COMMUNITY IN CONSERVATION

COMMUNITY IN CONSERVATION

SOUTH ASIA

GENERAL AGRICULTURE IRRIGATION WATERSHED TENURE MARINE MOUNTAIN PROTECTED AREA WILDLIFE

GENERAL

Agarwal, B (1992). “The gender and environment debate: lessons from India.” Feminist Studies 18(1): 119-158.

Agarwal, B (1997). “Gender, environment, and poverty interlinks: regional variations and temporal shifts in rural India, 1971-91.” World Development 25(1): 23-52.

This paper analyzes the interrelationships between gender, poverty and the environment in rural India, focusing especially on regional variations and temporal shifts over 1971-91. Briefly identifying the major factors underlying environmental degradation, it traces why and how this degradation, and the appropriation of natural resources by the state (statization) and by some individuals (privatization), tend to have particularly adverse implications for the female members of poor rural households. Regional and temporal variations in the likely intensity of these effects are traced both by examining individual indicators and through the specification of a set of aggregative indices, termed here as the GEP(V) indices. These indices measure differences between states in their gender-environment-poverty vulnerability (or what could be termed the ''GEP-gap'') at a point in time, and over time. Governmental and community-initiated attempts at environmental protection and regeneration are also examined, and the importance of gender-directed policies highlighted. Copyright (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd

Agarwal, B (1997). “Resounding the alert: gender, resources and community action.” World Development 25(9): 1373-1380.

Arnold, D and R Guha (1995). Nature, Culture, Imperialism: Essays in the Environmental History of South Asia. Delhi, Oxford University Press.

Askew, I (1989). “Organizing community participation in family planning projects in South Asia.” Studies in Family Planning 20(4): 185-202.

Basnet, K (1992). “Conservation practices in Nepal - past and present.” Ambio 21(6): 390-393.

Nepal is located in the central part of the Himalayas. Diverse plants and animals, rich culture, and the poor economy of the country, with its varied physiographic and climatic conditions, need an appropriate conservation technique to balance the development and conservation of nature and natural resources. Current conservation efforts can be effective if they are incorporated with successful indigenous approaches. Local community participation is necessary for the success of long-term projects such as conservation programs. (Journal)

Beck, T (1995). “How the poor fight for respect and resources in village India.” Human Organization 54(2): 169-181.

Blair, H (1996). “Democracy, equity and common property resource management in the Indian subcontinent.” Development and Change 27(3): 475-499.

This article addresses the relationship between democracy, equity and common property resource management in South Asia, both at the national and at the local level. Its substantive focus will be largely on forests, and its geographical concentration mostly on India, although other sectors (primarily water) and areas (Nepal and Bangladesh) will also be included. The article opens by looking at Garrett Hardin's (1968) three strategies to preserve the commons. It finds that democratic politics is compatible with both privatization and centralization as conserving strategies (although not necessarily successful). With the third approach - local control - democracy has at best a problematic relationship, for where governmental units are the relevant actors, there tends to be more interest in consuming than in conserving or preserving resources at the local level. Local user groups, however, do much better at common property resource management, because they can restrict membership and thus avoid free riders, and they can establish a close linkage in their members' minds between benefits and costs of participating in group discipline to maintain the resource. (Journal)

Bromley, DW and DP Chapagain (1984). “The village against the center: resource depletion in South Asia.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 66: 868-873.

Cameron, MM (1996). “Biodiversity and medicinal plants in Nepal: involving untouchables in conservation and development.” Human Organization 55(1): 84-92.

In this article, I consider the specific uses made of findings from anthropological research to a current biodiversity conservation project in Nepal. The project links biodiversity conservation with the marketing of high-altitude medicinal plants in the vicinity of Khaptad National Park Drawing from ethnographic and historical data I demonstrate that employing a specific group of people untouchables achieves the project's key goal: to produce the greatest amount of benefit for the greatest number of people. (Author)

Choudhury, NC (1975). “Effect of community development on the tribes of India.” Bulletin of the Anthropological Survey of India 24(3-4): 7-21.

Dasgupta, J (1997). “Community, authenticity, and autonomy: insurgence and institutional development in India's Northeast.” Journal of Asian Studies 56(2): 345-370.

De Munck, VC (1987). “Cooperation, conflict, and development in a Sri Lankan community.” Journal of Developing Societies 3(1): 100-106.

Deka, R (1972). Impact of community development programmes on the agricultural organization among the Mikirs. in Bulletin of the Department of Anthropology, Dibrugarh UniversityEd, Dibrugarh, Assam. 1, 1972: 38-41.

Dove, M (1993). “The coevolution of population and environment: the ecology and ideology of feedback relations in Pakistan.” Population and Environment 15(2): 89-111.

Dube, SC (1977). Cultural factors in rural community development. in Anthropology in the development processEd. New Delhi, Vikas Pub. House Pvt. Ltd.: 139-155.

Dutt, A and J Rao (1996). “Growth, distribution, and the environment: Sustainable development in India.” World Development 24(2): 287-305.

This paper considers prospects for improving growth and income distribution in India that are broadly sustainable in terms of macroeconomic and environmental constraints. It first describes recent economic trends and the reform process, using a simple framework which can incorporate political economy issues. It then takes up environmental questions and the interaction of the environment and the macroeconomy. Based on this analysis, the economy's medium-term prospects are discussed under current policy and an alternative approach which is arguably more promising for growth, distribution, and the environment. (SSCI)

Fernandes, A (1987). “NGOs in South Asia: people's participation and partnership.” World Development 15: 39-49.

Freitag, S (1989). Collective Action and Community Public Arenas and the Emergence of Communalism in North India. Berkeley, University of California Press.

Friedmann, J and H Rangan (1993). In Defense of Livelihood: Comparative Studies on Environmental Action. West Hartford, Conn., Kumarian Press.

Gadgil, M (1987). “Diversity: cultural and biological.” Trends in Evolution and Ecology 2(12): 369-373.

Gadgil, M and P Rao (1994). “A system of positive incentives to conserve biodiversity.” Economic and Political Weekly 29(32): 2103-2107.

Ghilmire, K (1991). “The victims of development: an inquiry into ethnicity in development planning.” Development and Cooperation January(1).

Grove, R, V Damodaran, et al. (1998). Nature and the Orient: The Environmental History of South and Southeast Asia. Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Guha, R (1989). “Radical American environmentalism and wilderness preservation: a Third World critique.” Environmental Ethics 11(1): 71-83.

Guha, R (1994). Social Ecology. Dehli, Oxford India.

Heinen, JT and PB Yonzon (1994). “A review of conservation issues and programs in Nepal: from a single species focus toward biodiversity protection.” Mountain Research and Development 14(1): 61-76.

Honigmann, JJ (1960). “A case study of community development in Pakistan.” Economic Development and Cultural Change 8: 288-303.

Karan, P (1994). “Environmental movements in India.” Geographical Review 84(1): 32-41.

Grassroots environmental movements following Gandhian nonviolent tradition are expanding in India. These movements differ from the ones in the West in that they are concerned with both environmental preservation and issues of economic equity and social justice. The Chipko movement in the Himalaya, Save the Narmada movement in central India, and the Silent Valley movement in the Malabar region of southern India are discussed as examples. (Journal)

Kothari, A, S Sori, et al. (1995). “Conservation in India - a new direction.” Economic and Political Weekly 30(43): 2755- 2766.

Kothari, R (1984). “Environment and alternative development.” Alternatives 5: 427-475.

Kreutzmann, H (1993). “Challenge and response in the Karakoram: socioeconomic transformation in Hunza, Northern Areas, Pakistan.” Mountain Research and Development 13(1): 19-39.

Pandey, DN (1986). “Utilization of natural resources as handicrafts of the Shompens.” Human Science 35(4): 318-327.

Pradan and Gram Vikras (1990). “Communal rights vs. private profit: tribal peoples in Northeast India.” The Ecologist 20(2): 105-107.

Rajasekaran, B and DM Warren (1994). “IK for socioeconomic development and biodiversity conservation: The Kolli hills.” Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor 2(2).

Rangan, H (1997). “Indian environmentalism and the question of the state: problems and prospects for sustainable development.” Environment and Planning A 29(12): 2129-2143.

The author focuses on the problems inherent in environmentalist critiques of the Indian state, and the inability of their authors to provide a useful analytical approach for reforming state institutions engaged in environmental regulation and natural-resource management. After a review of the arguments made by leading spokespersons of Indian environmentalism, the author provides an alternative framework for understanding the different forms of state intervention in natural-resource management in colonial and postcolonial India. Three factors that have shaped dominant policy phases and strategies of state institutions engaged in resource management are highlighted: (1) major shifts in the political and economic processes that create pressures for state intervention; (2) competing demands on state institutions that shape the ways in which intervention occurs; and (3) conflicts, disputes, and negotiations that redefine the exercise of state control and the forms of resource management. In focusing on the interplay of these three factors, the author illustrates the continuities and major shifts in resource-management strategies adopted by state institutions in India. The inherent weaknesses (and reactionary populism) of Indian environmental debates are discussed, together with the inability of those involved to articulate strategies for moving towards sustainable urban and regional development within the recent policy phase of deregulation and market expansion in India. (SSCI)

Robbins, P (1998). “Authority and environment: institutional landscapes in Rajasthan, India.” Annals Of The Association Of American Geographers 88(3): 410-435.

To date,there have been few systematic assessments of the role of social institutions-rules, norms, and systems of authority and power-in creating and reconfiguring natural environments. In the desert grass and shrub lands of Rajasthan, India, where multiple, contending institutions govern village resources in a state of legal pluralism, the need for such research is pressing. Here, state political interventions vie against traditional common and semiprivate rule arrangements for control of valuable pasture and forest resources. This paper introduces an authority-centered theoretical vocabulary for such an analysis and reviews research conducted during 1993-1994 comparing four institutional forms to assess the role of institutions in configuring resource extraction decisions made by producers and in creating distinct and distinguishable biotic conditions. The study results demonstrate that responses to authority differ along axes of gender caste, and class and so lead to varied decisions by producers, Each institutional form gives rise to a statistically significant pattern of annual and perennial herb distribution and of tree species occurrence. The location of enforcement, whether central or local, is shown to be Less important than the breadth of authority forms controlling the resource. The results hold implications for future work in cultural/political ecology and for global change research. They: also call into question any a priori assumptions of the superiority of either either state of local resource management regimes. (SSCI)

Sarkar, A (1997). “Sustainable development of India: resource management.” International Journal of Sustainable Development 4(2): 136-142.

This paper deals with the problems of economic development and environment of India. It presents an analytical framework for sustainable development and applies it to the Indian economy, especially to the management of natural resources and the environment. The paper also provides specific policy guidelines. It particularly argues in favour of privatisation and operation of competitive markets for sustainable development. (Journal)

Sinha, S, S Gururani, et al. (1997). “'New traditionalist discourse of Indian environmentalism.” Journal of Peasant Studies 24(3): 65-99.

Stone, L and G Campbell (1984). “The use and misuse of surveys in international development: an experiment from Nepal.” Human Organization 43(1): 27-37.

