|
Previous
Next
|
| Community Forest Management: A Case Study of Nagaland,India |
|
Reference |
| George, Jacob, and Khrietuo Yhome. 2008. "Community Forest Management: A Case Study of Nagaland, India." Presented at "Governing Shared Resources: Connecting Local Experience to Global Challenges," 12th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of Commons, Cheltenham, England, July 14-18, 2008. Link: http://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/archive/00003815/ |
|
Introduction to the Institution |
| Nagaland, a tribal state located in the North-eastern part of India is comprised of eighteen tribes with almost 80% of the natural resources under the control of the communities. It has a rich biodiversity with abundant forest resources. Agriculture has been the main economy and forest the main source of livelihood for these communities. The different Naga communities according to their own specific administrative and institutional structures manage these resources. Traditional community-based governance and ownership of land is one of the significant features of Nagaland. The village community owned and regulated the land and its resources according to the traditional customs and practices. In recent years, however, there has been a gradual shift in the role of community forest management (CFM). |
|
Rules for Management
of the Institution |
|
(a) Boundary Rules |
| Spacial Boundaries:Social Boundaries: The different Naga communities have their own specific administrative and institutional structures to manage the resources which apply to the members of their villages. This case studies Aos, Sumis and Angamis communities of Nagaland. |
|
(b) Governance
rules |
| Traditionally, there were different forms of village institutions and different systems of governance existed among the Nagas. Ao tribe has a ‘republic’ from of village institution, where the elected or selected members formed the decision making body of the affairs of the village. The Putu Menden or the Village Council regulates the clan, khel and individual land in accordance with the traditional customs and laws in Ao Nagas. Angami tribe has a more ‘democratic’ form of governance, where the village elders decide the affairs of the village. Sumi tribe has a chieftainship system of governance, wherein, the chief is the supreme authority in all matters. The Akukao (Village Chief) owns and controls almost the entire village land in this tribe. |
|
(c) Resource Allocation |
| The cultivable land owned by the clans, khels and individuals. The clans/khels land is a common property for the all members of the clan/ khel. All members of the clan/ khel have equal rights and privileges of the use and products of the land. In the case of Ao Nagas, in the case of the individual land, the individual has rights to use the land but his rights are not exclusive, the Village Council has the rights to impose certain rules in the use of the land. Putu Menden/Village Council decides the site or plot for cultivation every year. Villagers are required to cultivate only in the selected site. No villager is allowed to cultivate in other site or land even in his or her individual land. The decision of the Village Council is final and any one failing to abide by the Council’s decision entails serious fines and penalty. Such measures are taken keeping in mind the fertility of the soil in a rotational practice of cultivation and to protect the forest for future use. This particular site is cultivated for two consecutive years after which the entire process of selecting a new area or site begins all over again. In the olden days the cyclic process of cultivation was 11 years but today the cycle has increased to 12 years. |
|
Conflict Resolution Mechanism |
| Not mentioned |
|
Problems Faced by Institution |
| This community based forest management system is under growing external pressure from national and state governments and the private sector, as well as being internally undermined by cultural change and commercialization. As traditional institutional authority is diminished, indigenous forest conservation mechanisms have weakened, leading to forest fragmentation, degradation, and loss. The privatization of once “communally” held forests and watersheds typically has lead to their deforestation and conversion to agriculture. |
|
Changes in the Institution over time |
| More and more people are migrating to Kohima (the capital of Nagaland) and Dimapur (the hub of the Nagaland’s economy) as government servant and other professions and thereby abandon their traditional practice of cultivation in their village. The state government of Nagaland passed the Nagaland Village and Area Council Act in 1978 to codify and bring a uniform law in the administration of the village. Through this Act a Village Council was established in every village in Nagaland, consisting of members, chosen by villagers in accordance with the prevailing customary practice and usages. The Village Council were given the administration Power and Duties at the local or village level. This change in the administrative structures has little impact so far because of the well established and age-old traditional customary practices of the tribal villages. |
|
Purpose |
| regulation of the land and its resources |
|
Country |
| India |
|
Region |
| Nagaland |
|
Date Of Publication |
| RS-14-18/07/2008 |
|
|
