Strengthening the programme
JFM in different villages is at different stages of success. Number of achievements have been made in last one decade which may vary in level and extent. All the villages and the forest areas associated with it are showing a positive trend in the process. Although the process has been started long back, there are so many processes stipulated for the programme and are very important for the strengthening of the same are yet to be achieved fully.
The State level working group for the policy inputs in the matter is working for strengthening of the programme. The district level working groups initiated in 1998 to discuss and resolve the local issues are functioning in all the areas. So far more than 300 meetings of the groups have been organised under the programme. More than 78% of the villages could get adhikar patra for carrying out the programme in the forest areas. Although almost all the institution are registered locally with the department, only 28% of the village institutions are registered as societies.
Training programmes for Awareness, Motivation, Human resource development, Skill upgradation, Capacity building, Microplan preparation and Leadership development are being organised in coordination with the NGOs to strengthen the programme but requires more emphasis. HRD interventions and also attitudinal behavioural changes are important for the foresters to deal with conflicting roles expected from them.
Demarcation of the degraded forest area allotted to and or likely to be allotted to the Institutions is urgency to resolve any conflict existing or likely to arise. The programme, although have high spirit, is unsustainable if put in isolation both in terms its implementation and the area of operation. Therefore it is obligatory to organise for inter-sectoral linkages involving other developmental agencies working in other sectors. Similarly instead of the forest area as unit in isolation, the whole watershed including village agricultural land, waste land and other land available in the village along with forest land is being taken as unit for the programme.
Concurrent monitoring and that is, too, participatory monitoring involving people in the process so as to allow the community to understand the relevance of the programme has been decided as an important tool to strengthen the programme and is being followed as an important activity.
A centre named Centre for Participatory Natural Resource Management (CPNAR) is working in the State at Gujarat Ecological and Environmental Research Foundation (GEER) to facilitate the progress. Similarly, a Nodal Officer has been appointed by the department to coordinate the programme.
Documentation of the progress is being done both by the department and the NGOs but needs further consolidation and that is too in local language so that the people and communities participating can make use of the literature in furtherance of the initiatives.
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