Tsing, A and P Greenough, Eds. (1999). Environmental Discourses and Human Welfare in South and Southeast Asia. Delhi, Oxford University Press.

Uphoff, N, Ed. (1982). Rural Development and Local Organization in Asia. Delhi, Macmillan.

Uphoff, N (1986). Local Institutional Development: An Analytical Sourcebook with Cases. West Hartford., CT, Kumarian.

Uphoff, N (1992). “ Local institutions and participation for sustainable development.” IIED Gatekeeper Series no 31, International Institute for Environment and Development, London.

Zurick, D (1990). “Traditional knowledge and conservation as a basis for development in a West Nepal village.” Mountain Research and Development 10(1): 23-33.

AGRICULTURE:

Baker, JM (1997). “Common property resource theory and the Kuhl irrigation systems of Himachal Pradesh, India.” Human Organization 56(2): 199-208.

This article analyzes the differential stresses of increasing nonfarm employment on 39 gravity flow irrigation systems (kuhls) in Himachal Pradesh, India. By fragmenting common dependence on agriculture, increasing nonfarm employment has created stresses within kuhl regimes which manifest as declining participation, increased conflict, and the declining legitimacy of customary rules and authority structures. However, these effects are not evenly distributed across all kuhl regimes. To explain how and why some kuhl regimes have persisted without changing, most have transformed and endure, and a few have collapsed and are now managed by the state irrigation department, I use insights from current theories of common property resource systems to guide the development of an inductively derived explanatory framework. I demonstrate how the relative degree of differentiation of the regime members and the extent of members' reliance on kuhl water interact to influence the degree and nature of stress on kuhl regimes resulting from nonfarm employment, the nature of the regime's response to stress, and the efficacy of the responses. The framework accounts for the temporal and spatial variation of kuhl regimes in their degree of role specialization and organizational formalization, and the extent of state involvement in kuhl management. (SSCI)

Burton, S, H Schreier, et al. (1990). “Analysis of land-use options in Chitawan, Nepal.” Mountain Research and Development 10(1): 73-87.

FOREST:

Agrawal, A (1996). “The community vs. the market and the state: forest use in Uttarakhand in the Indian Himalayas.” Journal of Agricultural & Environmental Ethics 9(1): 1- 15.

Most writers on resource management presume that local populations, if they act in their self-interest, seldom conserve or prefect natural resources without external intervention or privatization. Using the example of forest management by villagers in the Indian Himalayas, this paper argues that rural populations can often use resources sustainably and successfully, even under assumptions of self- interested rationality. Under a set of specified social and environmental conditions, conditions that prevail in large areas of the Himalayans and may also exist in. other mountain regions, community institutions are more efficient in managing resources than either private individuals or the central government. In advancing this argument, the paper undermines the often dogmatic belief in the universal superiority of private forms of ownership and management. (Author)

Agrawal, A (1996). Group size and successful collective action: a study of forest management institutions in the Indian Himalaya. WP# W96I-28, Forests, Trees and People Program, Phase II, IFRI Research Program, Indiana University.

Agrawal, A and GN Yadama (1997). “How do local institutions mediate market and population pressures on resources? Forest panchayats in Kumaon, India.” Development and Change 28(3): 435-465.

This article addresses one of the most controversial issues in resource management: how do population and market pressures affect resource use? After examining some shortcomings in several major approaches to the issue, the authors use structural equation analysis to decipher the relative and reciprocal influence of population pressures, markets, and institutional arrangements on forest use in the Kumaon Himalaya in India. By deploying an approach which investigates comparatively the effects of these factors, the article attempts to find a way out of the stultifying positions that participants in the debate on overpopulation and environmental change are forced to adopt. The results presented in the second half of the article are especially interesting, showing that local institutions created by the state play a critical role in mediating the influence of structural and socio-economic variables. The findings thus possess significant implications for all who are interested in co-management of renewable resources by the state and the community. (Econlit)

Amancher, G, W Hyde, et al. (1993). “Local adoption of new forestry technologies: an example from Pakistan northwest frontier

province.” World Development 21(3): 445-453.

Technology transfer is an important, but previously unexamined, topic for forestry activities in international development projects. This paper uses household economics and an example from Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province to inquire into the characteristics most likely to explain household and community adoption of new forestry technologies. Household attitudes toward risk and household expectations of the uncertain gains from adoption are critical. Adopting households probably have higher incomes and greater endowments of land, labor, and capital. Good extension foresters are also important, but their personal character may be even more important than their technical expertise. (SSCI)

Andersen, KE (1990). “Forest and people in South Asia: institutions and entitlements in life support systems.” Folk 32: 177-193.

Appasamy, PP (1993). “Role of non-timber forest products in a subsistence economy: the case of a joint forestry project in India.” Economic Botany 47(3): 258-267.

Arnold, JEM (1990). “Social forestry and communal management in India.” Social Forestry Network Paper 11b, Overseas Development Institute, London.

Arnold, JEM and JG Campbell (1986). Collective Management of Hill Forests in Nepal: The Community Forestry Development Project. Proceedings of the Conference on Common Property Resource Management, Washington, National Academy Press.

Baker, J (1998). “The effect of community structure on social forestry outcomes: insights from Chota Nagpur, India.” Mountain Research and Development 18(1): 51-62.

Social forestry integrates rural people with forest management in an attempt to improve rural welfare and reverse environmental degradation. Social forestry depends on people, yet the ability to assess opportunities for it is primarily based on technical criteria. Uniform social forestry programs are implemented in communities with different social characteristics without a clear understanding of the effects of those characteristics on people's actions and the outcomes of the program. Based on survey research among eighteen villages in the hilly Chota Nagpur Plateau, southeastern Bihar, India, this paper uses theories of collective action and common property resource management to investigate the relationship between social differentiation, local institutional capacity and wealth distribution, and the likelihood of success of private or community-based social forestry strategies. The results provide the basis for distinguishing among communities according to the probable effectiveness of different forms of social forestry, as well as for determining appropriate roles for external organizations interested in promoting social forestry. Additionally, the paper includes discussion of other factors such as local leadership, land and tree tenure, relations with external institutions, and ecological variation which affect social forestry outcomes. (SSCI)

Ballabh, V and K Singh (1988). “Van (forest) panchayats in Uttar Pradesh hills: a critical analysis.” Research Paper 2, Institute of Rural Management.

Bhatt, CP (1990). “The Chipko Andolan: forest conservation based on people's power.” Environment and Urbanization 2( 1): 7-18.

(A revised version of a chapter in The Fight for Survival-People's Action for Environment, Agarwal, A., D'Monte, Darryl, & Samarth, Ujwala [Eds], Centre for Science & Environment, 1987.) The development of Chipko Andolan, a movement to prevent the destruction of forests, & its relationship to other community groups within the Uttarakhand region of the central Himalayas in India during the 1970s & 1980s are discussed. The background to the Chipko Andolan, its philosophy, principles, & the experiences of the Dasholi Gram Swarajya Mandal, mother organization of the Chipko Andolan, are presented. It is concluded that deforestation is a worldwide ecological problem that can be solved only by citizen participation. (Copyright 1991, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)

Bostock-Wood, C (1992). Trees in Society in Rural Karnataka, India. London, Overseas Development Agency.

Britt, C (1997). Platforms for Communication: Emerging Networks in Community Forestry.

Chambers, R, NC Saxena, et al. (1989). To the Hands of the Poor: Water and Trees. New Delhi, Oxford.

Chaudhuri, B (1991). “Forest, forest development and community participation.” Indian Anthropologist 21(1): 9-16.

Commander, S (1986). Managing Indian forests: a case for the reform of property rights. Social Forestry Network Paper 3b. London, Overseas Development Institute.

Corbridge, S and S Jewitt (1997). “From forest struggles to forest citizens? Joint Forest Management in the unquiet woods of India's Jharkhand.” Environment and Planning A 29(12): 2145-2164.

The government of India has embraced joint forest management as a key strategy for dealing with forest degradation and forest employment issues in the 1990s. This represents a significant movement away from the forest reservation policies that held sway from 1947 to 1988 and which criminalised many local forest users. In this paper we consider the role played by forest struggles and forest intellectuals (notably Guha and Gadgil) in the rewriting of India's forest policies. We also evaluate the utility of a moral economy framework in guiding joint forest management policies in India's Jharkhand. We draw on village-level fieldwork in Ranchi District, Bihar, to highlight the value of an approach to the management of Degraded Protected Forests that offers a key role to active and informed forest citizens (as per the moral economy framework). We also highlight five areas of present concern: the extent of local environmental knowledges, not least among women; questions of territoriality and excludeability in respect of forest protection activities; trust, imagined communities, and forest citizenship; the role of charismatic leaders; and the importance of complementary 'nonforest' policies. (SSCI)

Dove, M (1992). “The dialectical history of 'jungle' in Pakistan: an examination of the relationship between nature and culture.” Journal of Anthropological Research 48: 231-253.

Edwards, DM (1993). The marketing of Non-imber Forest Products from the Himalayas: The Trade Between East Nepal and India. London, Overseas Development Institute.

Fernandes, W and G Menon (1987). Tribal Women and Forest Economy. New Delhi, Indian Social Institute.

Fernandes, W, G Menon, et al. (1988). Forest, Environment and Tribal Economy: Deforestation, Impoverishment and Marginalisation in Orissa. New Delhi, Indian Social Institute.

Forestry Research Support Programme for Asia and the Pacific (1992). Research results: peoples rights to forest resources in India. Bangkok, FAO/FORSPA.

Fox, J (1993). “Forest resources in a Nepali village in 1980 and 1990: the positive influence of population growth.” Mountain Research and Development 13(1): 89-98.

Fox, R (1969). “ "Professional Primitives": hunters and gatherers of Nuclear South Asia.” Man in India 49: 139-160.

French, JH and RA Gecolea ( 1985). Forester's guide for community involvement in upland conservation, with special reference to the Asia and Pacific region. Kathmandu, NP, U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

Ganesan, B (1993). “Extraction of non-timber forest products, including fodder and fuelwood, in Mudumalai, India.” Economic Botany 47(3): 268-274.

Gautam, KH (1986). Private planting: forestry practices outside the forest by rural people. in Strengthening Institutional Capacity in the Food and Agricultural Sector in NepalEd. Kathmandu, AID/Nepal

Winrock.

Gibbs, C (1982). Institutional Obstacles to Effective Forestry for Local Community Development in Asia. USAID Conference on Forestry and Development in Asia, Bangalore India.

Gunatilake, HM (1998). “The role of rural development in protecting tropical rainforests: evidence from Sri Lanka.” Journal of Environmental Management 53(3): 273-292.

