Joint Forest Management in India: A Case of Haryana

Abstract

In India, Joint Forest Management (JFM) has emerged as an important intervention in the management of forest resources. JFM is a three- way partnership between the people (who live in and around the forest), the forest department and Non- Government Organizations (NGOs) to protect and regenerate degraded forestland. In JFM, the user (local communities) and the owner (Government) manage the resources and share the cost equally. JFM focused on providing the subsistence needs of communities while regenerating and maintaining natural forests. JFM is a concept of developing partnerships between fringe forest user groups and the forest department (FD) on the basis of common trust and jointly defined roles and responsibilities with regard to forest protection and development. JFM is the avenue for rural development and strategy for sustainable forest management because the communities are involved in protecting and managing the forest. In this paper the status, performance and evolution of JFM in India is discussed with a case study of JFM in Haryana as the state the success of the JFM in Haryana is manifest in the improved status of its forests, socio-economic development of the people and the evolution of an institutional process of cooperation between the HFD (Haryana forest department) and the HRMS (hill resource management societies).

Keywords: Joint Forest Management, Forestland, Communities, Natural Forest

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