PARTICIPATORY MONITORING: A TOOL TO MONITOR AND INVOLVE VILLAGE
COMMUNITIES IN JOINT FOREST MANAGEMENT IN KARNATAKA, SOUTHERN
INDIA
P. SUDHA
ASIAN NATURE CONSERVATION FOUNDATION
12/1 SRIVATSAM, 5TH MAIN, MALLESWARAM,
BANGALORE – 560 003, KARNATAKA, INDIA
Phone: 91-80-251280860, Fax: 91-80-23460635
1.
INTRODUCTION
Community participation is most essential for sustainable management of
forests and forest resources. Effective protection, management and
regeneration of degraded forests is possible only with community participation.
One such programme is India is the Joint Forest Management (JFM) which
solicits the involvement of communities in forest management. The JFM
programme is India, which started in 1990 is aimed at protecting and
regenerating degraded forest areas jointly by the Forest Department and the
local communities. In the last decade, Joint Forest Management system has
witnessed unprecedented success in soliciting cooperation from local
community by the Forest Department. JFM programme is being implemented
on a large scale in 27 Indian states. There are about 85,000 Joint Forest
Management Committees (JFMCs) managing about 7.33 Mha of forests.
Further, by the end of the Tenth Five-year plan, in 2007, JFM is targeted to
expand to 32 million hectares of forest area to be managed by 200,000 JFMCs.
The rapid expansion of JFM is India necessitates an understanding of the
effectiveness of forest management and its impact on vegetation and the
livelihoods of the rural communities. Thus regular monitoring and evaluation
of the JFM programme is essential.
Monitoring is defined as periodic observation of events to understand the
performance of a project or programme. It is a continuous study, undertaken to
assess the process activities, performance/effectiveness and impact of a project
or programme.
The involvement of communities in the JFM process has been a subject of
research. Should people’s involvement be restricted to protection only? Is this
participation? Can the communities also take part in ecological research along
with the Forest Department? Can they do vegetation monitoring? Is it possible
to combine their traditional management knowledge and develop techniques for
1
better forest management? Is it possible to develop a more realistic
methodology for management oriented ecological and economical research?
The forest dependent communities need to be involved in the decisions made
on forest management and silvicultural interventions. This means that the
community should be aware of the vegetation changes due to the
implementation of JFM. They should understand the impact of protection,
management and extraction practices, in order to undertake adaptive forest
management activities. This requires the local community’s involvement in
monitoring, which is termed as Participatory Vegetation Monitoring (PVM).
In the JFM context, this means involving the JFMCs in monitoring of JFM –
focused on vegetation changes, extraction practices, economic benefits and
other non-tangible benefits. Studies on ecological changes of forests are
essential for decision making at different levels i.e. village, district and national
levels. Due to the diversity of vegetation existing in India, localized studies on
vegetation status is necessary to understand the dynamics and respond to
highly varied environmental context.
The village communities have their own criteria to assess the status or health
of the forests. These need to be combined with simple scientific methods of
monitoring vegetation status. The process of PVM requires sensitizing the
community of its necessity, particularly if they are to be decision-makers in
forest management. Thus, PVM involves the development of simple scientific
methods of vegetation assessment and analysis that can be used by the village
community for periodic monitoring and should lead to effective management
related decision-making.
The implementation of PVM requires that the communities are sufficiently
aware of JFM and the roles and responsibilities of the JFMCs and the members
of the committee. Hence awareness creation is also an important component.
To initiate the PFM process, a pilot study was conducted under the Rufford
Small Grants project with the following objectives:
-
-
Building awareness among the village communities about Joint Forest
Management (JFM)
Conduct of Participatory Forest Monitoring (PFM) through simple scientific
methods in 20 villages in Tumkur and Hassan districts of Karnataka,
Southern India
Draw adaptive management of forests based on PFM for conservation and
sustainable use of forest resources.
Institutionalization of PFM in JFM activities
Outputs of the project
1. Documentary Film of the JFM process and Participatory Vegetation
Monitoring
2
2. Manual on Participatory Vegetation Monitoring
2.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
The importance and need for involving local community, the real stakeholder,
in monitoring the status of vegetation, impacts of different management
practices and changes in flow of benefits, has been recognized. This realization
has led to the concept of Participatory Forest/Vegetation Monitoring. The
information generated by Participatory Forest Monitoring will
- create awareness in the village community on the status of vegetation,
- generate information to assist decisions on protection, grazing,
harvesting practices, sharing arrangement, etc.
- creates a forum or opportunity for community to discuss the vegetation
status, and build capacity in village community
- ultimately to improved participatory vegetation management.