Despite the interest and willingness of donor communities to support the conservation projects of tropical rainforests, scientific evidence on effective ways of providing such assistance is lacking. Recent evidence on failures of integrated conservation and development projects also highlight the need for more research in this area. Dependency of local communities on forest resources is a major obstacle in implementing forest protection programmes. This paper develops two forest dependency models for Knuckles and Sinharaja forests in Sri Lanka. Data were collected from peripheral villages of Knuckles and Sinharaja forests applying stratified random sampling procedures. Two regression models were developed incorporating nine socio-economic variables. Results show that involvement in non-farm and non-forestry employment, higher agricultural income, higher agricultural productivity, better education and, possibly, the incorporation of local communities into the outside markets can reduce dependency on forest resources. Therefore, the paper suggests rural development with the above components as an alternative strategy for forest protection. (SSCI)

Gunatilake, HM, DMAH Senaratine, et al. (1993). “Role of nontimber forest products in the economy of peripheral communities of Knuckles National Wilderness area of Sri Lanka.” Economic Botany 47(3): 275-281.

Hunter, JR (1981). “Tendu (Diospyros melanonylon) leaves, bidi cigarettes and resource management.” Economic Botany 35(4): 450-459.

Jewitt, S (1995). “Voluntary and 'official' forest protection committees in Bihar: solutions to India's deforestation?” Journal of Biogeography 22(6): 1003-1021.

Particularly since India's Independence, concern about forest decline and opposition by forest-dependent populations to a perceived neglect and exploitation of local forests by the Forest Department has resulted, in certain areas, in the establishment of community-based forest protection committees. In Bihar, attempts to overcome the antagonistic Forest Department relations that prevailed during much of the 1980s, plus a recognition of the need to involve local people more in forest management and protection, have resulted in the establishment of the Bihar joint forest management programme. This aims to follow the example set by autonomous forest protection committees by setting up 'village protection and management committees' in degraded Protected forest areas. This paper, which stems from my doctoral fieldwork in the Jharkhand region of Bihar, will examine the issue of forest protection in light of three main issues. A first issue concerns the extent to which a strong historical sense of place and (particularly tribal) identity can be effective in mobilising an interest in and concern for local resource management and protection. A second issue concerns the degree to which traditional, charismatic village leaders are important in overcoming intra-village tensions over resource use and promoting successful forms of community action. A third issue concerns the extent to which the above two factors are likely to be important in the success of 'official' forest protection and management committees. (SSCI)

Kant, S and NG Mehta (1993). “A forest based tribal economy: a case study of Motisingloti village.” Forests, Trees and People Newsletter April.

Kishore, KC (1988). Participatory inputs in community forestry; case study of Chhang village panchayat of Tanahu District.

Krishnaswamy, A (1995). “Sustainable development and community forest management in Bihar, India.” Society and Natural Resources 8(4): 339-350.

Deforestation has impoverished many rural communities in developing countries that depend on forests for their basic needs. Contemporary sustainable development (SD) theory focuses on how to meet the basic needs of the poor while conserving the resource base on which they depend. Thus, forest conservation is a major component of SD efforts. In the Indian state of Bihar, efforts to conserve forests through centralized tree plantation programs have not succeeded. High priority has since been accorded to community forest management on the assumption that sustainable resource use is most likely to occur if local communities participate in managing tile resources on which they depend. However, externally initiated community Sorest management efforts ill Bihar have not proved very effective in controlling deforestation. Consequently local communities have started managing state-owned forests on their own. These self-initiated efforts have proved quite effective at regenerating forests. However, local initiatives can be sustained only if supported by external institutions. (Journal)

Longhurst, R (1987). Household food security, tree planting and the poor: the case of Gujarat. Social Forestry Network Paper 5d,. London, Overseas Development Institute.

Malhotra, KC, D Deb, et al. (1993). “The role of non-timber forest products in village economies of South West Bengal.” Rural Development Forestry Network Paper 15d, Overseas Development Institute, London.

Malhotra, KC, M Poffenberger, et al. (1991). “Rapid appraisal methodology trials in Southwest Bengal: assessing natural forest regeneration patterns and non-wood forest product harvesting practices.” Forests, Trees, and People 15/16: 18-25.

Melkania, NP and SL Shah (1988). “Social aspects of soil conservation and afforestation projects in Civil/Soyam and Panchayat lands in Central Himalaya.” Man and Development 10(3): 68-80.

The social aspects of soil conservation & social forestry programs in Almora District, India, are analyzed. The diversification practices of hill farmers are considered, & the conflict between the rational aims of the state in conserving the environment, & of the farmers in assuring their survival, is discussed. The social aspects of afforestation, & the need for early returns on investment in forests are examined. Methods for encouraging private forestry are presented, & recommendations for forest management laid out. Forestry programs need continuous & intelligent community involvement. (Copyright 1989, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)

Mishra, S (1994). “Women's indigenous knowledge of forest management in Orissa (India).” Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor 2(3).

Moench, M (1991). “Politics of deforestation: a case study of Cardamom Hills of Kerala.” Economic and Political Weekly 26(4): 47-60.

Morris, B (1977). “ Tappers, trappers and the hill Pandaram (South India).” Anthropos 72: 225-241.

Nesmith, C (1991). “Gener, trees and fuel: social forestry in west Bengal, India.” Human Organization 50(4): 337-348.

This paper argues that participation in, and benefits from, social forestry are mediated by both class and gender. In three case-study villages in Midnapore District, West Bengal, it was found that although farm forestry was taken up by some members of all income groups, the lowest level of participation was among the poorest households. The level of women's participation in planning and implementation was less than that of men; however, women are at present gaining significant fuel benefits in the form of eucalyptus leaves. Class divisions between women also result in differentiated access to the new fuel resource. (SSCI)

Neupane, IP (1987). Community forestry: assessment of people's cooperation in Magapauwa. Forestry Research Paper Series, No.8. Kathmandu, USAID/Nepal.

Ojha, BR (1987). Evaluation of Lekhnath Panchayat community forest development project. Forestry Research Paper Series, No.9. Kathmandu, USAID/Nepal.

Pandey, S and G Yadama (1990). “Conditions for local level community forestry action: a theoretical explanation.” Mountain Research and Development 10(1): 88-95.

Poffenberger, M (1994). The resurgence of community forest management in eastern India. in Natural Connections. Perspectives in Community-based Conservation. D Western and RM Wright, Ed. Washington, D.C, Island Press: 53-79.

Poffenberger, M and B McGean (1998). Village Voices, Forest Choices: Joint Forest Management in India. Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Poffenberger, M and RD Stone (1996). “Hidden faces in the forest: a twenty first century challenge for tropical Asia.” SAIS Review 16: 203-219.

In view of international concern about tropical and subtropical deforestation, the writers argue that it is those who are the most directly affected by deforestation indigenous peoples and long term migrants who live in the area that hold the key to managing forests sustainably. They present several examples of past and current efforts toward conservation and community minded forestry policies by international aid agencies, initiated in part to deal with nongovernmental organizations' calls for more environmentally sound projects. They highlight the efficacy of community based forest management using several telling examples of forest protection movements and programs throughout Asia. The writers conclude that rural resource users are the hidden faces behind a subtle but potentially revolutionary change in the management of forest resources throughout Asia, to which policymakers and aid lenders would do well to pay closer attention. (Wilsonweb)

Prakash, S and S Chowdhury (1990). “Ecological implications of economic development of Meghalaya (India): a study of levels and patterns of consumption and production of forest-based commodities.” Journal of Quantitative Economics 6(1): 161-178.

Prasai, Y, J Gronow, et al. (1987). Women's participation of forest committees: case study. Forestry Research Paper Series, No. 11. Kathmandu, USAID/Nepal.

Raju, G, R Vaghela, et al. (1993). Development of People's Institutions for Management of Forests. Ahmedabad, India, Viksat, Nehru Foundation for Development.

Rangan, H (1995). “Contested boundaries: state policies, forest classifications, and deforestation in the Garhwal Himalayas.” Antipode 27(4): 343-362.

Deforestation in the Indian Himalayas is examined. It is typically argued that environmental decay in the Himalayas has been caused by deforestation practices that have overrun the indigenous culture's relationship with the land. Drawing on colonial & forestry histories, it is said that this notion misreads how these indigenous communities have farmed their land. Instead, it is argued that deforestation is not widespread, but located in communities with the social power & political ability to extract ecological resources from their surroundings. Specifically, following the Indian Forest Act of 1865, multiple groups, including indigenous landlords & merchants, sued the government in contest of the program's restrictions & eventually redefined forestry categories along regional & local rules favoring broad usage loopholes. It is concluded that these forestry practices represent a history of contestation & negotiation between state & local communities & that particular classes have played a fundamental role in shaping forest use, management, & conservation in the region. (Source)

Rangan, H (1996). From Chipko to Uttaranchal: development, environment, and social protest in the Garhwal Himalayas, India. in Liberation Ecologies: Environment, Development, Social Movements. R Peet and M Watts, Ed. London, Routledge.

Rangan, H (1997). “Property vs. control: the state and forest management in the Indian Himalaya.” Development and Change 28: 71-94.

The latest orthodoxy to emerge in environmental literature centres on the notion that state ownership of forests results in poor management and ecological degradation. Depending on their political persuasion, scholars, policy-makers and activists either advocate privatization of state forests, or demand their transferral to local communities as solutions for promoting sustainable forest management. This article argues that such proposals are flawed because they assume that ownership status determines the ways in which resources are used and managed. It argues that an analytical distinction needs to be made between property and control for understanding the complex interplay of social, economic, political and ecological factors that influence forest stock, composition and quality. Through a historical analysis of the development of state forestry in the Indian Himalaya, the article shows how state ownership of forests does not result in the monolithic imposition of proprietary rights, but emerges instead as an ensemble of access and management regimes. (SSCI)

Reddy, P (1994). Hunter-gatherers and the politics of environment and development in India. in Key Issues in Hunter-Gatherer ResearchEd. Providence, Berg: 357-375.

Robbins, P (1998). “Paper forests: imagining and deploying exogenous ecologies in arid India.” Geoforum 29(1): 59-86.

Debate about the causes and consequences of regional deforestation in India has paved the way for calls to action and intervention, and state-sponsored afforestation has led to government claims of progress against land degradation. Census statistics from the arid state of Rajasthan show a tide of forests reclaiming the land. These trends obscure crucial realities that continue to undermine the claims of the state: forest ecosystems continue to disappear, expanding cover is characterized by an ecologically narrow range of species, and forest management remains rooted in a decision structure that fails to educe local knowledge and experience. More fundamentally, the flaws in the Rajasthani forest campaign reflect an entrenched pattern that has long guided authorities in the region; to govern the landscape, the state must quite literally construct forests-as mental categories, discursive tropes, and material realities-where none have existed before. The material conditions of tree cover are, in this way, influenced by the discursive forms of forest imported into the region. This paper surveys the contradictory trends in Rajasthani land cover, interrogating the relationship between the forests that expand on paper and those that dwindle on the ground. In the process, the paper contributes to ongoing work in poststructural political ecology by asking how discourse matters in the reconstitution of material ecologies and by linking the construction of ecological categories to the formation of landscapes. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd.

Rodgers, WA (1994). “The sacred groves of Meghalaya.” Man in India 74(4): 339-348.

Saberwal, V (1996). “You can't grow timber and goats in the same patch of forest: grazing policy formulation in Himachal Pradesh, India, 1865-1960. Prepared for presentation at the workshop on Agrarian Environments: Resources, Representations and Rule in India, Program in Agrarian Studies, New Haven Yale University. May 2-4, 1997.” .

