Since the mid 1980s, devolution and decentralization of natural resource management has become a policy tool for many developing countries across the globe. Many countries including India have developed and decentralized their resource use and management system to the users. The apparent change in policy from the state managed top down approach to the community level (Bottom up approach) is fueled by the recognition of the limits of government agencies in managing resources at the local level, which has resulted in massive degradation of natural resources and of local people's livelihood systems.

This Book Assesses The Performance And Impact Of The Joint Forest Management (Jfm Programme) From The Community S Perspective, Based On The Studies Conducted By The Ecological And Economics Research Network In Six States--Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Tripura And West Bengal. The Approach Adopted By The Network Involved The Development Of A Common Methodology, Based On Which Studies Were Undertaken During 2001--2002.This Book Presents The Evolution Of The Jfm Policy In India, Information About The Status Of Jfm With Respect To Its Spread, Performance And Impact In The Six States, Case Studies Of Successful Jfm Committees And Ecological And Silvicultural Aspects Of Jfm, Besides Suggesting A Strategy For Monitoring And Evaluation Of Jfm, And Advancing Policy, Institutional And Silvicultural Strategies And Options To Sustain Jfm.

The Joint Forest Management Programme, epitomising the 1988 national forest policy of the Government of India, set the country free from the shackles of over a century of bureaucratic straglehold. Centralisation of management was envisaged to give way to decentralisation, unilateralism to participatory decision-making and bureaucratisation to institutionalising people's participation in the protection, management and development of forests. But the policy-frame change-over has not been quick and effective. The involvement of the villagers into the programme where they could deliberate and ecide issues concerning their livelihood through the forest management is, by its nature, very delicate and difficult to achieve. Not only has the hard-crusted resistance to be broken down by winning confidence and proper education through information and knowledge, the due recognition tot he villagers' innate ability and wisdom has to be extended so as to make them equal partners in the implementation of the programme.

This study, based on field work in India, brings out the multiplicity of debates, policies and practices that Joint Forest Management embodies.