The approach was to identify villages, explain the purpose, discuss with the
JFMCs and identify members for training, train the members and assist in
recording information during the first year. Ultimately Participatory Forest
Monitoring should become an integral part of all JFM programmes and the
local forest guard or beat officer also participates in the studies. The data
generated is kept in a Register at the village JFMC office and a copy of at the
RFO's office. JFMCs use this information during discussions on village forests
and during decisions on vegetation management, particularly regarding
harvesting decisions.
2.1 Methods adopted
2.1.1 Identification of issues for vegetation monitoring
Steps involved in generating information needed to assist decision-making
process were as follows:
1. Identify the questions or issues on which village community (JFMC)
needs information. A stakeholders meeting was conducted involving the
various stakeholders. The stakeholders involved the forest department
officials, NGOs, researchers and a few knowledgeable VFC presidents
and villagers.
2. A few indicators to assist observation/recording of data was developed
involving the stakeholders.
3. Develop simple methods; discussion or field measurements.
4. Develop formats or data sheets.
5. Identify stakeholders who would conduct PVM
3
2.1.2. Sensitization of communities to PVM
The process of PVM has to be framed according to the field situation. The
communities need to be sensitized about the process.
A general discussion was held with the communities asking them if they
wanted to monitor their forests. If the communities are not convinced, the
process will not benefit them, the activity will not be sustainable in the long
term. Leading questions were asked to solicit the community involvement in
forest management and protection and their interest in PVM. The communities
were first appreciated for their efforts in protection and conservation of their
village forests. Then were steered towards the concept of PVM. Questions such
as “have you been able to document the growth of your forests due to your
active participation in making the forest green? Do you think it will be useful to
document it and if so how shall we do it?” were asked. The process was a
facilitative one and not of advice.
Framing the methodology and the parameters to be monitored was done by
discussing the issues with them. An idea of their forests, species composition
etc. was gathered in group discussion. Voluntary members willing to
participate were selected ensuring a good team is built.
2.1.3 Group Discussion
-
-
A group discussion was conducted with the JFMC members and some
identified stakeholders such as the NTFP gatherers, local teacher, local
herbalists, etc.
From the group, a team of 8-10 members are identified called the
Participatory Vegetation Monitoring Committee (PVMC). A proper
gender composition of the committee was ensured. The team should also
consist of the stakeholders who are dependant on forests for their daily
subsistence and also knowledgeable elders.
A group discussion with the PVMC consisting of the Members of Managing
Committee / President and the identified group members was done before
the conduct of PVM.
The information or data was entered into a register.
2.1.4. Site selection
The selection of the site is determined by the objectives of the vegetation study
i.e. grass productivity, grazing land, forestland and plantations to be included.
To select a plot randomly, scientific or traditional methods can be followed. The
traditional method involves asking a villager to throw a stone in any direction
in the forest. The plot on which the stones lands is chosen as the plot. The
scientific method involves studying the forest map of the study area and
dividing the forest area into different equal blocks marking it graphically on a
4
sheet. The blocks are numbered and blocks are chosen randomly.
traditional method was chosen for this study.
The
2.1.5 Vegetation study
To study the vegetation adequate primary information needs to be collected.
The information was collected from the forest department official records. The
JFPM area and species planted was recorded from the forest department
records.
Communities are excellent source of primary information on vegetation like
productivity, vegetation changes, species identification, different uses of
biomass and the reasons for changes in vegetation status. PRA technique was
used to collect these data from the community. A transect walk with the
villages through the forest was done identify the various different species. A
trend analysis was done to understand the change in species type over the
several years using the recall method.
The scientific method depends on the area and the type of the forestland. It
involves a census survey. If the forest area is small, and the tree density is low,
the census survey can be adopted depending on the resources available.
Quadrat method is used if the forest type is homogeneous or a monoculture
plantation. The quadrat can be rectangular, circular or a square. The size and
number of quadrats depends on the number of species, density, size of the
forest area and availability of resources.
The identified PVMC conducted field studies on vegetation along with the
researchers and an identified NGO. This team adopted the square quadrat
method to conduct the vegetation study. The protected forest was categorized
into different types based on the vegetation status. Based on the status of the
projected forests, it was categorized may be only one type, more than one type
such as area subjected to natural regeneration, plantations, Near/away from
the village and good protection/poor protection zones. To get a comparative
study, the degraded forest lands were also surveyed.
a. Quadrat for Trees
Quadrats laid for the study were done in an unbiased way. The size of the
quadrat was 25 X 25 m. A rope was used to mark the perimeter of the plot (Fig
1).
b. Quadrat for shrubs and trees
At the corner of tree quadrats, 10 x 10 m shrub quadrat and 1 x 1 m herb
quadrats were marked to study the shrubs and the herbs. The species in these
quadrats were identified and the densities of the species were recorded.
