Exploring forest governance in a Trans -Himalayan valley of Himachal Pradesh
Forest ‘degradation’ in the Himalayan region has been a preoccupation of conservation policies of the State. Though ‘joint forest management’ gained prominence in the late 1980s, the thrust of mainstream Himalayan conservation initiatives, implemented through the forest department had been to ‘reduce the pressure’ on forests placed by mountain populations and their livelihood practices. This colonial top down approach was evident not just in implementation of these programs but also because legal access to forest resources remained fraught for indigenous communities. While the sustainability of these initiatives has also been critiqued, in the trans-Himalayan Lahaul valley, the Himachal Pradesh government in recent years has claimed success of its JFM programs reporting forest cover growth and attributing it to the afforestation initiatives undertaken in collaboration with local women’s collectives. This study examines this claim through local narratives, especially those of the women’s collectives, around forest land dependence, access and governance. We found that women’s collectives or Mahila Mandals in upper Lahaul reported self-regulatory measures initiated in the wake of commercial pressure on forests after the formation of the district. While a massive avalanche in 1979 triggered this initiative in a few villages, the same spun off to other parts of the valley, in particular for regeneration of the culturally invaluable Juniper forests. We highlight testimonies of failure of government afforestation schemes in the region, barring few successes where community was involved. We found that the old willow plantations in the valley were part of the traditional agroforestry practices to cater to fodder and fuel needs and state led afforestation was only successful where local populations were involved from the start. The paper documents people’s concerns around the non-implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, that recognizes the legal tenure of local right-holders over forest land and provides institutional mechanisms for community led forest conservation. Juxtaposing state policy narratives with diverse grassroots voices, reveals FRA’s potential and challenges. We critique contemporary climate adaptation strategies for reproducing power asymmetries of colonial conservation by sidelining the FRA as a legal constitutional mechanism for a community led approach to climate risk reduction in the region.
CITATION
Asher, M., Singh, H., & Bhandari, P. (2024). Conservation and adaptation minus rights: Exploring forest governance in a Trans-Himalayan valley of Himachal Pradesh. In www.himdhara.org. Himdhara Environment Research and Action Collective. (Unpublished Manuscript)
Watch: बणःतु हको कथाःरे Bana-Tu Haqo Kathare | Forest Rights Chronicles
“बणःतु हको कथाःरे” Bana-Tu Haqo Kathare (Forest Rights Chronicles) is a 44-minute documentary film from the trans-Himalayan Lahaul valley of Himachal Pradesh. Forest conservation in the Himalaya has been a global concern since the decade of the Chipko Movement. Eco-feminist narratives coupled with concepts of ‘social forestry’ projected women as ‘forest saviours’ and centered their participation in programs implemented by the State led Forest Department.
