FIELD METHODS MANUAL

 

Volume I

 

Diagnostic Tools for Supporting
Joint Forest Management Systems

 

Prepared for the

Joint Forest Management Support Program

supported by

Society for Promotion of Wastelands Development
Indian Institute of Science
East-West Center
University of California, Berkeley
The Pacific Institute Ford Foundation

 

Editotial Team:

Mark Poffenberger
Betsy McGean
N. H. Ravindranath
Madhav Gadgil

Produced by:

Society for Promotion of Wastelands Development
Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra Building
1, Copernicus Marg
New Delhi 110001

©1992

For additional copies, please write to the Joint Forest Management National Support Group at the above address.

 

 

Acknowledgements

The editors would like to thank the rural communities, and the Indian Forest Service officers and field staff who contributed their ideas and experience to the development of this manual. We would also like to express our gratitude to members of the National Joint Forest Management Research Network who participated in the field methods trials. Particular thanks are due to the West Bengal and Gujarat Forest Departments, the Indian Institute for Bio-Social Research and Development, and the Nehru Foundation for hosting methodology workshops. The editorial team would also like to express their appreciation to the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, the National Wastelands Development Board, and the Ford Foundation for their long-term support and encouragement in this effort. The institutional support and cooperation of the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii and the University of California and Pacific Institute in Berkeley have been invaluable to the editorial team. We would also like to convey our appreciation to Mr. Sharad Lele, Jeff Campbell, and Arvind Khare for their suggestions in developing the manual, and to Mr. Aravindu Numbi, Ms. Indrani, and Dr. M.G. Chandrakanth for their help in preparing the manuscript. Finally, thanks are due to Mr. K.R. Raghunathan and Ms. Mona Challu for their assistance in preparing the text for publication.

 

 

CONTENTS

 

User's Guide to the Manual Series

i

List of Figures and Appendices

ii

Glossary

v

PART I: INTRODUCTION

The Changing Forest Management Context in India

1

Contemporary Issues in Participatory Forest Management

5

PART II: PREPARING FOR COMMUNITY FOREST RESEARCH

 

Identifying and Developing a Research Team and User Network

10

Background Research and Selecting a Research Site

11

Working Together: Community-Research Team Interactions

14

PART III: RAPID APPRAISAL RESEARCH METHODS

A. PRA for Community/Forest Management Profiling

15

B. Studying Vegetative Conditions and Change

33

C. Assessing Social and Institutional Management Issues

55

D. Economic Assessments of Forest Production Systems

70

PART IV: USING LEARNING EFFECTIVELY

Analyzing and Interpreting Research Findings for Program Development

88

Communicating Learning Effectively: The Working Group

91

Summary

94

Appendices

 

User's Guide to the Manual Series

This report is the first in a two-volume Field Methods Manual set which is being developed to support the implementation of Joint Forest Management (JFM) programs.

Volume I of the Manual describes a range of diagnostic tools and techniques which can be employed to better understand the complexities of the community-forest relationship and thereby help derive improved participatory management strategies between user communities and Forest Departments (FDs).

Volume II summarizes learning from a field training workshop held in Gujarat in April, 1992. Experiences from the Gujarat Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) illustrate the utility of methods described in Volume I and the types of forest management issues and implementation options that can be generated.

These Field Manual volumes were written as guides for foresters, NGO development practitioners, university-based researchers, and donor agency staff who are interested in strategies to empower communities and bring them meaningfully into formal forest management systems. The methods were designed to provide an initial understanding of forest use practices and conditions, while opening a dialogue with community members regarding management problems and opportunities.

Volume I is divided into four parts. Part I reviews the macro-forest management context in India, and highlights common management problems that can be addressed through diagnostic research. Part II outlines the steps in preparing for community forestry research and Part III describes the four major components of an integrated rapid appraisal strategy for helping develop community forest management programs. These include: 1) community profiling techniques using PRA, 2) methods and analysis procedures for understanding patterns of vegetative change, 3) approaches for illuminating socio-political and institutional characteristics affecting resource management, and 4) assessments of the economics of forest production systems. Part IV reviews strategies for Forest Departments and community groups to utilize the learning from rapid appraisals in order to develop more effective, collaborative management systems.