5
2.1.6 Parameters for vegetation monitoring
The PVM could involve monitoring of several ecological parameters. Simple
measurable parameters were selected for the study. The parameters are girth of
the tree at breast height (GBH), height of the tree and species richness. The
GBH includes measuring the girth of the tree at 1.37 m from the ground level.
The following was observed while measuring the trees:
- while measuring GBH don’t insert the finger into the tape
- The measurement was taken at 1.37 m height from the ground
- The trees with more than 10 cm was only considered for tree quadrat
- In case of multiple branches, all the branches were measured and recorded.
Fig 1: Quadrat method adopted for Participatory vegetation monitoring
Height of a tree can be measured using a pole. The total length of the pole is
measured and marked at every meter distance. To measure the height of a tree,
the pole is placed near the tree and the height it recorded. Also visual
interpretation can be used after sufficient experience. Visual interpretation of
6
height measurement was used for the study. From the height of the tree and
GBH measurement, the standing biomass of a tree can be measured. The
species richness includes the total number of species present in a given area.
2.1.7 Format for field studies on vegetation
Tree Quadrat
Village: ____________
Year: ______________
Taluk:______________
Date of Recording: __________
Tree Quadrat No/Name:______________
Mark:___________
Species
No. of
stems
Identification
Stem
DBH1
DBH2
Regenerated
from
Seed Root
stock
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Shrub quadrat
Species
Number
Count the number of thorny species/weeds in the tree quadrat such as
Lantana, Eupatorium etc.
Herb Quadrat
7
Quadrat No:
identification ___
Species
Size: __ * __ meters
Number
Location
End use (if available)
2.1.8 Analysis of data
It is essential to analyse the data properly so that the communities can
understand the importance of data collection during PVM. The communities
need to be able to record the information in a simple way and later comprehend
the information. This analyzed data need to be corresponded to the
management strategy. The communities can grasp the significance of their
management strategies to the changes in vegetation status. Periodic monitoring
of the forest area is required to understand the impact of protection and
management on the vegetation status.
i. Calculation for tree quadrat includes the following:
a. Calculate the average numer of trees: The total sampled trees in the quadrat
is added up. If there are more than one quadrat laid, an average number of
trees in the quadrats need to be calculated. Average number of trees = total
number of trees in quadrats (Q1+Q2+Q3……)/No. of quadrats.
b. Calculation of average GBH: The GBH of all the trees of a particular species
is added. Divide the total GBH with the total number of trees of that tree in the
quadrat. This will give the average GBH of the species in the quadrat.
c. Calculate the GBH range of trees: The total number of trees in the quadrat is
grouped into various GBH range. This calculation will help in understanding
the regeneration status of the forest patch. A good representation in all the
GBH class shows the good regeneration status of the forest.
d. Calculate the average height: Add the height of all the trees. Calculate the
average height of the trees by dividing the total height of the tree with the total
number of trees. This will give the average height of the trees in the quadrat.
ii. Calculation for shrub quadrat
Species diversity: Determine the number of plants of a particular species.
Determine the number of species in each of the quadrat. This information will
give the impact of management practices such as grazing, fire control on
regeneration status of vegetation.
iii. Calculation for herb quadrat
8
The calculation for herb quadrat is the same. Determine the number of herbs
of a particular species. Determine the number of herb species in each of the
quadrat. This information will give the status of especially certain medicinal
plants which are regenerating.
2.1.9 Documenting JFPM process in Karnataka
A 20 minutes documentary was filmed in 3 successfully functioning JFMCs.
The objective of producing the documentary was to show the process of JFPM
in Karnataka and the tangible and intangible benefits of JFPM. The film is to
spread awareness of JFPM among the JFMCs in the study area and also
through out the state. The documentary was filmed in Channarayanadurga
village in Tumkur district and in Adagur and Soppinahalli villages of Hassan
district. The film has been produced in the local language Kannada and also in
English. The main objective of the film is to screen the documentary in all the
JFMCs in the villages of Karnataka.
3.
RESULTS
3.1. Consultation with Forest Department
The Karnataka Forest Department was briefed about PVM and the awareness
programme to be conducted. An Order was passed by the Forest Department
for the conduct of the study. A copy of the Order is enclosed in Annex – 1. The
process was also discussed with the Deputy Conservator of Forests of Tumkur
and Hassan Districts.
