Joint Forest Management in India: Spread, Performance and Impact

The joint Forest Management (JFM) programme has been implemented on a large scale in India from 1990 onwards, extending over 17 million ha of forests, covering 75,000 villages in 27 states. Further, under the Tenth Five-Year Plan, it is proposed that JFM will cover all the forest-fringe villages through Forest Development Agencies. It is essential to learn from the programme implemented so far through periodic monitoring and evaluation of JFM. This book has assessed the performance and impact of JFM from the community's perspective, based on the studies conducted by the Ecological and Economics Research Network in six states-Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Tripura and West Bengal. The approach adopted by the network involved the development of a common methodology, based on which studies were undertaken during 2001-2002. This book presents the evolution of the JFM policy in India, information about the status of JFM with respect to its spread, performance and impact in the six states, case studies of successful JFM Committees and ecological and silvicultural aspects of JFM, besides suggesting a strategy for monitoring and evaluation of JFM, and advancing policy, institutional and silvicultural strategies and options to sustain JFM. The book provides information to policy makers, forest departments, researchers, NGOs and other stakeholders engaged in JFM.