Sardar, S, Ed. (1995). Joint Management of Protected Areas in India. New Delhi, Indian Institute of Public Administration.

Sarin, M (1993). From conflict to collaboration: local institutions in joint forest management. New Delhi, National Support Group for JFM, APWD, and the Ford Foundation.

Sarin, M (1995). “Joint forest management in India: achievements and unaddressed challenges.” Unasylva 46(180): 30-36.

Schweik, C, K Adhikari, et al. (1997). “Land-cover change and forest institutions: a comparison of two sub-basins in the southern Siwalik Hills of Nepal.” Mountain Research and Development 17(2): 99- 116.

Land-cover change was studied in two adjacent sub-basins of the Kair Khola watershed in the Chitwan District of Nepal using air photographs and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). It was determined that between 1978 and 1992 dramatic forest conversion occurred in both sub-basins. However, the form of conversion differed significantly. In one sub-basin dense forest was most often converted to maize-based agriculture, while in the other dense forest most often became degraded forest. A village-level investigation of forest governance was undertaken to determine whether community and institutional arrangements explain the differences in land-cover change or whether they are the result of human response to physical and topographic influences alone. It was found that in both sub- basins there are similar institutional structures that are inadequate to control the overexploitation of forest resources and this common attribute, coupled with topographic differences, is responsible for the different forms of land- cover change in the area. Some policy recommendations based on these findings are presented. (Source)

Seabrook, J (1996). “ Development as Colonialism: The ODA in India.” Race and Class 37( 4): 13-29.

Assesses the current reality & future goals of GB's Overseas Development Administration's (ODA) forestry project in the western ghats of India. The ODA, in cooperation with the local Karnataka Forest Dept (KFD), sought to promote long-term conservation measures, employ new forest management approaches, & help those dependent on the forest to sustain the environment. Due to the failure of previous programs, the ODA attempted to enlist local support & cooperation; however, local approval declined as KFD authorities increasingly ignored local sentiment & conceded to the whims of the economic elite. Furthermore, the joint projects between the KFD & locals evidenced a gradual tendency toward total control by the KFD. Despite complex training efforts, it is argued that London-based training & initiatives fail to harmonize with local conservation criteria, & ODA has led to decreased local access to forest resources. Though it has provided useful conservation information & measures, many forest officials have succumbed to corruption & the project has adopted a proindustrial stance. T. Sevier (Copyright 1996, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)

Shankar, U, KS Murall, et al. (1998). “Extraction of non-timber forest products in the forests of Biligiri Rangan Hills, India: impact of floristic diversity and population structure in a thorn scrub forest.” Economic Botany 52(3): 302-315.

Shrestha, NK, G Kafle, et al. (1997). “Community forest user group networking and the emergence of a federation of community forestry users in Nepal.” Forests, Trees and People Newsletter 32.

Shrestha, RLJ (1986). Incentives and distribution of benefits in community forestry: the case of Nepal. in Community forestry: Lessons from case studies in Asia and the Pacific region. YS Rao, Ed. Bangkok, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific: 87-102.

Silwal, UK (1986). Attitude, awareness, & level of people's participation in the community forestry development program, Nepal. Forestry Research Paper Series, No.3, USAID/Nepal.

Singh, G (1997). “Sacred groves in western Himalaya: an eco-cultural imperative.” Man In India 77(2-3): 247-257.

Sivaramakrishnan, K (1995). “Colonialism and forestry in India: imagining the past in present.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 37(1): 3-40.

Somanathan, E (1991). “Deforestation, property rights, and incentives in Central Himalaya.” Economic and Political Weekly 26(4): 37-46.

Soussan, J (1991). “Planning for sustainability: access to fuelwood in Dhanusha district, Nepal.” World Development 19(10): 1299-1314.

This paper examines the problem of putting sustainable development ideas into practice through the detailed consideration of a recent fuelwood planning exercise in Dhanusha District in southern Nepal. The ways in which biomass fuels are produced and used are examined through their relationship to tenurial relations and proximity to the district's forest area. From this, the scale and nature of fuelwood problems are identified and a strategy to develop sustainable solutions to these problems is advanced. This strategy is based on the involvement of the local community at every stage of the planning process and the empowerment of local people through their direct control over decisions on the use of land and financial resources. The study concludes that sustainable planning is possible, but is far from easy. Above all, it depends on a different relationship between agencies of the state and the local communities which planning is intended to help. (Source)

Srivastava, R (1984). “Tribals of Madhya Pradesh and the forest bill of 1980.” Man in India 64(3): 320-327.

Tewari, DD and JY Campbell (1995). “Developing and sustaining non-timber forest products: some policy issues and concerns with special reference to India.” Journal of Sustainable Forestry 3(1): 53.

Wickramasinghe, A, MR Perez, et al. (1996). “Nontimber forest product gathering in Ritigala Forest (Sri Lanka): household strategies and community differentiation.” Human Ecology 24: 493-519.

Sri Lanka has a long tradition of forest product use. The relationship of people with a dry zone forest was studied using a sample of 48 households in two villages that varied in distance to the forest and access to the market. All households interviewed collected subsistence forest products and a majority of them also collected commercial products. The daily peak season income from commercial gathering was 4.5 to 7.7 times the daily labor wage. There is a strong gender specialization, with commercial gathering dominated by men whereas subsistence gathering is almost exclusively the task of women. The average forest derived household income in the village closer to the forest and with better market access was nearly double that of the other village. Family size as a proxy of labor availability was the main discriminating factor between those households who did and those who did not gather commercial products. A small inverse relationship between forest gathering and size of household agricultural land (particularly paddy rice) was observed. No clear relationship was found between total household income and forest derived income, contradicting the view that commercial forest gathering is an exclusive activity of the poorest households. (Source)

Yadama, GN (1997). “Tales from the field: observations on the impact of nongovernmental organizations.” International Social Work 40: 145-162.

The writer presents qualitative and quantitative evidence of the performance of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), based on a study of four community forestry programs in the Vishakapatnam District of Andhra Pradesh, India. He reviews some of the criticisms of NGOs, and he offers specific observations about the type of problems and issues that NGOs fail to address in community forestry programs and why these issues are neglected. He argues that among the factors contributing to NGO ineffectiveness are a lack of technical expertise, absence of mechanisms to deal with unfair market practices, neglect of social and economic disparities, and conflict and competition among NGOs. He concludes by suggesting possible ways of improving the effectiveness of NGOs. (Source)

IRRIGATION/WATERSHED:

Ahluwalia, M (1997). “Representing communities - the case of a community-based watershed management project in Rajasthan, India.” IDS Bulletin-Institute of Development Studies 28(4): 23.

In India donors, governmental and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are currently investing heavily in participatory watershed development, yet with only partial success. Focusing on a community-based watershed project in Rajasthan implemented by Seva Mandir, this article applies the tools of environmental entitlements analysis in a project evaluation mode to explore the effects of social difference on project experience and impact. Seva Mandir's investments in capabilities and social capital have successfully facilitated 'community' identity and action, across caste, class and gender differences, in the context of local political struggles; Yet natural resource management remains an arena of conflict: while certain stakeholders have benefited from sail and moisture conservation activities and the enclosure of commons, others - especially pastoralists and women - have faced high costs to their livelihoods. (SSCI)

Arya, SL and JS Samra (1995). “Participatory process and watershed management-a study of the Shiwalik foothill villages in Northern India.” Asia Pacific Journal of Rural Development 5( 2): 35-57.

Analyzes the process of participatory development in four community-based watershed projects in northern India, as well as the variations observable at different levels of communal & private property resources, based on interviews (N = 450 households) & secondary sources. It is concluded that the extent of stability & sustainability in the development process largely depends on the role that common property resources play at different levels of development, & how efficiently they are being managed. Participatory development, based on creating links between common & private property resources, is found to be sustainable. (Copyright 1997, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)

Baker, JM (1997). “Common property resource theory and the Kuhl irrigation systems of Himachal Pradesh, India.” Human Organization 56(2): 199-208.

Baviskar, A (1995). In the Belly of the River: Tribal Conflicts over Development in the Narmada Valley. Delhi, Oxford University Press.

Bolding, A, P-P Mollinga, et al. (1995). “Modules for modernisation: Colonial irrigation in India and the technological dimension of agrarian change.” Journal of Development Studies 31( 6): 805-844.

The role of irrigation in agrarian change during India's colonial period is examined through case study analysis of the Nira Left Bank Canal, 1900-1940. Three dimensions of the political economy of irrigation are discussed: (1) the role of the state in irrigation management; (2) the impact of different strata within the agrarian community on water control; & (3) the role of irrigation technology in water control. During the study period, the state introduced water management practices in the Nira Left Bank Canal ranging from block systems to volumetric water pricing & became a catalyst for agricultural modernization. Simultaneously, the state was recalcitrant to other manifestations of their interventions (eg, water distribution inequality) & allowed certain agricultural sectors, particularly sugar cane growers, to dominate the political economy. Liberalization policies created political & institutional spaces for changing accountability relations & agricultural price regimes relevant to water management problems. Debate on the success of the block systems continues today. 4 Figures, 122 References. Adapted from the source document. (Copyright 1996, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)

Chambers, R, NC Saxena, et al. (1989). To the Hands of the Poor: Water and Trees. New Delhi, Oxford.

Fonseca, AL and O Pereira (1990). “Watershed development: some reflections from a tribal area.” Social Action 40(3): 293-298.

The prospect of watershed development in Western Ghats, a tribal area of India, is examined; a protective irrigation program needs to be implemented immediately to make conservation attractive to the subsistence-level tribal farmers of the region. Following this implementation, solutions must be sought for problems of fodder shortage & free grazing, & the Forest Dept must revamp its forestation program to meet community needs. The problem of equitable long-term distribution of watershed benefits will eventually require a solution. (Copyright 1992, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)

Mamun, MZ (1996). “Awareness, preparedness and adjustment measures of river-bank erosion-prone people: A case study.” Disasters 20(1): 68-74.

In Bangladesh, people prone to the effects of riverbank erosion are well aware of the hazard, but see it as an unavoidable evil. Communities' lack of success in combating erosion can be attributed to their poverty & inability to mitigate its effects. Households in safer areas have reduced their dependency on agriculture & developed more scope for nonfarm activities; however, this is often difficult given the limited development of local enterprise. In an exploratory case study of the Hizla thana in the Barisal district, it is concluded that the major parameters that influence adjustment after erosion are the education, skills, occupation, & financial state of those affected. The most vulnerable are households dependent on agriculture, for whom resettlement to distant urban areas is not an option. 14 References. Adapted from the source document. (Copyright 1996, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)

Mosse, D (1997). “The symbolic making of a common property resource: history, ecology and locality in a tank-irrigated landscape in south India.” Development and Change 28(3): 467-504.