3.2. Conduct of stakeholders meeting
Before the start of the programme, a stakeholder’s meeting was conducted in
Tumkur and Hassan district. The meeting was attended by the Conservator of
Forests for Hassan Circle, Mr. Krishne Gowda, the Deputy Conservator of
Forests – Mr. Shekar for Hassan Division and Mr. Shantappa for Tumkur
District. The other stakeholders included the Assistant Conservator of Forests,
Range officers, Forest guards, Presidents and Secretaries of active JFMCs, Nongovernmental Organization and Research Organizations.
The basic objective of the stakeholders meeting was to identify issues for PVM
and the methods to be employed for the conduct of PVM. The meeting aided in
understanding the various perspectives of stakeholders. The various issues
that were identified were as follows:
-
Lack of awareness about JFPM among the communities
Lack of systematic monitoring of the impacts of JFPM at the state, district
and village levels
9
-
Importance of involvement of local communities in monitoring of impacts of
JFPM.
The importance of monitoring the non-tangible benefits of forest
management such as impact on water table, agricultural productivity,
fauna, etc.
3.3. Selection of villages for PVM
The PFM was conducted in 2 districts of Karnataka i.e. Tumkur and Hassan
districts. In each of the district, 10 villages were selected for the conduct of
PFM. One of the main criteria for selection of villages was good performance of
the JFMC. The villages were selected in consultation with the Forest
Department officials.
The villages selected for conduct of PFM in Tumkur and Hassan district are
given in Table 1.
Table 1: Villages selected for conduct of Participatory Vegetation Monitoring
Tumkur District
Villages
Taluk
1. Ajjenahalli
Koratagere
2. Basmangi
Madhugiri
3. Boragunte,
Madhugiri
4. Chikkannanahalli
Koratagere
5. Channarayanadurga
Koratagere
6. Dasarahalli
Sira
7. Hosahally
Madhugiri
8. Jayanagara
Madhugiri
9. Thimlapura
Madhugiri
10. Veerannanahalli
Madhugiri
Hassan District
Villages
Taluk
1.
1. Adaguru
Belur
2. Adigemadanapura
Sakaleshpura
3. B. P. Koppal
Belur
4. Bugadalli,
Sakaleshapura
5. Goddu
Sakaleshapura
6. Madihalli,
Arakalagud
7. Nakalgood,
Alur
8. S M Koppal
Belur
9. Soppinahalli
Hassan
10. Yalagunda,
Hassan
3.4 Awareness creation
The conduct of PVM was preceded by awareness creation among the JFPM
members and the village community. In consultation with the community, a
date was fixed to conduct Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA). On the first day,
an orientation programme on PVM was conducted for JFMC members, villagers
and the JFMC secretary who is usually the forest guard. Also the communities
were explained about JFPM policy in Karnataka and the roles and
responsibilities of JFMC and the community under JFPM. In selected JFMCs,
the documentary on JFPM was also screened. In the awareness meeting the
following issues were discussed:
Participatory monitoring of JFPM by involving village community
10
Plan of action for second day PRA (Transact walk, social/resource
mapping, venn diagram, quadrant sampling technique, Focus
group discussion)
Sensitization on impact of protection, management and extraction
practices to undertake adoptive forest management activities.
Resources available in the forest
Value of medicinal plants
Quantification of total resource available in the forest
3.5 Formation of Participatory Vegetation Monitoring Committee (PVMC)
A participatory vegetation monitoring committee was formed after the
orientation programme (Fig 2). Care was taken to maintain gender equality.
Members of the PVMC constituted of the President and secretary of JFMC, the
management committee members and representatives from NTFP gatherers,
self help groups, etc. One such committee formed in Nakalgud village of
Hassan district is shown in Table 2.
Fig 2: Formation of Participatory Vegetation Monitoring Committee at the
village level.
Table 2: Formation of Participatory Vegetation Monitoring Committee (PVMC)
in Nakalgud Village of Hassan district
Sl.N
o.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Name
Age
Occupation
Gender
N.B. Chandrashekar S/o
Dasappa
Chennaiah
Neelambika w/o Komalesh
N.D. Rajaiah S/o Dyavaiah
Padma W/o N.G. Jagadeesh
N.P. Ambuja W/o N.T.
Puttaraju
Savithramma W/o N.D.
