Collective action for natural resources management in Kodagu District

For the last twenty years the international policy discourse on natural resources management has promoted communities’ participation in order to achieve sustainable development and conservation of natural resources. In India the Central Government approved and promoted this agenda through its National Forest Policy (1988). The States have been requested to implement Joint Forest Management and Planning (JFMP) schemes so that village communities get a share from the forest resources and “identify themselves with the protection, development and management of forests and other Government waste lands”.

What are the impacts of those community based forest management (CBFM) schemes on the ecosystems, the people’s livelihood and the local governance?

To understand the interactions between those policies and the local practices and initiatives, we have focused on the district Kodagu (Karnataka State). Supported by external projects, the Karnataka Forest Department has launched the creation of ad-hoc committees to address pressing issues like reforestation, wildlife/human conflicts and biodiversity conservation. At the same time, the civil society, using the same concepts of benefit sharing and participation, is proposing alternatives and organises itself to provide answers to the same issues.

Collective action for natural resources management in the district therefore assumes two different shapes that we describe as “imposed participation” and “chosen participation”. The first category emerges from the management committees created and led by the Karnataka Forest Department: Eco-Development Committees (EDCs) and Village Forest Committees (VFCs). The second category results from the discourses and actions of local leaders gathered voluntarily under the banner of NGOs.

Through an in-depth analysis of the workings of these institutions in and around a village of South Kodagu, we will propose an analysis of the various forms of collective action, in terms of stakeholders and processes involved. What are their respective strengths and drawbacks? How efficient are they in meeting the objectives of sustainable development advocated by CBFM?

Speaker

Marie Laval, Master student, AgroParisTech ENGREF

Organisers

Department of Ecology, French Institute of Pondicherry

Venue

Jawaharlal Nehru Conference Hall, French Institute of Pondicherry, 11, Saint Louis Street, Pondicherry - 605 001

Time

11h00