Resources

The four sections of the report cover the importance of research for community forestry in India, specifically using PRA. A background is provided to forest management in India at the macroscale, and to increasing levels of participation. The steps to be undertaken in preparing for community forestry research are highlighted, emphasising secondary sources and the approach of the research team, and details of a rapid appraisal for community forest management are given. Issues identified as important are community characteristics, social and institutional structures, vegetative change, and forest product flows and economics. This breadth of information is considered necessary to document both current day situations and historical changes in the community and its forest resources. Community perceptions and values placed on the forest as well as levels of forest product use should be examined. Information on forest productivity levels and sustainability should also be collected. Finally, the way in which this new-found learning can be analysed, utilised and communicated is discussed. It is also important to involve all levels of forest department staff if forest management is to become participatory.

This book is the outcome of a two week field-based workshop. The focus is on two villages in the proximity of Khartoum. Several PRA/RRA techniques were used: secondary data analysis; mapping; transects; seasonal calendars; preference ranking; matrix ranking; wealth ranking; venn diagrams and key informant interviews. RRA techniques offer an approach to understanding the complexity of tree management at regional, village, group and individual levels. At regional level the influences on tree management relate to changing patterns of wood product supply and demand and the interaction of urban and rural markets. At village level uncertainty over economic, tenurial and environmental control are key influences governing the management of trees. Preferences for trees by different village groups influence assessments of the costs and benefits of alternative tree management options. Different socio-economic groups have varying and competing interests in the wood economy. The use of RRA enables the development of integrated insights for a more effective understanding of incentives for tree management in Sudan.

This article is the third part of a Working Paper concerned with management of the Shivalik Hill system (which extends from Nepal to Pakistan at the base of the Himalayas). This article describes collaboration between the Government Forest Department and the Hill Resource Management Societies (HRMS). A case study is made of a Joint Management Agreement in Godam village. Five days of village meetings were conducted during which the Bhanjida households were identified as the main users of the forests for material to make bamboo baskets. The discussions took the form of conflict resolution between the Bhajidas and other members of the village. It was recognised that special attention needed to be paid to the participation of women in forest management. A second case study is given describing the forging of a Joint Management Agreement in Prempura where conflict existed between users of bhabbar and fodder grasses.

The bibliography was prepared for the guidance of participants in the Western Ghats Forestry Project which is being implemented by Karnataka forest department in India. It is intended to serve as an initial guide to some of the literature on social, economic, political and institutional aspects of participatory forest management. The material is organised in different sections: theoretical works and global comparisons; history; legal and policy issues; institutional change; research, appraisal, monitoring and evaluation; Karnataka; South Asian case studies; social forestry; gender issues and Western Ghats Forestry Project documents. The review covers a wide selection of forestry literature, although most are not concerned with participatory approaches or PRA.

This source book is organised into five sections: 1) background articles on issues of gender, environment, and natural resources, including discussion questions (see also Warren 1992(b) and Davis-Case 1992) 2) a set of cases from the field with a number of discussion questions 3) seven exercises related to the cases and background articles of use for training project teams (see Warren 1992(c)) 4) a brief glossary of relevant terms 5) a bibliography of published resources and easily accessible materials organised by region and topic area.

The Ugandan national parks service is setting a strategy of multiple use within its parks, with community participation in the management of forest areas. The aim is to allow harvesting of non- timber forest products in a sustainable manner. 7 'pilot' communities have been identified, and PRA is to used in these areas to undertake JFM. Community committees have been set up, although they consist mostly of local leaders. A number of historical and visual techniques attempted in order to promote small and large group discussions, and collaborative forest management agreements. Both the community and the national parks board appear to be happy with the progress so far.

This study investigated rural livelihood systems and the response of local communities to changing resource conditions in two communities in Machakos District, a semi-arid region in Kenya. A section on methodolgoy outlines the methods used during the research, which included PRA techniques as well as more conventional approaches. Among the PRA techniques used were spatial methods such as village transects or mapping, methods focused on time-related data such as time-lines or seasonal calendars, and those focusing on social data such as household interviews and group meetings to discuss village institutions. Several of the techniques were easily modified for gathering gender-differentiated data. It was found that there had been a significant and rapid change in the lives of people living in the region as the livelihood base shifted from cattle rearing to coffee growing. The changes have had particularly adverse impact on the lives of women, particularly poor women, in the area.