials.

However, they should not yield to bureaucratic pressure sacrificing the interests of thepeople, which must be their prime concern.

4. Voluntary agencies should be familiar with details of the various government-aided

schemes for social forestry programmes. Besides they should be familiar with all thelegal rights and durries of the people in relation to social forestry and they should

explain these to the people.

5. For the rural poor, seeing is believing. Hence voluntary agencies should take up

social forestry programmes in one or two places and demonstrate the ways andmethods, which people can follow easily.

6. Voluntary organizations should involve the people from the beginning till the end.

Let the people hear, see, do reflect and understand. Let the results speak for


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themselves and allow the people learn at their own pace. Observe the dynamics that

operate among them as they go through the process of learning by doing. Nothing

should be forced on them but every step must be explained. Understanding andconviction will take its own time to creep into their mind.

7. Once the process of demonstration is over and if people convinced of the usefulness

of social forestry programmes they will be ready to start the programme themselves.

They require various inputs such as seeds, seedlings, implants, polythene containers,capital, organization and planning. Often people are cheated in the procurement of

various inputs. Voluntary agencies should help people procure all the inputs for social

forestry at reasonable prices without sacrificing quality.

8. The inputs are of no use if the people do not know how to use them. Hence it is

imperative that voluntary agencies should impart appropriate technical know-how to

manage the inputs. Many social forestry programmes fail due to lack of technical

know-how so as to maintain a dependency syndrome.

9. Voluntary agencies should allow the people to become self sufficient and slef-compentent at every stage in the execution of the programme. Their dependency on

government officials and various technicians should be minimized and finally

eliminated. They should not even depend on the voluntary agency itself. This meansgreater emphasis should be laid on the learning part in social forestry and not merely

on doing it so that they become self-reliant in carrying out the project.

10. Voluntary agencies should make use of social forestry as a tool for education. Ifsocial forestry programmes are well made use of well, they can unfold immense

possibilities of educating people informally on society and environment. People can

be taught how man depends on nature, how he depends on others and how humanexploitation can be checked. They can be taught about soil, water crop plants,

domestic animals, soil erosion and conservation or water, depletion and conservation.

It will be a wonderful exercise of learning from experience.

11. Voluntary agencies can use social forestry progammes as a means to organize the

people into a community, which reflects together, discusses their problems, searches

for solutions, takes decisions, implements collectively and share the productsequitably.

12. Voluntary agencies should help people to make use of all their resources to themaximum. Under utilization of resources is equal to not having them, because,

eventually these resources will reach the hands of the rich and powerful.

13. Voluntary agencies should make sure that in the social forestry programmes each one

performs not more than one function. It is a usual practice that a farmer is a buyer of

various inputs. He is the storekeeper, manger of various inputs, organizer, producer,

labourer, harvester, processor and salesman. Whereas in industry and services each


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function is carried out by different people. It is simply impossible for a man to

perform all these functions. Different people should perform the various functions

such as procurement of inputs, nursery raising, planting and caring of trees,harvesting, marketing and processing. If one is a producer, he should be busy with

looking after the plants and should not devote himself to sales as well; he will do

neither properly.

14. People are mostly cheated in the marketing of the products. Either they are forced to

distress sell or they are given a very low price besides being duped in measurementand weighing. People in dire need of money would agree to any terms and conditions

a merchant-cum-money lender puts forth. The main reason for this is the lack of

organized marketing facilities. Hence voluntary agencies should emphasize on the

organization of marketing of products to eliminate the middlemen. They shouldinfluence the government to fix a fair and steady price for each commodity.

15. Often the products are sold as raw material at very low prices. After the primary

processing, prices become double or triple. Voluntary agencies should arrangefacilities for primary and secondary processing at the producers level itself. This will

not only fetch a handsome price but also generate employment for the people. Peoplewill learn to gain and mange their own products.

16. Voluntary agencies should ensure that social forestry programme becomes adevelopmental progamme and not merely a survival programme. People should

develop socially and economically as a result of the implementation of social forestry

programme. Their children should never have the same fate (illiteracy) as their

parents. Hence the following schemes should accompany any social forestryprogramme.

a) the sponsoring organization should also ensure the formal education of the

children of the beneficiaries of social forestry programmes. The futuregeneration should have better prospects in life. This possible only if they are

educated.

b) Saving schemes and credit society should be given due importance. Thedemand for money is always on the increase. Unless saving habit is

inculcated in the people, what ever they earn will be spent altogether. People

should be motivated to accept that expenditure is income minus saving and

not saving is income minus expenditure.c) When education and saving is combined, paths are opened for a number of

vocational training for youth. All cannot depend on the primary occupations

such as social forestry, agriculture, animal husbandry and collection of minorforest products. Hence the future generation should be prepared to go into

diverse occupations. Thus beginning with a social forestry programme,

voluntary agencies can take the beneficiaries through a process of real humandevelopment.

XII. Conclusion


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As Gandhiji visualized, every village should be self-sufficient in its daily requirements

such as food, fuel wood, f odder, leaves, manures, fruits, fibre and small timber. A well

implemented and managed social forestry progamme can meet these requirements of a villagebesides additional income can meet these requirements of a village besides additional income

from the sale of the surplus products. Thus social forestry can play an important role in the

village and rural development. Further, it can maintain the ecological balance; preventdegradation of environment such as soil erosion and water depletion. Social forestry established

on the catchment area of village percolation tank becomes an ideal ecosystem with a symbiotic

relationship between them. Such an ecosystem will have a direct impact on the agricultural andanimal husbandry production of the area. Social forestry also generates employment.

Social forestry projects are meant to bring about social change to climate economic

disparity and to ensure more equitable distribution of income and make people self reliant andindependent.

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social forestry 002

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