Shanthappa
Kantharaju s/o Nanjegowda
Doddaiah S/o Eraiah
52
Agriculture
Male
Relationship
to VFC
President
45
35
38
38
Forester
Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture
Male
Female
Male
Female
Female
Secretary
Member
Member
Member
Member
35
Agriculture
Female
Member
38
45
Agriculture
Artisan
Male
Male
Member
Member
11
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
Harinakshi W/o
Jayanthkumar
Jayappagowda S/o
Nanjegowda
N.B. Chandregowda S/o
Basappa
Thammannapp s/o
Siddalingappa
N.D. Veeresh S/o
Doddegowda
N.D. Doreswamy S/o
Doddegowda
N.S. Amruthegowda S/o
Sannegowda
30
Agriculture
Female
Member
48
Agriculture
Male
Member
48
Agriculture
Male
Member
52
Ayurvedic
Male
Member
45
Agriculture
Male
Member
42
Agriculture
Male
Member
45
Agriculture
Male
Member
3.6 Activities conducted
PRA: The information regarding village, forest and other information required
for study were collected by the following PRA tools.
Transact walk
Social mapping
Resource mapping
Trend analysis
Seasonality mapping
Focus group discussion
Quadrant sample technique
Presentation
3.7 Transact walk
Along with PVMC, Forest dept. staff and villagers, the transact walk was made
in forest to know the present status of the forest (Fig 3). In the transact walk
the different plant species, water storage structures, paths, plantations made,
cultural properties etc., were identified. The important plant species of trees,
shrubs, herbs, animals and birds were identified. At the same time the major
ravines present in the forest were identified. Check dams and gully checks were
also identified during the walk all along the forest. In this way during the
transact walk the present status of the forest was studied and documented.
12
Fig 3: Transect walk through the village forest area
3.8 Quadrant sample technique
While at the time of transact walk, the quadrant sampling technique was
conducted to quantify the species present (Fig 4&5). The quadrant sampling
was done in one spot to see the diversity and growth details. The details of
observations were as follows:
Technique:
Area:
Quadrant technique
25 mtr. X 25 mtr. – Trees
5 mtr. X 5 mtr. – Shrubs
1 mtr. X 1 mtr. – Herbs
Fig 4: Involvement of VFC secretary and the village community is participatory
vegetation monitoring for laying quadrat
13
Fig 5: Quadrat sampling technique involving local community
3.9 Observations
The tree, shrubs and herbs found in the quadrat method was recorded in the
JFMC register. This is a permanent document available at the VFMC office.
One such recordings of the quadrat is shown in Table 3 and 4 for Nakalgud
village of Hassan district.
Table 3: Recordings of the tree species in the tree quadrat by the PVMC in
Nakalgud village of Hassan district.
Sl.No. Species
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
Acacia auriculiformis
(108 plants)
Eucalyptus (40 plants)
Sandal tree
Sandal tree
Sandal tree
Sandal tree
Sandal tree
Sandal tree
Sandal tree
Sandal tree
Sandal tree
Sandal tree
Sandal tree
Thadasalu
Thadasalu
Kaadu hippe
Jamoon
Jammon
Height
(m.)
4-9
Girth
(cm.)
6-23
15-20
4
5
4
4
2
3
2
3
5
4
4
9
6
13
5
4
29-38
20
14
15
18
12
13
13
18
19
15
16
35
30
38
15
15
14
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
Jamoon
Honne
Honne
Matthi
Naamada mara
Naamada mara
Naamada mara
Naamada mara
Naamada mara
Antuvaala
Antuvaala
Antuvaala
Antuvaala
Casurina
4
12
12
4
3
4
3
3
3
3
3.5
4
4
13
17
55
55
20
16
21
18
18
15
18
15
18
20
26
Major tree species : Acacia auriculformis
Sl.
Species
Height (m.)
Girth (cm.)
No.
Max. Min. Avg. Max. Min. Avg.
1
Acacia
9
4
6.89 23
6
15.64
auriculformis
Table 4: Recordings of the shrub and herb species in the tree quadrat by
the PVMC in Nakalgud village of Hassan district.
Sl.No.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Species
Number
Lantana
7
Epitorium
4
Kaadu mallige
3
Urakki
5
Tadasalu
8
Thanasi
3
Kaadu thangadi
2
Naamada gida
2
Tharali
2
Eachalu
4
Narachalu
2
Herb Quadrat
Kaathriga
Touch me not
Maane grass
Baal kunike
Narachalu
Haalu soppina plant
15
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12
13.
Sogade
Hanchina grass
Bilwara plant
Bench plant
Hulukina soppu
Saale beru
Yakka plant
Among trees Acacia auriculformis is the major species found in sampled area.
108 trees were observed in 625 m2 area. The average height of trees is 6.89 m.
and that of diameter is 15.64 cm. For shrubs analysis 25 m2 area is considered
and it was found that eleven different shrubs were observed viz, Lantana,
Epitorium, Kaadu mallige, Urakki, Tadasalu, Thanasi, Kaadu, hangadi,
Naamada gida, Tharali, Eachalu, Narachalu, etc., Regarding herbs 13 types’
herbs found in one m2 area.