Today there is a pervasive policy consensus in favour of 'community management' approaches to common property resources such as forests and water. This is endorsed and legitimized by theories of collective action which, this article argues, produce distinctively ahistorical and apolitical constructions of 'locality', and impose a narrow definition of resources and economic interest. Through an historical and ethnographic exploration of indigenous tank irrigation systems in Tamil Nadu, the article challenges the economic-institutional modelling of common property systems in terms of sets of rules and co-operative equilibrium outcomes internally sustained by a structure of incentives. The article argues for a more historically and politically grounded understanding of resources, rights and entitlements and, using Bourdieu's notion of 'symbolic capital', argues for a reconception of common property which recognizes symbolic as well as material interests and resources. Tamil tank systems are viewed not only as sources of irrigation water, but as forming part of a village 'public domain' through which social relations are articulated, reproduced and challenged. But the symbolic 'production of locality' to which water systems contribute is also shaped by local ecology. The paper examines the historical and cultural production of two distinctive 'cultural ecologies'. This serves to illustrate the fusion of ecology and social identity, place and person, in local conceptions, and to challenge a currently influential thesis on the ecological-economic determinants of collective action. In short, development discourse and local actors are seen to have very different methods and purposes in the 'production of locality'. Finally, the article points to some practical implications of this for strategies of 'local institutional development' in irrigation. (Journal)

Pant, MP (1987). Community Participation in Irrigation Management: Case Study of Solma Irrigation Project in East Nepal. Kathmandu, Winrock International Institute.

Pimbert, M and B Gujja (1997). “Village voices challenging wetland management policies: experiences in participatory rural appraisal from India and Pakistan.” Nature and Resources 33(1): 34-42.

Effective management of two wetland areas on international importance for conservation - Keoladeo National Park in India and the Ucchali wetland complex in Pakistan - has been hampered by local opposition to existing wetland management policies and the threat of worsening conflict between villagers and conservation authorities. Participatory Rural Appraisals (PRAs) reveal that strict restrictions on the use of protected area resources by local communities, such as the banning of grazing in Keoladeo, were ecologically unsound as well as a threat to local livelihoods. Both PRAs have proved successful in terms of clarifying issues and in promoting experiential learning, yet to data have not demonstrated significant influence on changes at local or higher policy levels. Ultimately, such exercises should not by judged on their ability to remedy poorly designated and insensitive protected are schemes. Instead, it is their ability to address the underlying needs of local people, namely their opposition to existing unequal and in some instances illegitimate access to resources. It is these inequities that perpetuate the conflicts which the proposed joint management schemes attempt to mediate. The greatest challenge for policy-makers is for PRAs to be conducted with local communities before protected areas are formally established. Such measures would encourage joint management, reduce potential conflict and promote ecologically sound practice. (Source)

Wade, R (1995). “The ecological basis of irrigation institutions: East and South Asia.” World Development 23(12): 2041-2049.

The form and operation of canal irrigation institutions are strongly conditioned by a small set of ecological variables. The paper shows that contrasts and similarities in irrigation institutions between East Asia and South Asia can be related to differences and similarities in these variables. It also suggests that the tendency of social scientists and environmentalists to overlook ecological conditions can impair the usefulness of their policy suggestions on appropriate irrigation institutions (SSCI)

LAND TENURE/PROPERTY RIGHTS/COMMONS:

Agarwal, B (1994). “Gender, resistance and land: interlinked struggles over resources and meanings in South Asia.” Journal of Peasant Studies 22(1): 81-125.

Arnold, JEM and WC Stewart (1991). Common property resource management in India. OFI Tropical Forestry Paper 24, Oxford Forestry Institute, Oxford.

Beck, T (1994). “Common property resource access by poor and class conflict in West Bengal.” Economic and Political Weekly 29(4): 187.

Blaikie, PM, JC Harriss, et al. (1986). The management and use of common property resources in Tamil Nadu. Proceedings of the Conference on Common Property Resource Management, Washington, National Academy Press.

Chopra, K, GK Kadekodi, et al. (1990). Participatory Development: An Approach to the Management of Common Property Resources. New Delhi, Sage Publications.

Commander, S (1986). Managing Indian forests: a case for the reform of property rights. Social Forestry Network Paper 3b. London, Overseas Development Institute.

Gadgil, M and P Iyer (1989). On the diversification of common-property resource use by Indian society. in Common Property Resources: Ecology and Community Based Sustainable Development. F Berkes, Ed. London, Bellhaven: 240-255.

Gupta, AK (1986). Socio-ecology of Stress: Why do Common Property Resource Management Projects Fail? Proceedings of the Conference on Common Property Resource Management, Washington, National Academy Press.

Jodha, NS (1990). “Rural common property resources: contributions and crisis.” Economic and Political Weekly 30 June: A-65: A-76.

Singh, K (1990). “Common property resources management.” Cases in Rural Management #1, Institute of Rural Management, Anand, India.

Somanathan, E (1991). “Deforestation, property rights, and incentives in Central Himalaya.” Economic and Political Weekly 26(4): 37-46.

Wade, R (1986). Common property resource management in South Indian villages. Proceedings of the Conference on Common Property Resource Management, Washington, National Academy Press.

Wade, R (1987). “The management of common property resources: finding a cooperative solution.” World Bank Research Observer 2(2): 219-234.

Wade, R (1988). Village Republics: Economic Conditions for Collective Action in South India. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

MARINE/FISHERIES:

Toufique, K (1997). “Some observations on power and property rights in the inland fisheries of Bangladesh.” World Development 25(3): 457-467.

This paper examines the causes behind the failure of the fishermen to establish property rights over fishing grounds in the inland fisheries of Bangladesh. Property rights are eventually transferred to socially powerful agents called the lessees who are not part of the fishing community. Differential costs of establishing and maintaining property rights have been observed as the key element behind the transfer of rights. This differential cost stems from power asymmetries and consequently more rent is generally realizable by the lessees. Differential capacity to realize rent creates the potential for an exchange of rights between them (Source)

MOUNTAIN:

Allan, NJR (1991). “From autarky to dependency: society and habitat relations in the South Asian mountain rimland.” Mountain Research and Development 11(1): 65-74.

Basnet, K (1992). “Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) national park: conservation for sustainable development.” Contributions to Nepalese Studies 19(1): 121-127.

Brower, B (1990). “Crisis and conservation in Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal.” Society and Natural Resources 4: 151-163.

Brower, B (1990). “Range conservation and Sherpa livestock management in Khumbu, Nepal.” Mountain Research and Development 10(1): 34-42.

Brown, K (1998). “The political ecology of biodiversity, conservation and development in Nepal's Terai: Confused meanings, means and ends.” Ecological Economics 24(1): 73-87.

The term biodiversity is now prominent in the global environment and development discourse, and increasingly influences conservation and development policy. Yet biodiversity is fraught with contested definitions and uncertainty. This paper examines some of the difficulties that the multi-dimensional nature of the concept poses in devising conservation and development policies. It explores these issues with reference to field-based research in Nepal. The case study identifies the different interest groups and stakeholders involved in biodiversity conservation and analyses the policy prescriptions they promote. It highlights inadequacies in scientific understanding of the dynamics of complex systems; the lack of historic data on resource use; and crucially, the use/misuse of existing data by different interests. Conventional wisdom dictates that local people's utilisation of resources in areas where biodiversity is high is in conflict with conservation and tourism. Access to and extraction of resources are therefore strictly controlled. The conceptualisation of biodiversity, the causes of its degradation and the solutions offered by conservation stakeholders thus has implications not only for conservation, but critically for the livelihoods and welfare of people in poor countries. (Author)

Burton, S, H Schreier, et al. (1990). “Analysis of land-use options in Chitawan, Nepal.” Mountain Research and Development 10(1): 73-87.

Byers, A (1985). “Resource management in the arid Himalaya: problems and prospective solutions.” Contributions to Nepalese studies 12(3): 107-136.

Byers, AC (1996). “Historical and contemporary human disturbance in the upper Barun valley, Makalu-Barun National Park and Conservation Area, east Nepal.” Mountain Research and Development 16(3): 235-247.

Dhar, U, R Rawal, et al. (1999). “People's participation in Himalayan biodiversity conservation: a practical approach.” Current Science 76(1): 36-40.

In the Himalaya, the existing attempts to conserve biodiversity, are inadequate and therefore innovative changes in policies and programmes are called for so as to focus greater attention on people's participation. Harnessing people's creativity and energies through participatory programmes will go a long way in furthering the cause of conservation. Recognizing the importance of this approach, G. B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development (Conservation of Biological Diversity Core Group) initiated a programme in 1995 focusing on school/college students and teachers. The programme envisages to involve and seek public support at different levels starting from the identification of area-specific issues to development ann dissemination of conservation packages. The concept and achievements of the programme are detailed in the paper. (SSCI)

Exo, S (1990). “Local resource management in Nepal: limitations and prospects.” Mountain Research and Development 10(1): 16-22.

Fox, J, C Nurbu, et al. (1994). “Wildlife conservation and land-use changes in the Transhimalayan region of Ladakh, India.” Mountain Research and Development 14(1): 39-60.

Changes in economy and land use are under way in die Indian Transhimalayan region of Ladakh, creating both negative and positive prospects for wildlife conservation in this sparsely populated and previously remote area. New livestock breeds, irrigation developments, farming practices, foreign tourists, and a large military presence are changing the way people view and use die mountainous land that surrounds them. With only 0.3% of the land currently arable, changes in wildlife and natural resource conservation are most apparent on Ladakh's extensive rangelands which are apparently undergoing a redistribution of use associated with social changes and recently introduced animal husbandry and farming practices. Internationally endangered species such as the snow leopard, several wild ungulates, and the black-necked crane provide special incentive for conservation efforts in what are some of the best remaining natural areas in the mountainous regions to the north of the Himalayan crest. The success of newly created protected areas for wildlife conservation in Ladakh rests on an understanding of the effects of various development directions, a commitment to environmentally sensitive development amid the many competing demands on Ladakh's natural resources, conservation laws appropriate to human needs, and a clear recognition that solutions can be neither directly adaptable from other mountainous areas nor even widely applicable across the Himalayan region. (Author)

Gurung, B (1992). “Towards sustainable development: A case in the eastern Himalayas.” Futures 24(907-916).

Guthman, J (1997). “Representing crisis: the theory of Himalayan environmental degradation and the project of development in the post-Rana Nepal.” Development and Change 28(1): 45-69.

Erik Eckholm is attributed with having popularized a theory of environmental crisis in the Nepal Himalaya. In his treatise Losing Ground (1976), he links population growth to contemporary upland deforestation and soil erosion, which are presumed to cause downstream flooding and silting. Since the 1980s, this theory has come under intense criticism on empirical, theoretical and ideological grounds, although it remains a sacred cow in the popular-press. A historiography of the theory reveals that representations of and discourses on the nature and extent of environmental degradation have been an important dimension of three distinct aid regimes that shaped the post-World War II development project in Nepal. As such, within specific historical and institutional constellations, some conclusions have seemed more tenable than others, and certain interventions have become more

legitimate. Moreover, the production of environmental interventions is intimately connected to the production of environmental knowledge, both of which are intrinsically bound up with power relations. Therefore, the facts about environmental deterioration have become subordinate to the broader debates on the politics of resource use and sustainable development. (SSCI)

Haffner, W (1989). “Adapted land use and overexploitation of natural resources in Gorkha.” Contributions to Nepalese Studies 16(1): 21-26.

