Van Panchayats as an Effective Tool in Conserving Biodiversity at Local Level

Rawat, Vardan Singh; Rawat, Y. S.

doi:10.4236/jep.2010.13033

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…In many states, local communities may partially or completely manage forests (usually IUCN PA categories V and VI), where they access the forest resources following some locally decided rules (Bhattacharya et al, 2010). Some examples are Van Panchayats in Western Himalaya (Chauhan et al, 2011; Rawat & Rawat, 2010), sacred groves in Northern Western Ghats (Khan et al, 2008), and community‐conserved areas in Northeastern India (Ormsby & Bhagwat, 2010; Pathak & Hazarika, 2012). A small part of Northeast India is protected under IUCN PA categories I to IV.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using the area of habitat to assess the extent of protection of India's birds

et al. 2022

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India hosts multiple global biodiversity hotspots while being one of the most populous countries in the world. Here, we examine how well India has protected its avifauna, based on the fraction of their ranges falling within “protected areas.” India has protected 5% of its land this way. The issue is whether India has done better than expected in protecting its threatened species. To this end, we assessed 99 Near Threatened, Threatened, and small‐ranged species by estimating their Area of Habitat (AOH). We refined published species ranges using secondary information on elevation limits and habitat preferences. More than half (52) of the species assessed have their AOH <30% of their published ranges, while 31 have <10%. India has protected 87 threatened species' AOH more than expected (>5%), and for 33 species, the proportion protected exceeds the Aichi target (>17%). When we consider the top 10% richest regions as hotspots, only 9.2% of their total area falls under India's protected area network, inadequately covering areas with most threatened birds. We also discuss the conservation concerns for grassland and open habitat species across India, since we find that substantial proportions of their AOHs fall outside protected areas. This result highlights the significance of alternative conservation models, including other effective area‐based conservation measures. We show that species' AOH provides a more realistic well‐informed range that can aid in assessing their protection status.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using the area of habitat to assess the extent of protection of India's birds

et al. 2022

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“…As shown in Fig 1, changes in power and rights result in changes in the forest management system which, in turn, can be measured by social and ecological characteristics [64,65]. As such, alteration of management systems directly influences forest condition [34,66] and assessing existing ecological parameters is one of the well-known methods to investigate the impact of different management systems on forest condition [67,68]. Parameters are tools which can be applied to gather and organize information in a manner that makes it useful in conceptualizing, evaluating, and implementing best forest practices [69,70].…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of community forestry on forest condition: Evidence from Sri Lanka’s intermediate zone

2020

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Sri Lanka's community forestry (CF) program emerged in the early 1980s following a global trend to conserve forest resources and provide benefits to the local community. However, very little is known about the effect of CF on forest resources. We assess the impacts of CF on forest conditions of semi-mixed evergreen forest in the intermediate zone of Sri Lanka using the before-after control-impact method. The study examines tree density, regeneration, woody species diversity, and evidence of disturbance as parameters to analyze the impact of the CF program. Data are analyzed using the difference in differences approach. The results show that the CF program has increased seedling and sapling density to a significant degree and reduced human disturbances. A major contribution of the CF program is that it was found to reduce invasive species and forest fires. The program reduced the amount of invasive species up to six times less than previous. The findings revealed that the impact of CF on forests may vary depending on pre-existing forest conditions, length of period to implement, perception, and decisions by local people. Community understanding and decision-making, in tandem with government policy, will weigh heavily on its future effectiveness.

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“…Without the participation of the community, it is not possible to conserve these forests in the long-term (Rawat and Rawat 2010). Empowering the community on the outskirts of reserved and protected forests to nurture trees and consume forest products is a good and practical policy option, considering the deficiency of financial resources.…”

Section: Aftermath Of Van Panchayatmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Van Panchayat Movement and Struggle for Achieving Sustainable Management of the Forest : A Case Study of Uttarakhand in North India

Nagahama

Satya²,

Saito³

et al. 2017

SDRP-JESES

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ABSTRACT:During the nineteenth century, the denial of customary rights of people by the British colonial forest department, led to conflict with the local society. Our study shows how this conflict paved the way for the origin of van panchayats (VPs) in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand at the beginning of the twentieth century. The objective is to analyze such conflicts and see how VPs appeared and eventually evolved into people's participatory forest management. VP as a system was institutionalized in 1931. The end of the British Empire and the emergence of independent India (1947) began a new era in the history of forest management. Several experimental attempts were undertaken. VP rules were revised and amended to accommodate the evolving changes in the relationship between local villages and the state Forest Department. This led to the birth of the system of joint forest management (JFM) in early 1990s. In one sense, VP could be regarded as a people's movement for the restoration of customary rights, which eventually resulted in the Forest Rights Act of 2006. This Act substantially restored people's sovereign rights over forest, independent of either the state or Forest Department interference. Nevertheless, struggle for full empowerment of local villages over their surrounding forests and other resources continues.

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Van Panchayats as an Effective Tool in Conserving Biodiversity at Local Level

Abstract: ABSTRACT

Cited by 6 publications

References 7 publications

Using the area of habitat to assess the extent of protection of India's birds

Using the area of habitat to assess the extent of protection of India's birds

Impacts of community forestry on forest condition: Evidence from Sri Lanka’s intermediate zone

The Van Panchayat Movement and Struggle for Achieving Sustainable Management of the Forest : A Case Study of Uttarakhand in North India

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