The diversity of plant species was found to be more in natural forest as
compared to that of plantation area not only with regard to tree species, even
with regard to shrubs and herbs.
3.10 Social mapping
After the transact walk, the map was drawn on the floor by the villagers using
different colours. In social mapping which depict the village features viz, roads,
temples, houses, schools, community building, water tanks, forest path,
location, boundary, plantations, species, ponds and ravines in forest, etc. This
exercise helped creating awareness among the village community about their
forest resources.
3.11 Analysis of collected data
After the conduct of field studies the data was analysed with the local
communities (Fig 6). The main objective of the exercise was for the
communities to understand the value of the data collected and how they could
analyze the information to cull out action plan. Ofcourse being the first study
in all the villages, a baseline was established.
3.12 Trend analysis
The trend analysis was done to know the changes occurred in the forest
species from past 25 years. The major species present 25 years back and 10
years back was compared to the present condition. The information collected
through seasonality and focus group discussion regarding forest dependency of
villagers, frequency of visit to forest, cropping pattern, forest resource
management and utilization etc., were discussed. One such species change
16
over the years in Nakalgud village of hassan district is shown in Table 5. This is
based on recall method.
Table 5: Trend analysis of forest species in Nakalgud village of Hassan district
25 years back
Tamarind, Neem,
Pongamia, Eucalyptus,
Sandal, Thadasalu,
Matthi, Honne, Kaadu
hippe, Jamoon,
Naamada mara,
Casurina, Antuvaala
Lantana, Epitorium,
Kaadu mallige, Urakki,
Tadasalu, Thanasi,
Kaadu, hangadi,
Naamada gida,
Tharali, Eachalu,
Narachalu, Kaathriga,
Mimosa pudica
Maane grass,Baal
kunike
Narachalu, Bench
plant, Hulukina soppu
Saale beru, Yakka
plant
10 years back
Acacia auriculiformis,
Eucalyptus, Sandal,
Thadasalu, Matthi,
Honne, Kaadu hippe,
Jamoon, Casurina,
Antuvaala
Lantana, Epitorium,
Kaadu mallige, Urakki,
Tadasalu, Thanasi,
Kaadu, hangadi,
Naamada gida,
Tharali, Eachalu,
Narachalu, Kaathriga,
Mimosa pudica
Maane grass, Bilwara
plant, Bench plant,
Hulukina soppu
Saale beru, Yakka
plant
Now
Acacia auriculiformis,
Eucalyptus, Sandal,
Thadasalu, Matthi,
Honne, Kaadu hippe,
Jamoon, Naamada
mara, Casurina,
Antuvaala
Lantana, Epitorium,
Kaadu mallige, Urakki,
Tadasalu, Thanasi,
Kaadu, hangadi,
Naamada gida,
Tharali, Eachalu,
Narachalu, Kaathriga,
Mimosa pudica,
Maane grass, Baal
kunike
Narachalu, Haalu
soppina plant, Sogade
, Hanchina grass,
Bilwara plant, Bench
plant, Hulukina soppu
Saale beru, Yakka
plant
3.13 Adaptive management strategy
Discussions with JFMC members and villagers showed that the communities
were knowledgeable about the resources of the forest. What was lacking was
scientific vigour and systematic recording of the information, which could help
in adaptive management of forests. They communities though had good
information about the reasons for forest regeneration, they were not aware of
the implications. They didn’t have an idea regarding the species survival and
growth rate and also the resource value of the forest. Participatory vegetation
monitoring created awareness among the community about the resource
availability in the forest, its value and usage, the survival rate of the species,
etc.
17
The villagers participated actively through out the study and expressed that,
due to this study by forming participatory vegetation monitoring committee, it
helps to understand the present situation of the forest, to assess the forest
resource availability and also to know the value of the forest. They also
expressed and concluded that this type of monitoring should be done at least
once in every six months for better sustainability of the forest for future
generation and for proper eco-balance. The villagers also suggested that the
participatory vegetation monitoring committee should be strengthened through
JFMC and Forest department need to support this activity. The community
also opined that it was possible to dedicate 2 day in a year for PVM voluntarily
without expecting any remuneration.
