Joint Forest Management in India and the Impact of State Control over Non-wood Forest Products

Abstract

"Case studies suggest that state NWFP monopolies may have disadvantages for the collectors and for the forests. The Indian Forest Policy of 1988 (MoEF, 1988) and the subsequent government resolution on participatory forest management (MoEF, 1990) emphasize the need for people's participation in natural forest management. The policy document asserts that local communities should be motivated to identify themselves with the development and protection of the forests from which they derive benefits. Thus, the policy envisages a process of joint management of forests by the state governments (which have nominal responsibility) and the local people, which would share both the responsibility for managing the resource and the benefits that accrue from this management."