Indian Wildlife Club Forum

Research Paper dated 17 Feb 2005 by School of Biological and Conservation Sciences, South Africa

New forest policies in South Africa seek to reconcile conservation and development objectives by devolving some responsibilty for forest management from the state to local communities. Community participation in forest management aims to protect forest-based subsistence livelihoods by incorporating the interests of resource users, while simultaneously diffusing threats to biodiversity by managing resource use.

To date, participatory forest management (PFM) has had mixed success in South Africa because the transfer of rights to users has not accompanied changes in policy. A questionnaire survey of 60 households (43%) revealed the attitudes of users toward current management and conservation options for iGxalingenwa forest. Users chose participatory forest management (52%) over community (25%) or state-dominated forest management (2%) structures.

User choice was motivated by the desire to secure rights of access to, and ensure equitable benefit from, a dwindling resource base, rather than the conservation of these resources to sustain future yields. Users were unwilling to reduce resource use and compromise usufruct rights to achieve conservation goals, even to improve the availability of the resource stock.

Current user needs compromise biodiversity conservation goals, and users regard state conservation practices as protectionist and obstructing their rights of access to resources. While the National Forest Act of 1998 seek to conserve resources by limiting access to them and is based on principles of sustainable use, it is nevertheless perceived to offer few incentives to users to participate in forest management and conservation.

Ideally, an institutional and legal framework that allocates user rights and managerial responsibilities to households is required, but clearlysuitable alternatives to forest produce are also vital for successful management. Greater trust between the provincial parks authority and users is needed, but is complicated by weak traditional leadership and poor community representation.

Ultimately, users preferred PFM because, while recognising that harvest rates are unsustainable, user dependence upon forest resources and weak traditional leadership means they can protect usufruct rights only by participation. Changes to any of these factors may create demands for a new management system. PFM allows the greatest flexibility for responding to changes in demands as well as the environment.

While there is no implementation blueprint that suits every situation, the researchers feel that participatory management of iGxalingenwa forest is the preferred management institution.

However, its success will depend on an improvement on the levels of trust between stakeholders, particularly between users and forest owners(the State). Recognition of community property and access rights is an important prerequisite for participation by users in forest management.

 ( John Robertson and Michael J. Lawes ( 2005), Environmental Conservation 32(1) 64-75)

...The Food and Agricultural Organisation(FAO) of the United Nations recommends urban agriculture including animal rearing within cities as a useful means to tackle poverty and promote sustainable city practices.  It is feared that rapid urbanisation in developing countries will consume about 14 million hectares of cropland by 2020 and make matters worse.  Many African cities and a few European cities are now seriously considering urban agriculture as a viable multifunctional land use strategy.

.........Processed foods increase the ecological footprint of a city, as goods have to be transported from long distances.

The FAO estimates that Delhi will require an additional 1,96,500 trucks of 10 tonne capacity by 2010 to supply food for its population, while Mumbai will need 3,13,400 more trucks.  This will have serious implications for traffic and roads.

.......  Cities that have seriously considered the issues of urban poverty, environment, and food security have made plans to allow for more agriculture within their urban and peri-urban areas.  Bangkok has 60 percent of its metropolitan area as agriculture land, as has Madrid.  Beira in Mozambique has a high percentage of about 88 percent of its green spaces used for family agriculture.  Ottawa has 5,000 hectares of agriculture land within city limits...........

The famous marshes of Xochimilco, located on the outskirts of Mexico City, are fed by treated wastewater from the city.  This water is used for irrigating flowers and vegetables and also recharges the aquifers.....The East Calcutta wetland is an example worth looking at. This 3,900 hectare wetland located in the peri-urban area is used for fisheries.  The many ponds are benefited from the 1,300 million litres of treated wastewater discharged from the city.  About 13,000 tonnes of fish are harvested and about 60,000 people provided a livelihood.  In addition, 150 tonnes of vegetable are also produced daily.  Pigs and ducks are reared as well.........