Hough, J and M Sherpa (1989). “Bottom up Vs basic needs - integrating conservation and development in the Annapurna and Michiru Mountain conservation areas of Nepal and Malawi.” Ambio 18(8): 434- 441.

Ives, JD and B Messerli (1989). The Himalayan Dilemma: Reconciling Development and Conservation. London, Routledge.

Karan, P (1989). “Environment and development in Sikkim Himalaya: a review.” Human Ecology 17(2): 257-271.

Lehmkuhl, JF, RK Upreti, et al. (1988). “National parks and local development: grasses and people in Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal.” Environmental Conservation 15(2): 143-148.

Melkania, NP and SL Shah (1988). “Social aspects of soil conservation and afforestation projects in Civil/Soyam and Panchayat lands in Central Himalaya.” Man and Development 10(3): 68-80.

Messerschmidt, D (1990). “Indigenous environmental management and adaptation: an introduction to four case studies from Nepal.” Mountain Research and Development 10(1): 3-4.

Messerschmidt, DA (1986). People and resources in Nepal: Customary resource management systems of the Upper Kali Gandaki. Proceedings of the Conference on Common Property Resource Management, Washington, National Academy Press.

Metz, JJ (1990). “Conservation practices at an upper-elevation village of West Nepal.” Mountain Research and Development 10(1): 7-15.

Sherpa, LN (1988). Conservation and managing biological resources in Sapamatha (Mt. Everest) National Park, Nepal. Honolulu, East-West Center.

Stevens, S (1993). “Tourism, change, and continuity in Mount Everest region, Nepal.” Geographical Review 83(4): 410-427.

The Sherpa-inhabited Mount Everest region of Nepal has become a leading center of Himalayan tourism. This article examines the increasing role of tourism in the Sherpa economy and assesses changes in landuse, environment, and culture. As a result of tourism, the standard of living of most of the population has risen without severe environmental or cultural effects. Increasing regional differentiation in wealth, inflation, out-migration, and changes in pastoralism and forest use may have long-term adverse effects. Efforts are now under way to address some tourism-associated environmental problems (Source)

Stevens, SF and MN Sherpa (1993). Indigenous peoples and protected areas: new approaches to conservation in highland Nepal. in Parks, Peaks and People. LS Hamilton, DP Bauer and HF Takeuchi, Ed. Honolulu, East West Center.

Stone, L (1990). “Conservation and human resources: comments on four case studies from Nepal.” Mountain Research and Development 10(1): 5-6.

Wells, M (1994). A profile and interim assessment of the Annapurna Conservation Area Project, Nepal. in Natural Connections: Perspectives in Community-based Conservation. D Western and RM Wright, Ed. Washington DC, Island Press.

Wiley, A (1997). “A role for biology in the cultural ecology of Ladakh.” Human Ecology 25(2): 273-295.

Human ecology research in the high-altitude region of Ladakh (northern India) has tended to focus on the adaptive significance of Ladakhi social institutions given a natural environment characterized by numerous challenges. This research appears to lead to the conclusion that traditionally-living Ladakhis are in a state of well-being and harmonious balance with their environment, as social institutions such as polyandry constrain fertility to keep the population size in check relative to constrained resources. There has been little research on biological adaptation in Ladakh, and the view from biology presents a very different picture of the relationship between Ladakhis and their environment. Data presented here show that the health of reproductive women and infants is compromised by both natural and social factors. Since reproductive health is crucial to the production of future generations, it is argued that mortality plays a major role in constraining population growth in Ladakh, and may be due to the limited biological history that Ladakhis have in this high-altitude region. This may also help us understand Ladakhi patterns in relation to those observed in the Andes. (Journal)

Yonzon, PB and ML Hunter (1991). “Cheese, tourists, and red pandas in the Nepal Himalayas.” Conservation Biology 5: 196-202.

PASTORAL:

Agrawal, A (1993). “Mobility and cooperation among nomadic shepherds - the case of the raikas.” Human Ecology 21(3): 261- 279.

This paper describes and then analyzes the decision-making arrangements that prevail among the Raikas-nomadic shepherds from Western India. The paper suggests, using a simple analytical framework, that the existing distribution of decision-making during migration helps the Raikas to utilize available economies of scale, represent the different interest groups in their collectives, and control their decision-makers. At the same time, the ordinary shepherds in the camp are able to extract a comfortable subsistence from a complex and harsh environment by delegating much of their decision-making responsibilities to the leaders in the camp. To the extent shepherds in other parts of the world migrate over long distances and must confront similar issues of delegation of responsibilities and control over decision-makers, the analysis holds general relevance. (Sociofile)

Agrawal, A (1994). “Mobility and control among nomadic shepherds - the case of the raikas 2.” Human Ecology 22(2): 131- 144.

This paper analyzes the relationship between leaders and ordinary shepherds among the raikas-nomadic shepherds from western India. It uses a neo-institutional perspective to show how control over information is crucial if shepherds are to prevent their leader from misusing the extensive powers he possesses to make decisions on their behalf. Control over information is not, however, sufficient. The paper argues that shepherds must also possess the capacity to impose sanctions if their leader oversteps the bounds of delegated decision-making authority. The paper highlights the importance of politics and the divergent interests of the shepherds and their leaders. In so doing, it allows inquiry into a system of social interactions that is characterized by conflicting interests and the negotiation of conflict, but is often perceived as harmonious. At the same time, the investigation offers new insights into other social situations structured principal- agent relationships. (Sociofile)

Agrawal, A (1999). Greener Pastures: Exchange, Politics and Community among a Mobile Pastoral People. Durham, Duke University Press.

Brower, B (1990). “Range conservation and Sherpa livestock management in Khumbu, Nepal.” Mountain Research and Development 10(1): 34-42.

Brown, K (1997). “Plain tales from the grasslands: extraction, value and utilization of biomass in Royal Bardia National Park, Nepal.” Biodiversity and Conservation 6(1): 59-74.

Royal Bardia National Park in Southern Nepal contains a number of internationally endangered wildlife species, and a mix of habitats, including areas of grassland known as phantas. The conservation and current use of these areas is briefly described, including the extraction of grass from inside the National Park by local people living in adjacent villages. The products collected fulfil a range of human needs, both practical and ceremonial. The study attempts to quantify the annual offtake in both material and monetary terms, and comments on the sustainability of the practice. Alternative sources of roofing materials are apparently outside the scope of poorer households. The use of these materials has particular significance given the initiation of a Parks and People Project to implement a Buffer Zone around the National Park and effectively to link conservation and development needs. (Author)

Butz, D (1996). “Sustaining indigenous communities: symbolic and instrumental dimensions of pastoral resource use in Shimshal, northern Pakistan.” The Canadian Geographer 40: 36-53.

Livestock herding in Shimshal, an indigenous mountain community in Pakistan, is examined, with particular attention being given to the considerations that inform herding decisions. Ethnographic fieldwork in Shimshal uncovers instrumental and symbolic categories of consideration, and Habermas's theory of communicative action forms a basis for reformulating these categories into a set of conceptually integrated ideal types of resources and for arguing that instrumental and symbolic resources provide motivations toward consumption and conservation, respectively. Two examples of outside interventions into Shimshal's pastoral ecology an initiative by the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme to de emphasize transhumant herding of sheep, goats, and yaks in favor of stall fed cattle and a proposal by the Directorate for the Khunjerab National Park to incorporate most of Shimshal's pastures into an adjacent wilderness park reveal the shortcomings of conceptualizing indigenous resource use in purely instrumental terms. (Author)

Casimir, M and A Rao (1998). “Sustainable herd management and the tragedy of no man's land: an analysis of west Himalayan pastures using remote sensing techniques.” Human Ecology 26(1): 113-134.

Using ground truth and remote sensing data this paper tries to demonstrate once again that commons as well as privately owned pastures all managed by their appropriators in such a manner that sustainability as a goal can be approached, while areas not recognized as controlled by one or more legitimate persons and hence open to all may well be overexploited. The analysis of pastures which are recognized as commons in the western Liddar valley in Kashmir (India) shows that these lands are not overexploited by the nomadic and transhumant pastoralists using them. On the whole, individually owned pastures were also not found to be overstocked. Those plots, however, through which all herders transit on their bi-annual migration and which are not recognized as being owned by any authority are highly degraded. (Journal)

Malhotra, SP and DK Saha (1985). “Leaders' perception towards arid land development.” Man and Life 11(3-4): 171-178.

Robbins, P (1998). “Nomadization in Rajasthan, India: migration, institutions, and economy.” Human Ecology 26(1): 87-112.

Despite a global trend toward settlement the incidence of pastoral nomadism is on the rise in the Marwar region of Rajasthan, India. Typical explanations for this change use models of population pressure; increasing herds and decreasing pasture are held to blame. This explanation, however intuitive, is unsatisfactory. Instead changing institutional and economic patterns are creating new contexts for strategic movement. Bottleneck in the yearly resource calendar caused by the disintegration of obligatory social relationships, force migrations during periods of scarcity. Changes in the volume and pattern of the meat and wool markets have also created opportunities for migrating pastoralists. Producers increase their access to markets and the reproductive rate of their herd through long, annual: migration. While nomadism is a general adaptation to changes in the socioeconomic conditions of the region, differential resource endowments account for the range of strategies; wealthy herders have opportunities not enjoyed by more marginal producers. (Sociofile)

Saberwal, V (1996). “Pastoral politics: gaddi grazing, degradation, and biodiversity conservation in Himachal Pradesh, India.” Conservation Biology 10(3): 741- 749.

Two assumptions underlie the current conservation focus worldwide. The first is that democratic governments can restrict human resource use within protected areas, and the second is that human land use for subsistence leads to degradation and is incompatible with the maintenance of high levels of biological diversity. An examination of official policy documents over the past century indicates that Gaddi borders of Himachal Pradesh, northwestern Indian Himalaya, have used political influence to circumvent bureaucratic policies of exclusion and that there is an absence of scientific evidence to support the notion that Gaddi grazing leads to land degradation. Although grazing intensity has profoundly shaped the structure and composition of the Siwalik forests (the Gaddi winter grazing grounds), as demonstrated by transect-based data presented here, deviations from a supposed ''climax'' community need not constitute degradation. A growing rather than declining cattle population attests to the regenerative capacities of these forest. Within the alpine meadows graced by the Gaddi in summer, mean plant species richness increased along transects originating at border camps and extending 250 m north of herder camp site. Intense grazing pressure or heavy manuring by livestock bedded at night are likely to be responsible for the observed low species diversity adjacent to the campsite, but the effect is insignificant at the level of the overall landscape. interviews with herders also suggest the presence of a sizable, though hunted, mammalian fauna in these high altitude meadows. Recognition of the difficulties associated with implementing restrictive policies, and the fact that human land-use practices need not lead to degradation or to a decline in biological diversity, should lead to more inclusive conservation policies within protected areas as well as an expansion of the conservation focus beyond protected-area boundaries. (Journal)

Scoones, I (1989). “Economic and ecological carrying capacity: implications for livestock development in Zimbabwe's communal areas.” Pastoral Development Network Paper 27b. London: Overseas Development Institute.

