Transition to participatory forest management in India: Problems and prospects from the perspectives of foresters

Joint Forest Management (JFM), in which the Forest Department and local communities jointly manage certain designated forest areas, has been touted in policy circles as a successful strategy in helping both forests and people. Its efficacy in the field, however, is highly variable. The objective of this study is to gain an improved understanding of the problems and prospects entailed in implementing this participatory forest management strategy in India. The Forest Department is directly involved in initiating and implementing the policy, but the perspectives of foresters in undertaking this task is absent in the current literature on JFM. As a result, this study focuses on foresters' perspectives on three sets of challenges in implementing JFM. These are those operating in the broad policy context, those within the Forest Department organization, and those at the local community level.; In the broad policy context, while a multitude of actors significantly influence the outcomes of JFM, there are no visible means, mandates or methodologies to provide an understanding or appreciation of the efforts of JFM across these actors. Consequently, there is a severe dilution of JFM efforts.; Similarly, on the Forest Department organizational front, while opening up forest governance to public participation amounted to an enormous change to both the Forest Department and its employees, the Department's work culture and functioning are poorly aligned to its new work and task environments. As a result, the learning that is crucially needed for engaging in adaptive management to implement JFM is severely impaired.; At the community level, foresters perceive that lack of immediate and tangible benefits for villagers threatens the program's sustainability. Further, absence of a firm policy on incorporating equity in village level JFM institutions and providing legitimacy to them makes the task of foresters complex and difficult.; The study recommends a number of steps to help make JFM succeed. First, the state needs to adequately compensate local communities' costs incurred in forest protection, particularly because of its public good nature. Similarly, state action is needed in providing a firm direction on incorporating equity and legitimacy to the village level JFM institutions. Major reforms are also necessary in the broad policy context to provide a unifying and complimentary effect to the process of decentralization and local governance development under which JFM operates. Last but not least, there is need for transforming the archaic and hierarchical work culture of the Forest Department.