A.Srivathsan(The Hindu 27 June 2006)

Community -based approaches to management of protected areas are increasingly being implemented in many areas. In a research study published in the journal Environmental Conservation (2005), the effectiveness of community- based approaches for conservation of biodiversity was examined in Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) Nepal.

"A combination of ecological and social surveys were undertaken both within and outside ACA, enabling areas under community-based management to be compared with adjacent areas under traditional forms of land use.

Forest basal area and tree species diversity were found to be significantly higher inside ACA, associated with a decline in use of fuelwood as an energy source over the past decade. Social surveys also indicated that wild animal populations have increased inside ACA since the inception of community-based conservation. Observations of animal track counts, pellet counts and direct observations of selected species such as barking deer and Himalayan tahr indicated higher abundances within ACA."

It will be interesting to know the increase/decrease of wildlife population inside ACA before and after adoption of community based management.

( Ref: Effectiveness of community involvement in delivering conservation benefits to the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. by S.B. Bajracharya et.al Environmental Conservation, 32(3): 239-247, 2005)

The National Wildlife Board met on 19th June 2006 under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister of India.

 The Board decided to give legal powers under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 to Army Commanders for containing poaching in the border areas of Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast. (The Hindu, June 20, 2006)

According to Ashish Kothari of 'Kalpavriksh', an environment action group, the expansive definition of traditional forest dwellers, provides scope for state governments, land mafia and local elites to claim large areas of recently encroached land as legitimate.

It could also exacerbate local conflicts, e.g. in the North- eastern states, where people from outside have occupied forest land recently, at the expense of the local tribal communities.

( Hindustan Times, June 20, 2006)

On 18th June 2006 we had an online chat on the "Tribal bill". The chat log can be read by clicking on the link below.

http://www.indianwildlifeclub.com/chat/chat-archive.aspx?cid=40

This BLOG invites comments from all our members on the issues concerning our forests if the Bill is enacted in its present form.

Why should it be every citizen's concern to protect endangered species, and how can one be of assistance? Not just by volunteering with NGOs working for the cause, but are there ways in which we can contribute in small measure? The readers must be told why at all should they bother, and possibly, how? (Question: Shirley Abraham)

Each person can contribute -drops in the ocean make up the ocean. Most of us in our busy life are unaware of the BIG ROLE nature plays in our well being. The amount of oxygen in the air, the purity of water we drink -these are the basic threads of life.

The forests with all the life in it make these basic things posssible. The oceans with all the marine animals in it control our climates. Without animals the forests will wither away. Taking away just the tiger or the elephant which seemingly threaten human life around the forests will change the forests forever. Without the marine creatures like the whales at the apex, the ocean we know will be changed for ever.

Be aware and knowledgeable-taking action will come naturally. Finally it is the harmony of man animals and life which keep us going. Man is intelligent enough to enumerate the endangered animals. He should also be sensible enough to know that protecting them is the only way forward.

Ethanol is a renewable fuel distilled mainly from corn. In the near future, ethanol may also be produced using agricultural and wood waste, of which there is an abundant supply for both in agricultural states and counties throughout the U.S. and beyond.

Because of its comparatively high oxygen content, ethanol is cleaner burning than regular unleaded gasoline and can be blended to 10 percent without having to modify standard engines. A 10 percent blend also substantially reduces carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon, benzene and other exhaust emissions as well as related greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.

Before we can celebrate ethanol as a viable alternative to petroleum, one simple fact must be considered: producing ethanol requires more fossil fuel energy than the petroleum it would replace. This result was confirmed researchers at Cornell University and the University of California. The reason? It takes a lot of energy to grow crops and transform them into ethanol.

Regardless, ethanol has a lot of political support, and despite building evidence to the contrary, the U.S. Department of Agriculture believes that ethanol delivers more energy than is consumed in making it.

Sources: American Coalition for Ethanol, Growing Expectations, and Cornell University News Service.