No sensible architect will start designing unless he is sure about the foundations on which to erect a building. No sensible farmer will plan his crops unless he is sure of the field on which to grow them. No rancher will invest on livestock unless he is sure he can have full control over the creatures and can dispose them at his will. The common denominator in each of these sensible human behaviors is ‘security’.
Policies around the globe are informed by such rational choices, and Nepal is no exception. Nepal’s land reform initiatives of 1960s were clearly informed by logic. The much commended community forestry program of the country, besides other things, intended to guarantee tenurial security to local forestry users. And now the country can boast of success in community forestry in the mid-hills. [break]
One would guess that the government would learn from its past policy experiences. However, that has not always been the case. Forests in the mid-hills have rejuvenated under tenurial security for local communities, but not elsewhere, including Chure.
This youngest mountain range adjoining Tarai stretches across the country, from east to west in a narrow strip and forms the water recharge zone to the Tarai. Steep slopes combined with loose soil contribute to dryness, fragility and erodibility, and it is characterized by sparse and scattered population consisting of poor migrants. They have settled here by clearing fragile forests, and most of them are ‘illegal squatters’ in the eyes of the law. Though statistically as much as 90 percent of Chure hills are under forest cover, they face heavy pressure, both from inside and outside. This leads to degradation over time. Land use change, from forest to shrubs and then to subsistence agriculture, is a common phenomenon. This is unchecked in the Chure, for various socio-economic and political reasons. Stone, gravel and sand mining is rampant, which triggers erosion.
Realizing the unique value of Chure, the government has been interested in its conservation for decades. King Birendra gave special instructions to the government in mid eighties after he realized that the Department of Forests’ effort to conserve it had failed. This resulted in the preparation of Action Plans in Siraha, Saptari and Udaypur forests. However, those did not depart from the way conservation was pursued in the past. The emphasis remained increased surveillance and sterner actions on offenders.
The area eventually drew the support of GTZ in late eighties which launched Chure Forest Development Project (ChFDP) which ran for over a decade. ChFDP did not limit its activities to surveillance, but expanded to more participatory development actions. This consisted of forest plantations in the early phase, followed by handing over forests to local people as community forests in later years. However, most of its activities were limited to forest fringes in the south, leaving core Chure area untouched. No wonder, the forests in the fringe recuperated, but at the expense of the mainland Chure. When the ChFDP was phased out in early years of the last decade, the areas once again came under the age-old surveillance practices of the District Forest Officers (DFOs).
The resulting sorry state of Chure must have drawn the attention of President Ram Baran Yadav, who once again drew attention to Chure when he became president in 2008. Eventually, the government decided to launch a project in Chure under the Ministry of Forests (MFSC) with the banner ‘President Chure Conservation Project’. While the project with the President’s logo receives ample funding, it continues to be a victim of lack of vision and commitment on part of the ministry and implementing partners (Department of Soil Conservation and Department of Forests). All that the project essentially does is continue hitherto failed practices like planting trees, checking dam construction and evicting illegal settlers. The two implementing partners tend to fight for resources in the name of project implementation. The ministry has failed to give priority to the project, sending incompetent individuals to lead it.
There is no dearth of official concern regarding the sorry state of Chure. But a breakthrough is far from close. The tendency is to continue with the conventional programs without bothering to sort out the ‘Tenurial security issue’ that I have flagged. However, I reiterate that resolving the tenurial issue is not a choice if we want to conserve Chure. Activities such as planting trees, checking dams, and evicting settlers would make sense only when tenurial issues are resolved.
Likewise, linking the overall program with poverty alleviation and inter-sectoral coordination as suggested by many think-tanks, though crucial, will make sense only when tenurial issues are addressed. Sorting out forest tenure, in particular, requires a policy decision. It also entails rigorous fieldwork requiring prolonged negotiations at local level. There is a symbiotic relationship between the people residing in and around forests and those residing in the plains. The forests essentially require special patronage from people nearby, but their efforts alone cannot protect the forests unless they are supported by distant communities dependent on those resources.
Addressing these issues is not easy, but they cannot be ignored. Overlooking this hard reality will take us nowhere, and we will simply be re-spinning the old wheel in the name of Chure conservation, while Chure continues to dwindle.
The author was former Joint Secretary, Ministry of Forests and Soil
Conservation
baraljc@yahoo.com
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