Forest since early time has been source of life in the planet. Most of human needs were inconsistently metout by forest. It is the fact that human culture has originated from forest. It is the forest that learnt human the resource management for sustained productivity and consumption. Forest largely decided in community, division of labour too. The different classes of community thus were named/ identified after different trade that was based on forest resources. And thus ultimately community began to build itself for meticulous use of resources.
This is true globally and also in India, rural areas govern the major resources. Since it was the only mainstay of life, a deep cultural relationship existed between forest and human. Down in the line this relationship developed into system and then ultimately a law. While encouraging development strategies, such issues were largely side lined. Our focus was more on development of infrastructure, real estate business, and roads construction.
Economy was more inclined to secondary production process and primary production i.e. forest and agriculture were placed as less important in the run of economic gains. The fundamental resources i.e. forest water and agriculture unfortunately were denied attention in recent past. The picture is clear now. We have reached a state of life support resource threat. Ecological imbalances that we witness today is mainly because of our shift from strengthening fundamental resources to industry to meet our lust.
Age old relationship of human forest is merely seen existing today. No cobblers, carpenters, blacksmith bamboo workers e.t.c. are happily married with their forest resources today. The resources is obvious, their market was replaced with products made in urban India as the latter is equipped with mechanize services for mass and quality production.
Primary producer are considered attended merely as a labour and their produce shifted to urban rich for secondary production. This ultimately lead to economic imbalanced as secondary producer gains more than primary. The forest dwellers become ultimately consumers of their own produce as largest chunk of urban products are sold in rural India.
Present economic flow and production scenario demands review of our policy of development. Since forest are major resources, present conservation initiative can not yield any result, the past experience witness it. We will have to revive age old human –forest relationship which was based on controlled harvesting with intact conservation measures. Most of the human dependence on forest resources have almost been smashed after two major development i.e. forest act and new market strategy.
There are couples of issue that need to be addressed in the light of reviving human dependence on forest and ultimately pro- forest community attitude. Let us first analyze the status of our forest in and around villages. In last 5-10 decades, forest scenario has rapidly changed. Forest in community proximity have converted in to scrubs or land of weedy plants. With changing environment, many plants species have disappeared and as well others have established. Status of such species has to be worked out. We will have to review status of new generation of different species. Their social ecological and economical values will have to be ascertained in present context. Broad social analysis reveals that forest biomass can be classified as below.
Classification On the basis of utility
Over exploited Extremely used in the plant
Under utilized Biomass in lack of knowledge under utilized
Un utilized Biomass not utilized
Invading Plants or weeds Plants not used but invading in nature
All above categories of plants need to be subjected to review from community point of use. Their utility especially for energy and as well other livelihood option need to the defined. Local livelihood options will not lead to overall development unlike commercial forestry. It is important to realize that local resource utility infuse sense of responsibility for conservation as compared to others. Need of consistent availability of resource bind local community to become responsible towards conservation aspects too.
We will have to rethink on commercial forestry which indeed has so far been major thrust on our forestry researches. Has it been able to impart socio-ecological conservation and whether trust of commoner has been won? We are disappointed in the front. Unless forestry is redefined for common we can neither ensure community participation in our forestry programme nor community forestry conservation initiative will get a place. In the interest of forestry for common issues like, promising partners in community, method of their involvement and deliverables will have to be addressed?
We will have to re-devise strategy to bring back old stakeholders in forestry use which has almost ceased today. Here the reference is of forest dependent communities i.e.
artisan, vaidya. Their importance in present context cannot be ignored as rural market still witness presence of products traditionally made by them. These products are now unfortunately imported from urban areas. There are two reasons of this state, urban products complete in quality and better technology and mechanization made then cheaper too. Rural artisan in lack of right knowledge and equipments, produce incompetent products. New S & T and better infrastructure would have enabled them to compete any other products.
We will have to develop mechanism to empower community to use Bio-resources in and around them. Three factors will largely decide fate of the forestry for common. Resource availability, technology services and market structure will set broadly course of action. An action plan to effect above approaches will decide the future.
Lack of knowledge is major impediment in rural growth. Technology is tool of knowledge to make use of resources. Rural technology development has been most of the time neglected issue as it is not paying as well not glorifying. It could not draw technologists and scientists in rural development sector. It has therefore been the major reason of technology gaps in rural areas. Some of the attempts in recent past has been encouraging. Technology applications in utilization of local resources have empowered community ecologically and economically. Three factors decide the feasibility of any technology for rural areas. The low cost of the technology is necessary so that affordability factor does not come as limitation. Similarly feasibility of technology and its match with local skill are important factors. Sometime un-matching technology fails to work in village, simply because of poor skill. Since post installation services of technologies are not available in rural India, many technology interventions were not possible. The above limitations can be overcome simply by initiating approach of technology socialization. We will have to involve above factors while developing technology.
Market of local produce is the most important factor. This has to be understood in a different mode. Survey conducted by HESCO (Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organization) revealed that rural India is flooded with the product made in urban areas. It further revealed that about 50-70% of them can be locally made as resources are abundantly available here. Knowledge and infrastructure in rural India can bestow local community to grab this market.
An integrated approach to utilize local resources for local market through available/invented technologies has to be exercised. A simple mechanism will have to be developed which can offer an opportunity for scientist to develop pro-community technology. Knowledge transfer mechanism to user and consumers will have to be developed. Forestry institutes will have to increase their ambit of work focusing on forestry for commons. A perfect mechanism to involve institute/community and voluntary organization can play an important role of facilitator.
Technology available with institutes should be transferred to the community in first phase through social organization. There must also be a provision where institute also get feed back of technology intervened as well new area of technology development identified by community.
Forestry and its benefit have not yet been taken by local community and it is one reason why forests are indifferent commodity for common rural. Forestry for common is high time need of the Nation. Local community can only conserves forest, especially when most of our past efforts have turned into fiasco.
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