PVMC/community felt that for future and further participatory monitoring of
JFM, the following needs to be done:
 Decided to conduct participatory vegetation monitoring twice in a year
 Last week of January and July is ideal to carry out the programme
 Resource estimation in the programme
 Decisions on the requirements of plantations, species in the required
area
 Environment protection through forest protection
 Standardizing the sampling technique by themselves for their own
benefit
 Encouraging the growth of medicinal plants
Fig 6: Discussions with the Participatory Vegetation Monitoring Committee
members after vegetation monitoring
3.14 Protection aspects
Based on the discussions with the PVMCs the following issues were raised by
them. For betterment of the JFM area the following were required:
 Appointing a permanent watcher through JFMC
 Setting up of detailed protection measures in Grama Sabha
18


Punishing for all forest destruction activities as decided in Grama
Sabha
Prohibition of illegal entry into the forest without JFMC’s
permission.
3.15. Management aspects
Based on the PVM conducted in 20 villages, the following issues emerged:
- The regeneration status of the protected area was good compared to
degraded areas, due to reduced grazing and better protection. The
communities understood the need for protection and regulated grazing for
better regeneration of the forest areas.
- The communities felt that the plantations were presently dominated by a
few monoculture species such as Eucalyptus, Acacia, etc. They emphasized
on encouraging horticulture species and other NTFP species in the JFPM
areas.
- Dedicated forest areas with different management plans were also
suggested.
- Many of the communities requested for creating water sources within the
forest area especially for animals. The diversity of fauna has increased after
JFM and the need to fulfill the water requirements of animals was stressed.
3.15. Documentary on JFPM
The documentary on JFPM was filmed in the local language, Kannada. The
main objective of the film was to screen it to the local community to create
awareness among them. The production team was identified. Professional
camera men and associated professional were hired to produce the
documentary film. The selection of villages to shoot the film was based on
preliminary discussion we had with the forest department. The JFMCs that had
a good management team and were actively involved in forest management
were selected. Thus the following villages were selected:
i.
Channarayanadurga from Tumkur District
ii.
Adagur village from Hassan District
iii.
Soppinahalli village from Hassan District
The issues that were documented in the film are of two parts and are as
follows:
i.
Creation of awareness about JFPM: The issues covered were as
follows:
a) Formation of JFMC at the village level
b) Constitution of the Joint Forest Management Committee
c) Formation of the management committee
d) Roles and responsibilities of the JFMC and the
management committee
19
ii.
e) Benefit sharing process between the JFMC and the
Government of Karnataka
f) Tangible benefits from JFPM which includes income
generation activities from forest produce, promotion of
forestry related activities, formation and benefits of women
self help groups and village development activities.
g) Intangible benefits from JPFM included the soil and water
conservation activities carried out under JFPM and other
ecological benefits.
Creation of awareness about Participatory Vegetation Monitoring:
This included the various steps of initiating participatory
vegetation monitoring at the village level.
a) Sensitization of the communities on PVM
b) Formation of PVMC
c) Forest transect walk
d) Laying the quadrat
e) Analysis of the information
Fig 7: Documentary on Joint Forest Planning and Management in Karnataka
produced to create awareness among communities as part of the project.
20
Screen of the documentary film of JFPM and PVM: A meeting was held and the
film was screened to the higher officials of the Karnataka Forest Department.
They greatly appreciated the production of the document. This is the first
documentary on JFPM and PFM in Karnataka. The efforts were lauded and
they have requested for wide distribution of these documentary for mass
screening among the village communities to promote forest management. The
documentary will also be used as training material among the forest officials of
Karnataka Forest Department (Fig 7).
The Karnataka TV media for rural education has also been contacted to screen
the documentary which is viewed by the large village community.
The documentary acknowledges the support provided by the Karnataka Forest
Department, the implementing agency the Asian Nature Conservation
Foundation and funding agency Rufford Small Grant for their financial
support.
The documentary has also been produced in English so that non-Kannada
audience can view and understand the film.
3.16 Manual on Participatory Vegetation Monitoring
A manual on Participatory Vegetation Monitoring has been prepared as an
output of the project activity. This manual aims at addressing vegetation
monitoring involving the local communities and the local forest department.
Based on the experience gained in conduct of participatory vegetation
monitoring under the Rufford Small Grants, this manual has been prepared.
The Filed Manual on PFM is divided into three parts:
Part one explains the rationale and processes for Participatory Forest
Monitoring (PFM), need for PFM, its planning and implementation at JFMC
level. It provides basis for participation of local people in monitoring and
management of resources
Part two describes PFM strategy, which is based on the various factors
contributes towards participation of local people in management of forest
resources.
Part three provides how the critical steps are planned and implemented. Each
step includes description of what action to take, way, when, and how. It
identifies what resources need to monitor, and what the expected outputs are
as well as who will be responsible for the action. The experience of
21
implementation of PFM at few VFCs in India also helps to understand the
process in much practical manner as possible.