Ura, K (1993). “Gambling for sustainability - local institutions for pasture management in Bhutan.” Forest Trees and People Newsletter 22.

PROTECTED AREA:

Basnet, K (1992). “Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) national park: conservation for sustainable development.” Contributions to Nepalese Studies 19(1): 121-127.

Brower, B (1990). “Crisis and conservation in Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal.” Society and Natural Resources 4: 151-163.

Brown, K (1997). “Plain tales from the grasslands: extraction, value and utilization of biomass in Royal Bardia National Park, Nepal.” Biodiversity and Conservation 6(1): 59-74.

Brown, K, RK Turner, et al. (1997). “Environmental carrying capacity and tourism development in the Maldives and Nepal.” Environmental Conservation 24(4): 316-325.

Tourism is regarded by many countries, particularly resource-poor countries, as a potential stimulus to the economy. Yet tourism, by the nature of the activities involved, is constrained by the natural resource base and infrastructure, and by the pollution and other environmental and social impacts of tourist numbers. Tourism development strategies of national governments have been diverse in the face of this complex relationship between the economic costs and benefits of tourism. This paper examines tourist development based on concepts of open access and renewable natural resources. The experiences of two economies highly dependent on tourism, the Maldives and Nepal, are compared and contrasted. Although these countries offer very different attractions to tourists, they are faced with similar problems in terms of adverse environmental impacts of tourism. The dominant impacts in both areas are those associated with solid waste disposal and water resources, compounded by the depletion of natural resources. Both countries are currently employing 'dispersal' techniques to overcome the adverse impacts of tourism, but such strategies do not address the fundamental problem of maintaining tourism revenues whilst minimizing environmental damage. Even if an ecological carrying capacity can be defined, the experiences of these two countries indicate that impacts on local communities may well exceed so-called cultural carrying capacity. (Author)

Fox, J, P Yonzon, et al. (1996). “Mapping conflicts between biodiversity and human needs in Langtang national park, Nepal.” Conservation Biology 10(2): 562-569.

We mapped areas of congruence and conflict between the objectives of protecting red pandas (Ailurus fulgens) and meeting the claims and needs of people who live in and around Langtang National Park, Nepal. Semi-structured interviews were used to solicit information on land-use practices, and spatial information technology (sketch maps, satellite images, geographical information systems) was used to place these practices in a spatial contest and to model the effects of grazing. Spatial information technology was useful for delineating areas where conflicts occur between the objectives of preserving biodiversity and meeting the needs of local residents. Despite the fact that villagers recognize pasture boundaries, rules and regulations govern pasture management, and sanctions are imposed on violators, over 60% of the red panda's habitat is heavily grazed, and all available land within the study site suitable for grazing is already being used. The study suggests that common property management of natural resources to protect biodiversity (i.e., red pandas) and meet the needs of local people at the same time will be difficult. (Source)

Gunatilake, HM (1994). “An economic impact assessment of the proposed conservation programme on peripheral communities of the Knuckles national wilderness area of Sri Lanka.” Journal of Sustainable Forestry 2: 1-12.

Heinen, J and B Kattel (1992). “Parks, people, and conservation - a review of management issues in Nepal protected areas.” Population and Environment 14(1): 49-84.

Heinen, J and B Kattel (1992). “A review of conservation legislation in Nepal - past progress and future needs.” Environmental Management 16(6): 723-733.

Nepal is considered a leader among developing nations with regard to conservation legislation and programs; it was among the first Asian nations to develop national conservation legislation, sign CITES, and develop a national conservation strategy. We review the history of modern conservation law in Nepal from the Rana period (early 1950s) to the present. The early legislation focused mainly on strict preservation of areas and species; this phase culminated in the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act of 1973. Subsequent legislation has evolved more in the direction of an integrated, holistic approach to conservation and is beginning to incorporate the participation of local people; subsequent amendments to the 1973 act allowed greater rights to rural villagers, and the designation of conservation areas in addition to the more strictly defined protected areas (national parks, wildlife reserves, etc.). Our review of conservation legislation suggests that Nepal has had many successes to date; the country has a protected area system covering over 10% of its land area, and many target species are recovering in parks and reserves. There are also some causes of concern, including staff shortages, financial constraints within the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, and the fact that there is little legal infrastructure outside of protected areas to enforce conservation laws; further, some aspects of hunting regulations are in need of revision. Primary needs include a comprehensive review of these policies and a nationalized strategy to ameliorate the shortcomings. (Author)

Heinen, JT (1993). “Park-people relations in Kosi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Nepal: a socio-economic analysis.” Environmental Conservation 20(1): 25-34.

Park-people interactions in Kosi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, located in the lowlands of Southeastern Nepal, were studied intensively over a two-years' period from 1986 to 1988, through a variety of economic and attitudinal surveys. The Reserve had been established for the conservation of wild Water Buffalo and migratory water-fowl, and protects some of the most important wetland habitat in Nepal; it is therefore vital for the conservation of biodiversity on a national and regional level. The results showed that people in the area are dependent on the Reserve for the collection of grasses etc. which they use as building materials, while the Reserve provides fish which are sold cheaply in local markets. Other products, such as fuel-wood, edible and medicinal plants, and seeds, are occasionally collected legally in the Reserve. Despite the measurable benefits, attitudes about the Reserve are generally poor in the region, at least among local inhabitants who do not understand its main raisons d'etre. The best predictors of attitudes were the caste or ethnic group and the literacy rate of the family of the respondent, and not the socio-economic standing of, or the direct cost to, the respondent due to crop damage by wildlife. These results suggest that religious inculcation, societal discrimination, and education, may all play a role in shaping attitudes and therefore influencing park-people relations. Short-term solutions to park-people conflicts should include more education and extension programmes on the part of the Reserve's management, and legal efforts to return at least some control to local villages. (Author)

Heinen, JT and B Kattel (1992). “Parks, people and conservation: a review of management issues in Nepal's protected areas.” Population and Environment 14(1): 49-84.

Keiter, R (1995). “Preserving Nepal's national parks: law and conservation in the developing world.” Ecology and Law Quarterly 22(3): 591-675.

Kotharia, A, N Singh, et al. (1996). People and Protected Areas: Towards Participatory Conservation in India. New Delhi, Sage Publications.

Lehmkuhl, JF, RK Upreti, et al. (1988). “National parks and local development: grasses and people in Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal.” Environmental Conservation 15(2): 143-148.

Mishra, HR (1982). “Balancing human needs and conservation in Nepal's Royal Chitwan National Park.” Ambio 11(5): 246-251.

Nepal, S and K Weber (1994). “A buffer zone for biodiversity conservation - viability of the concept in Nepal's Royal Chitwan National Park.” Environmental Conservation 21(4): 333-341.

A buffer zone for RCNP is considered an effective means to mitigate and contain the Park-local people conflict. Its creation adjacent to the National Park will enable local people to engage in multiple use activities that will provide benefits not only to themselves but protect the Park's integrity as well. Except for the much-degraded Barandabar Forest, the other small parcels of forest that exist around the Royal Chitwan National Park are highly inadequate to provide additional wildlife protection and environmental conservation. RCNP does not have any area that, to date, is exclusively designated as a buffer zone. The Barandabar Forest is still envisaged as an additional protection to the Park, although continual grazing, lopping of branches and twigs from trees, and timber extraction, by the local people, have extensively diminished its biological values. Before our survey, the majority of local people did not have any idea of a buffer zone and its potential benefits. When briefed elaborately, very few people seemed to be optimistic about its feasibility. The Rapti river-banks were indicated as the potential areas. The southern riverbank could be developed as an extended habitat for large animal wildlife, while the northern bank could be developed as a 'socio-buffer'. However, two practical constraints, namely frequent flooding and ownership of barren land, will have to be resolved if the Rapti river-banks are to be converted into a buffer zone. Adjoining these would be the existing Barandabar Forest, whose proper restoration, control, and management, are indispensable. The local people indicated fodder and firewood as their main criteria for the establishment of a buffer zone, followed by flooding which was a major problem in the vicinity of RCNP. Some examples in the study-area illustrated that local people had been capable of managing natural resources by themselves. It was emphasized that local people should be put in charge of managing the buffer zone - especially those to whom conservation seemed a natural, inborn concern. In the event of its establishment, many local people were willing to assume a shared management responsibility. Their willingness was determined by their age, level of education, volume of crop-loss, household size, and land-holding size. Strong support from the concerned government agencies is very important indeed, as they will have to provide technical guidance. Bestowing the responsibility upon a high-level authority would be unwise, as the local people would most probably perceive it as yet another restriction imposed on their traditional rights for example to use the Barandabar Forest. A small-scale and less detailed buffer zone project would be feasible, that would be facilitated by people's support in the long run, relying on local initiative and mobilizing extant institutional mechanisms to perform related .The use of GIS technology has become widely prominent in spatial modelling. It can contribute significantly to identifying and delineating a buffer zone for a protected area, taking into consideration several complex biophysical and socio-economic criteria.The interplay of these criteria in a GIS context could produce several alternatives for planning and designing a buffer zone for RCNP. (Journal)

Nepal, S and K Weber (1995). “Managing resources and resolving conflicts: national parks and local people.” International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology 2(1): 11-25.

One of the major management problems in protected areas of developing nations is the ever more intensifying land use disputes with local, often native, people. The customary rights of local people over natural resources, if curtailed by the establishment of national parks, and their disregard by decision-makers, have given rise to open conflicts, thus jeopardizing conservation goals. These conflicts have tremendous impact on the management of natural resources, not only within the park ecosystem but also in its surroundings. To attain the interdependent goals of conservation and sustainable development, such disputes must be promptly and consensually settled. This paper briefly discusses the paradigm of national park establishment and its impact on local livelihood. It then highlights major sources of conflict which have occurred in national parks in developing countries. Some theoretical approaches to conflict resolution as relevant to national parks are summarized, and several strategies, as employed in particular situations, are discussed. It is concluded that an in-depth understanding of human ecology beyond the boundaries of parks and the conceptualization of strategies to resolve the innate problems are imperative. The integration of several strategies is deemed essential in order to address issues comprehensively and on a larger scale. (Author)

Nepal, S and K Weber (1995). “The quandary of local people-park relations in Nepal's Royal Chitwan National Park.” Environmental Management 19(6): 853-866.

