Working Papers

Co-management, collaborative management or Joint Forest Management (JFM) as a strategy for forest conservation with the active participation of local communities is gaining ground world wide.?? Institutional mechanisms are sought to be established to facilitate the interaction of the state Forest Department, local communities, NGOs and other interested parties.?? Working Group at the state level is one such mechanism that is being promoted in India in the JFM context.?? This paper takes a critical look at one such Working Group in which the author has been a part right from its inception.?? The paper records that the Working Group has failed to deliver in the absence of mechanisms to ensure accountability especially that of the Forest Department.?? The local communities who are organised into VLOs, and a few NGOs tried their best to push the JFM approach for forest management.?? But the other players, namely, the state Forest Department, politicians, industries and local communities who are interested in using the forest land for purposes other than forestry are far more powerful.?? The Forest Department has colluded with their political masters and sacrificed their own interest and the interest of the forest for short term gains.?? The net result is that the JFM programme has suffered.?? The paper argues that there is a need for legislative backing for the JFM programme and ensuring that accountability mechanisms are put in place.?? This may ensure some chances for the survival of JFM and its progress. ??