 

List of Figures and Appendices

1

State Forest Lands with Potential for Natural Regeneration

2

2

Locations with Community Forest Management Activities and States with JFM Notifications

4

3

Management Issues and Ecological, Institutional and Economic Research Questions

9

4

Research Sites in Chingra, Midnapore District, West Bengal

13

5

PRA Steps for Profiling Community-Forest Relationships

16

6

Gamtalao Historical Transect

18

7

Time Line of Gamtalao

19

8

Trend Lines for Wood Extraction in Karnataka, 1973-1989

20

9

Limbi Ground Sketch Map

23

10

Drawing of Limbi Sketch Map

23

11

Artist's Rendition of Sketch Map of Limbi

24

12

Flow Routes in Nawanagar, Pinjore, Haryana

25

13

Forest Condition in Nawanagar, Pinjore, Haryana

25

14

Land Use Transect in Chandana, West Bengal

26

15

Seasonal Calendar of Forest Product Flows, Gamtalao

28

16

Daily Activity Schedule of Women in Moti Pipal, Limbi Panchayat

29

17

Scoring of Forest Species by Use, Phulwadi Village

32

18

Ecological Management Issues, Parameters, and Research Methods

34

19

Decision Chart for Selection of Research Methods

41

20

Transect Line Location

48

21

Estimating Canopy Cover

50

22

Grid Projection and Canopy Structure Measurements

51

23

Vegetation Profile of a Mixed Forest in Huliyurdurga, Karnataka

52

24

Institutional Management Issues, Research Questions and Methods

56

25

Systems Diagram of Forest Users and Managers in Pinjore, Haryana

60

26

Venn Diagram of Community and Occupational Groups in Limbi, South Gujarat

62

27

Daily Activity Schedule of HFD Forest Guard by Season

65

28

Incentives and Disincentives of JFM: Perceptions of Guards, Haryana Forest Department

66

29

Existing and Proposed Information Flows in the Haryana Forest Department

67

30

Economic Issues, Research Questions, and Methods

71

31

Steps in Conducting Economic Assessments of Forest Production Systems

72

32

Data Sheet for Recording NTFP Collection

75

33

Basket Volume of Mahua Flowers

76

34

Small Fuelwood Bundle (baadas) for Market, Limbi

76

35

Group Interview of Mahua Flower Collectors in Limbi Forest

78

36

Group Interview with Tribal Members of Saraja Mali Forest Labor Cooperative Society in Limbi Forest

78

37

NTFP Market Price Data Sheet

80

38

Production-Marketing Channel of Sal Leaf Plates, West Bengal

82

39

Forest Development Preferences of Hill Resource Management Societies and FD Staff in Haryana

84

40

Flow Chart of Diagnostic Research Activities, Analysis and Decision-Making

90

41

Steps in Working Group Learning Process

93

Appendices

1

Checklist of Indicators for Joint Forest Management

95

2

Glossary of Vegetative Terms with Figure of DBH Measurement

96

3

Methods and Formulas for Financial Assessments

99

4

Tables for Financial Analyses of Firewood Plantation and NTFP Forest Options

101

 

GLOSSARY

baadas

a bundle of fuelwood weighing approximately 15 kgs

B/C Ratio

Benefit Cost Ratio

falia

hamlet

FD

Forest Department

FDC

Forest Development Corporation

FLCS

Forest labor Cooperative Society

FPC

Forest Protection Committee

GO

Government Order

GFD

Gujarat Forest Department

HRMS

Hill Resource Management Societies

IRR

Internal Rate of Return

JFM

Joint Forest Management

Kotwalia

Scheduled caste of basket-makers

NPV

Net Present Value

NTFPs

Non-Timber Forest Products

Nigam

FDC purchasing agent

NGO

Nongovernmental Organization

PD

Process Documentation

PRA

Participatory Rural Appraisal