Working Papers

Joint Forest Management (JFM) is a programme wherein the state wants the people to protect forests in lieu of some benefits. But the very idea of peoplea??s collective, embedded on which are the numerous Peoplea??s Institutions (PIs), creates a counter culture of empowerment. This paper discusses the concept of empowerment and traces out a history of how some PIs gained a degree of empowerment in the process of participation in the state sponsored JFM. Empowerment is viewed as a dual process. First, it is seen as related to the dynamics of the interface of the PIs and the Forest Department. In this connection, the design principles evolved by some experts are discussed to see how PIs can participate in the programme with the Forest Department as equals. Secondly, the paper deals with the dynamics among the members within a PI on account of their varied socio-economic status. To favour the poor, it is suggested that equal membership and access could be substituted by the difference principle in which the poorer communities by virtue of their greater dependence/contribution are given a greater say in the decision making alongwith a larger share of the benefits, by design. The need for a people centred bureaucracy with commensurate accountability to people is also advocated. The paper briefly refers to the concept of empowerment, discusses some design principles and identifies parameters to view robust PIs. It traces the evolution of the PIs, their federations and the various interventions that have gone into the process in Gujarat. It analyses the experience of PIs in the light of design principles and suggests an alternative. ??