4.
DISCUSSION
The PFM is no merely monitoring the vegetation status, but a means by which
the community is inducted into the decision-making process using scientific
methods to analyse the ground information. A lot of preparation is required to
educate the community on the need for PFM and its importance. This can be
done using the following steps.
i.
Sensitization of the village community: The forest department or NGO
need to create community awareness about the importance of PFM.
The aim of PFM, the methodology to be adopted, the monitoring
parameters and the results of the data analysis all need to be
explained to the community with examples provided for a better
understanding. In this process has already been initiated in another
JFMC, those JFMC members can also be resource persons.
ii.
Training: The JFMCs require training in the techniques used for
vegetation monitoring. Simple parameters have to be selected for the
purpose. Normally, villagers can knowledgeably identify almost all the
trees, shrubs and herbs in their forests by their local names. They are
also aware of the economic importance of various species and their
usefulness. However they require some training and demonstration to
record parameters. A team of 5-6 young people who are settled in the
village and unlikely to move out, should be selected for training. The
local-teacher and senior students could also be included in the
monitoring teams.
iii.
Field methods: Standard field, ecological methods have to be
simplified and adapted to study various vegetation parameters. The
measurements of tree girth, height class, regeneration status, can be
recorded. The number of quadrats and replicated can be based on the
type of vegetation sampled and size of the JFM forest area.
iv.
The relevance of data and analysis: The objective of JFPM are clear
and also quite ambitious, especially with regard to meeting the
biomass needs of the local communities. Various factors influence the
status if forest and biomass growth, such as protection, grazing,
extraction and fire. The impact of these factors has to be recorded in
terms of numbers of species, density, height and size, to understand
the growth and development of the forests. The information of these
parameters could help in developing suitable management strategies,
keeping in view the local needs and environment.
v.
Approach to PFM: PFM is a tool for adaptive forest management. It
has been demonstrated that JFMCs can adopt PFM as an important
22
JFM activity and could become a part of the programme just as many
other initiatives have. An annual or bi-annual monitoring can be
made mandatory depending on the type of vegetation and the
available human resources. It could be done at two levels – at the
village-community level with minimal observation and at the Forest
department level, with more emphasis on size class distribution,
changes in species number, regenerative capacity and so on.
vi.
For baseline information of JFMC, PVM can be conducted during
microplanning stage. This process will give a good record of the
baseline vegetation status before the project was implemented. The
process will also help in involving the communities at inception stage
of JFPM.
vii.
PFM requires minimal human resources and it depends on the extent
of the area to be sampled, the number of replicates, the type of forest
or plantation, terrain, etc. A team is essential as it is not possible for
an individual to independently do this kind of work. A team of five or
six persons may be constituted and more persons could be trained to
substitute for those who are absent at the time of monitoring. This
team may have to work for about three days recording the data. Then
all the JFMC members could analyse the data generated, draw
conclusions and make decisions based on the inference.
viii.
The approximate cost for PVM at the village level is minimal. The only
investment would be ropes, measuring tapes and registrar books for
recording the information. In villages where the availability of NTFPs
is substantial, a board could be put up at the JFMC office. During the
season, the weekly harvest of NTFPs can be displayed. PVM can be
institutionalized by the Forest Department as an annual or bi-annual
activity of the JFMC. A small dedicated budget and identified
personnel would be required to institutionalize PFM and incorporate it
into all the JFM projects and programmes.
Acknowledgements
The author acknowledges the encouragement and support provided by Mr.
Shivanna Gowda, the Chief Conservator of Forests (Development) from the
inception stage. Many thanks are due to the Principal Chief Conservator of
Forests for providing permission to conduct the study.
The Deputy
Conservator of Forests of Hassan Division and Tumkur Division, Mr. Shekar
and Mr. Shantappa respectively provided support and encouragement through
out the study. The Forest Range Officers, Forest guards and the JFMC
secretaries provided the much needed support on field for conduct of the study
and during the filming process. The villagers and the JFMCs of all the 20
villages in Tumkur and Hassan district in which the study was conducted are
duly acknowledged for their patience, interest shown in the programme and the
23
great support they provided during the study and the shoot of the documentary
film. The author acknowledges the support provided by Asian Nature
Conservation Foundation to carry out the study. The author acknowledges the
financial support of Rufford Small Grants without which this programme would
not have been possible.
24
Appendix 1: Order issued by Karnataka Forest Department to carry out
Participatory Vegetation Monitoring under the Rufford Small Grant Project
25
26
27