This paper analyzes five major causes of park-people conflicts that have occurred in Nepal's Royal Chitwan National Park. The causes include illegal transactions of forest products from the park, livestock grazing in the park, illegal hunting and fishing, crop damage, and threats to human and animal life caused by wild animals from the park. The conflicts indicate a reciprocal relationship between the park and local people. They reflect the attitudes of local people and representatives of the park authority whose priorities and objectives largely diverge. The results show that people settled adjacent to the park are heavily dependent on its resources. Even in places where some, albeit few alternative sources exist, local people continue to trespass the park boundary as these sources are inadequate to ensure the fulfillment of local people's resource needs. Illegal transactions of resources continue throughout the year; however, they are less intense during summer due to flooding caused by the Rapti River, which forms the park boundary towards the northern section where this study is conducted. The frequency of local people's visits to the park is mainly determined by their age, distance between homesteads and park, and volume of crop loss caused by wild animals. Crop damage is the function of size of landholding, distance, and frequency of crop raid. Local people claim that they have no intention of letting their livestock graze in the park; however, the dense vegetation of the park attracts livestock grazing on riverbanks just outside the open park boundary. Many head of livestock are killed by carnivores of the park. Human casualties are mainly caused by sloth bear (Melursus ursinus), tiger (Panthera tigris), wild pig (Sus scrofa), and rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis). There had been some earlier attempts to reconcile the conflicts by offering local people different kinds of compensations; however, these were unsuccessful measures. An integrated approach is essential if efforts to resolve the park-people conflicts are to succeed. The government is in the process of launching a project that aims to resolve the inherent problems with such an approach. Suggestions are made to incorporate some key elements, such as maintaining effective communication between various parties and the potential for wildlife conservation among local people. (Source)

Pandey, S and M Wells (1997). “Ecodevelopment planning at India's Great Himalayan National Park for biodiversity conservation and participatory rural development.” Biodiversity and Conservation 6(9): 1277-1292.

The existing network of Protected Areas (PAs) in India is the major effort aimed at biodiversity conservation at the national level. The sustainability of PAs is heavily influenced by local people who are largely dependent on natural resources (fuel, fodder, minor forest products) for their livelihood. While all PAs are surrounded by historically resource-dependent communities, several of them have villages within their core areas, too. This has necessitated an alternative approach to natural resource management which aims to integrate the interests of conservation with those of the nearby resource dependent communities. The case of the Great Himalayan National Park illustrates and incorporates the lessons from Integrated Conservation and Development Projects (ICDPs) implemented elsewhere in the world. (Journal)

Raval, S (1994). “Wheel of life: perceptions and concerns of the resident peoples for Gir National Park in India.” Society and Natural Resources 7(4): 305-320.

As we recognize the need to understand the concerns of the resident peoples of a national park, we also face the challenge of studying these concerns systematically. This paper discusses the research conducted to understand resource use and management issues from the perspectives of the resident peoples, mainly the semitribal cattle herders, living in and around Gir National Park in India. Preliminary analysis of qualitative data, generated primarily through structured in-depth interviews, suggests that the resident peoples' views of the park are unique because of their inherent love for the land and their religious attitudes. Their responses shed light on misconceptions about their concerns and suggest pragmatic solutions for resource management issues. Pertinent literature review, theoretical framework, and issues of the study area are discussed. Research approach, results, conclusions, implications, and recommendations for resource management planning and research are also presented. (Author)

Sharma, UR (1990). “An overview of park-people interactions in Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal.” Landscape and Urban Planning 19: 133-144.

Sharma, UR and WW Shaw (1993). “Role of Nepal's Royal Chitwan National Park in meeting the grazing and fodder needs of local people.” Environmental Conservation 20(2): 139-142.

It has been increasingly accepted that park management policies in some countries should allow for limited access to park resources by the local people to meet their subsistence and cultural needs. However, too much access to the natural resources of a park may simply cause people to rely on the park resource and manage their own lands less intensively than hitherto. The issue of illegal livestock-grazing and fodder-cutting in Royal Chitwan National Park (RCNP) by local people is examined. The study area was comprised of 16 village units having an estimated population of 148,404 people in 21,621 households. Despite the presence of a large number of armed guards, the data from interviews with farmers indicated that illegal livestock-grazing and fodder-cutting in RCNP were prevalent. In the spring season, grazing intensity on the Park was higher than in other seasons, whereas cutting of fodder was intense in both winter and spring seasons. The actual monitoring of 11 patches (totalling 365 ha) of grasslands or savanna for a calendar year inside the Park but near its boundary, indicated that illegal grazing averaged 4.1 head per ha (3.0 cattle, 0.9 buffalo, and 0.2 sheep/goats). In addition, the livestock biomass was found to be increasing by 2.36% per annum in Park-adjoining villages. There is some evidence that villagers adapt their livestock practices in response to the availability (illegal) of grazing in, and fodder-removal from, the Park. The pressures for illegal access to park resources will continue to grow and eventually will exceed the capacity of the resource to recover from harvest. The best approach. to resolve this illegal livestock grazing issue is neither strict protection nor widely-expanded access. The Park should consistently work to induce a gradual behavioural change, on the part of the farmers, to stall-feed livestock from fodder originating from their own farms and/or from community plantation. (Author)

Sjoblom, D and A Singh (1993). “An indigenous land tenure system is revived to rehabilitate a protected area - the case of Sariska National Park in Rajasthan.” Forests, Trees and People Newsletter 22: 28-30.

Studsrod, J and P Wegge (1995). “Park-people relationships: the case of damage caused by park animals around the Royal Bardia national park, Nepal.” Environmental Conservation 22(2): 133-142.

Crop damage and livestock predation were a serious problem in three Village Development Committees (VDCs) situated adjacent to the Southwestern Part of the Royal Bardia National Park. The seriousness of crop and livestock losses varied considerably with the distance from the Park's border and the specific location of farms. This was explained by the variations in the distribution of animal wildlife inside the Park, the presence of natural and Man-made barriers, the availability of forested areas outside the Park, and the agricultural cropping pattern. Adjacent to the section of the Park with the highest animal densities, crop losses varied from 47% for Lentil to 24% for Wheat. Farther away, the extent of crop losses was reduced. In the 'Far' zone situated 2-8 km from the Park, only 3% of the Paddy was reported lost. Two wildlife species, Chital and Wild Boar, were responsible for roughly half of the total damage to crops by animals. Damage from a newly-introduced population of Rhinoceros unicornis was increasing, with Paddy (Rice) and Lentil the crops most affected by that species. The economic value of livestock loss to wild predators was estimated to be two percent of the value of total crop losses. The estimated value of grasses harvested by local villagers inside the Park, seen as 'compensation' for crop losses and denial of access to traditional resources, constituted only 10% of the total economic loss from crop losses and livestock predation. Due to rapid increase in the population of wild ungulates since the establishment of the National Park, and to the lack of functioning protective measures, the farmers' problems were increasing. The reintroduction of Rhinos, translocated from Royal Chitwan National Park, has further increased the problem. Local villagers so far have a positive attitude towards the Park, but this positive attitude may erode soon unless serious action is taken to reduce the problems of crop damage and livestock predation in the area. (Journal)

Tiwari, BK, SK Barik, et al. (1998). “Biodiversity value, status, and strategies for conservation of sacred groves of Meghalaya, India.” Ecosystem Health 4(1): 20-32.

The tribal communities of Meghalaya in northeast India-Khasis, Garos, and Jaintias-have a tradition of environmental conservation based on various religious beliefs which have been passed on from one generation to the other. Based on these beliefs, certain patches of forests are designated as sacred groves under customary law and are protected from any product extraction by the community. Such forests are very rich in biological diversity and harbor many endangered plant species including rare herbs and medicinal plants. Seventy-nine sacred groves were located, denoted on a geographical map of Meghalaya, and studied for their biodiversity value, status, and vegetation characteristics. A baseline floristic survey revealed that at least 514 species representing 340 genera and 131 families were present in these sacred groves. The status of sacred groves was ascertained through canopy cover estimate. A little over 1.3% of total sacred grove area was undisturbed, 42.1% had relatively dense forest, 26.3% had sparse canopy cover, and 30.3% had open forest. The vegetation characteristics and species diversity of an undisturbed sacred grove were compared with that of an unprotected disturbed forest. The species diversity indices were higher for the sacred grove than for the disturbed forest. The species composition and community characteristics differed significantly between the two forests. Sociocultural aspects of sacred grove conservation were analyzed, and views of the local people were enlisted. Based on the findings, conservation strategies for sacred groves were suggested. (SSCI)

Wells, M (1993). “Neglect of biological riches: the economics of nature tourism in Nepal.” Biodiversity Conservation 2: 445-464.

WILDLIFE:

Fox, J, C Nurbu, et al. (1994). “Wildlife conservation and land-use changes in the Transhimalayan region of Ladakh, India.” Mountain Research and Development 14(1): 39-60.

Guha, R (1997). “The authoritarian biologist and the arrogance of anti-humanism: wildlife conservation in the Third World.” The Ecologist 27(1): 14.

Wildlife conservation programs in the Third World have all too often been premised on an antipathy to human beings. In many countries, farmers, herders, swiddeners and hunters have been evicted from lands and forests which they have long occupied to make way for parks, sanctuaries and wildlife reserves. This prejudice against people is leading to new forms of oppression and conflict. Biologists, who seek to preserve wilderness for the sake of "science" have been a major force in fomenting such prejudice. (Wilsonweb)

Mishra, C (1997). “ Livestock depredation by large carnivores in the Indian Trans-Himalaya - conflict perceptions and conservation prospects.” Environmental Conservation 24(4): 338-343.

Livestock depredation by the snow leopard, Uncia uncia, and the wolf, Canis lupus, has resulted in a human-wildlife conflict that hinders the conservation of these globally-threatened species throughout their range. This paper analyses the alleged economic loss due to livestock depredation by these carnivores, and the retaliatory responses of an agro-pastoral community around Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary in the Indian trans-Himalaya. The three villages studied (80 households) attributed a total of 189 livestock deaths (18% of the livestock holding) over a period of 18 months to wild predators, and this mould amount to a loss per household equivalent to half the average annual per capita income. The financial compensation received by the villagers from the Government amounted to 3% of the perceived annual loss. Recent intensification of the conflict seems related to a 37.7% increase in livestock holding in the last decade. Villagers have been killing the wolf, though apparently not the snow leopard. A self-financed compensation scheme, and modification of existing livestock pens are suggested as area-specific short-term measures to reduce the conflict. The need to address the problem of increasing livestock holding in the long run is emphasized. (SSCI)

Nepal, S and K Weber (1995). “Prospects for coexistence - wildlife and local people.” Ambio 24(4): 238-245.

Findings of a field survey on the interface between local people and wildlife in the Royal Chitwan National Park explore the potential for coexistence of wildlife and local people. Based on three distinct areas defined by their distance to the park, the complexities and dynamics of local people's perceptions, attitudes and motivation towards wildlife conservation are analyzed. The findings indicate that although local people disliked the restrictions imposed by the park authority, curtailing the use of park resources, they take a positive attitude to wildlife conservation. Their active involvement in protection and conservation could be secured if due consideration is given to their needs, which would have to be addressed in the overall planning and management of the park. (Source)

Studsrod, J and P Wegge (1995). “Park-people relationships: the case of damage caused by park animals around the Royal Bardia national park, Nepal.” Environmental Conservation 22(2): 133-142.

Yonzon, PB and ML Hunter (1991). “Cheese, tourists, and red pandas in the Nepal Himalayas.” Conservation Biology 5: 196-202.