People and Forest: Unfolding the Participation Mystique by Himadri Sinha. Published by Concept Publishing Company, 2006, xxv+302pp, Rs. 500 (HB), ISBN 81-8069-246-9
The book under review is a comprehensive treatise on Community Based Forest Management (CBFM). The author has tried to explore the impediments in successful implementation of CBFM and provided a blueprint of action plan to enhance the level of people’s participation in the managing the common pool resources including wasteland, pastures, forests, watershed drainages, ponds, rivers, dumping and threshing grounds etc. Of all the common pool resources, forests are the most important as they provide subsistence to majority of tribal and forest communities in India. As all the common pool resources in the country are owned by the government, the communities surviving on them do not have any ownership rights. The government also tries to keep them at bay on the pretext that they are causing depletion of forests due to excessive extraction of fuel and fodder and also illegal felling of tress. However, the bureaucratic management of forests by the Forest Department in the country has not yielded any significant results as evident by rapid depletion of forest cover in the country. Hence it is imperative to look at the issue form a different perspective and provide an opportunity to the stakeholder communities in managing the forests.
In the introductory chapter, the author has listed seven constraints that are responsible for lower participation people when it comes to managing forests:
i. Formation of forest committee with heterogeneous interest groups;
ii. Absence of favourable socio-political environment that promotes participation;
iii. Incompatibility of government rules with the local socio-cultural concept;
iv. Absence of transparent and accountable managing committee;
v. Absence of participatory leadership with idealized behaviour in forest management;
vi. Inappropriate inter- and intra-community conflict resolution mechanism;
vii. Lack of awareness regarding environmental protection leading towards incongruent value system between leaders and users.
The author has discussed the issue of social identity and participation of people in CBFM in the second chapter of the book. He has argued that people’s participation depends primarily on social identity, group-based identity and organizational citizenship developed by an institutional process that ensures individual freedom of choice, local self-governance, pre-eminence of local rights and knowledge system, thrust on consensus and above all, participatory leadership.
Impact of institutional governance on people’s participation in CBFM has been examined in the third chapter of the book. According to the author, institutional governance undoubtedly augments level of people’s participation in the CBFM. He suggests that the individuals are more likely to cooperate with the group activity if governing rules ensure equity in access right and benefit sharing process; safeguard participation of all sections in decision-making process; ensure appropriate monitoring; conform to the traditional or existing system of governance; and provide scope for modification or amendments in the existing rules as a response to changed circumstances and demands for sustenance.
Issue of leadership and value congruence vis-à-vis people’s participation in CBFM based on empirical study conducted by the author has been discussed at length in the fourth chapter of the book. Outcome of the empirical study indicates that (i) wherever values of forest institutions and members are identical, level of participation automatically goes up and (ii) a participatory leadership enhances the direct and indirect participation of the people while manipulative and authoritative leadership reduces the level of involvement of the concerned communities. Participative leader is preferred by the community because he promotes collective decision-making and administers rewards and sanctions objectively. On the other hand, the authoritative and manipulative leaders indulge in non-transparent working styles, favoritism and self-centred decision-making. Moreover, capacity of the charismatic leader is restricted to enhancing only direct participation as reflected in increased attendance during meetings. Such leaders fail to inspire people for long-term indirect participation.
Role of social capital in management of common resource pool has been discussed in fifth chapter of the book. Social capital refers to social bonds, social structures and social norms that form the bases of sustainable livelihoods. The author succinctly suggests that social capital plays a crucial role in managing natural resources judiciously for economic development. He further states that social capital stimulates people to participate in sustainable resource use and become self-reliant in due course.
In the sixth chapter of the book, the author has examined the Joint Forest Management in the light of National Forest Policy 1988 and the June 1990 Guidelines. He mentions that the Joint Forest Management scheme has by and large failed to provide a fair deal to the poor forest-dependent communities whose traditioanl entitlements are jeopardized. Protected forest areas are closed for them without any alternative source of livelihoods. Forest management practices especially social forestry in South East Asia has been analyzed in the seventh chapter of the book.
Best practices in self-initiated and NGO-led community based forest management have been discussed in the eighth chapter of the book. The author has mentioned success stories of Lapanga Forest Protection Committee, Bichhakhani Village Forest Protection Committee, Badamala Village Forest Initiative, Bania Forest Protection Committee, etc. All these initiatives were taken in the named villages of Orissa. Similar initiatives were taken by village communities in Madhya Pradesh and Chhatisgarh as well. In order to optimize people’s participation, the government and NGOs need to look into the best practices by voluntary village committees for forest conservation.
The last chapter of the book reflects on the action plan to augment people’s participation in Community Based Forest Management. The book is equally useful for academics, students, planners, social activists, and officials of forest department.
Dr Srirang Jha