A New Moral Economy for India's Forests?: Discourses of Community and Participation 0761993541, 9780761993544

Citation preview

•

A New Moral

Economy for India's Forests?

A~Moral :::;;--Economy for India's Forests? Discourses of . Community and Participation

Editors Roger Jeffery

Nandlnl Sundar

Sage Publications .. New Delhi • Thousand Oaks • London

Copyright © Roger Jeffery and Nandini Sundtu; 1999 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means, elecuonic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishei: First published in 1999 by Sage Publications India Pvt Ltd 32 M-Block Market, Greater Kailash-I New Delhi 110 048 Sage Publications Inc 2455 Teller Road Thot1saud Oaks, California 91320

Sage Publications 6 Bonhill Street London EC2A 4PU

Published by Tejeshwar Singh for Sage Publications India Pvt Ltd, typeset by Une Arts, Pondicherry and printed at Chaman Enterprises, Delhi.

Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-publication Data A new moral economy for India's forests? / editors, Roger Jeffery, Nandini

Sundar. p. an. (c) (p) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Forest management....:..India-Citizen pa_rticipation. I. Jeffery, Roger. II. Sundar, Nandini. SD223.N47 333.75'153' 0954 dc21 1999 99-23263 ISBN: 0-7619-9354-1 (US-hb) 81-7036-820-0 (lndia-hb) ·0-7619-9355-X (US-pb) 81-7036-821-9 (lndia-pb)

Sage Production Team: Smriti Vohra, Radha Dev Raj and Santosh Rawat

aC(

?c- 2k ;;;;,-

s-A/,rmes &om areas outside the ecod~pment zone (Mehra, pers. comm.) and the park authorities have no measures to modify the practices of such a significant section.

6

Sapangada: A Kuianka Living Space* Savyasaachi

A Point of View Over the past decades, rapid deforestation has raised several ques- . tions regarding modem perceptions and knowledge of nature, of technology, of work cultures, and of social relations. One argument, which I also subscribe to, is that the cause of deforestation is speedy capitalist industrial development. It destroys nature's capacity for self-regeneration. As a consequence, the ability to recuperate from injury and fatigue is progressively diminishing in nature and in culture. This is manifest primarily in the unmitigated violence and aggression against nature. In the natural world there is wasteland, in society there is violence and breakdown. What human beings do to nature d}ey do to themselves. Efforts to arrest deforestation have focused largely on the preservation and conservation of forest-based resources in a way that prioritises resources over people. In the process, people are often displaced from th~ir homes and their sense of belonging destroyed . . Compensation is inadequate, for it caD.llot cover up and recover the .

.

.

'

* The fo1est history detailed in this paper has been taken from H.K. Mishra, Working Plan for the Reserved Foruts ofBalliguda Division, for the period 1981-82 to 2000-01 (Part I & II); S.C. Padhi, Working Scheme for the Podis Origin Forests of Balliguda Range from 1971-90; and K.J. Shekha~ First and s«ond Working Scheme for U n ~ Forests of Balliguda Forest Division, 1981-82 to 1990-91.

Sapangada: A Kuia11ka Llvi11g Space

131

N

SAMBALPUR

.,

' -, .,,.. ____________ ·, l .

.,:

.

_________

,,

....

•

,' .

BALANAGAR

I

.

. .. ' :·-'. .... ·. .... . . , .. , ,, .. ... .-:·~: .. ... ... ,' . r •• •• • ., • • _,. _ • .' • a a '• . ·.-. .• • , •• •••· " • • •-- -R·R·--,----,'.

.

_

- - - - ~ - - -.., •

•

..

,• ••

\ ·, •

•

• 'f

'• . .

I•

•.•

-

.• - · •

·' .. • .. ..

....... . ..

---.... .. '

••

I

••

.

•• '• ••

•

I

..

~----.., •• • •• ,.,-----. Ballguda ........: .. ""-, ......:.•·--·· . ,, ,•

.

•

• ••

'

I

t .... • .... • • • • • • •

,

\

•

•

•

~"-

..

t

..

.

.-"~...

.._... _,,. ..• .. •• .·, •. ... .. ,·..,·" •• •• ..... -~-.. ..• ' \

\

._.

'

.

I

•

•

)

I

••• I \

·-'' .

I

.. ......, • ,, •

J

\:

'••

_I.

• •

•

I

~

. ....... -.

•

I ...... : .... I

I

~•

:

"

• , -----· . I

.' . •

•

.

.. •• ,. .r--&-,

'...

' '. ,,:r•

.,--:

•

.. .... .... .... .. . .,·, ...... - ..

,.

, ,.• , ...

• '..,_ _ _ _,. •

•••• .'.--,.,. : '

\

: ,,

- ' ·'

'. ----· ; •• . . .. . ... .

-

Phtllbanl

.•.-·.

••

.

~

. •

KALAHANDI

.

••

,

~

•

' ·,

.. ,-..- ,

.

• (

'·~

~

'DISTRICT HEADQUA{'TEft.. ·· .. ·,•' • ,. I

•• •

--~ . .

t

'

\,

...... A

••

,

I

-

DHENKANAL

: . .,. .,~...______R·..•i --. ...... ··,· .... ·-

-

I

._

• •

.

-·

·✓

-

•

~

•• • .....: •

....

•• •

)

•

••

•

'·-·-. I.

GANJAM

,

11

15km I

, ·,... , DISTRICT BOUNDARY

1•,. . J.TALUK BOUNDARY ~ Map 6.1 Phulbani Disttict. Orissa

FOREST COVER

132 Savyassachl

losses. At issue is not just a question of livelihood but one of human rights and identity. To address this problem, we need to locate and examine the nature of the partnership that exists between the government and the people. One instance of this partnership is the joint forest management (JFM) programme. An important premise of such programmes is that all the partners have an equal right to determine the nature of their participation. However, there is little effort to define the nature and social content of participation. For instance, the literature on deforestation often emphasises the value of people's own traditions of caring for natural resources, but descriptions of the ways villagers-peasants or tribals see nature and understand its resources are rare. What is the common ground that allows for cooperation? Do the forest guards and the forest dwellers share a view of the forest that will enable them to work 'jointly'? In what ways do property relations define the responsibilities and obligations of the partners? Is there a collective responsibility for both successes and, more importantly, for failures? What do the forest-dwelling partners bring to the decision-making table: just their labour, or their understanding of the universe of the forest? To whaJ extent is people's knowledge of the forest and their work culture enriched by their participation in such programmes? In what way is JFM a forum to collectively thrash out an agenda for the 'care' of the forest universe? These questions acquire different meanings in .different social, political and economic contexts, but nevertheless need to be constantly raised. In this essay I attempt to outline briefly the main components of Kuianka's view of the forest in the larger context of development. Through this, one can also perhaps work towards some understanding of the issues and questions crucial for undertaking a joint venture.

Kuiankas In the Modern Context The Kuianka live in the forested hills of Phulbani Disuict in Orissa. They speak Kui, which belongs to the Dravidian family of languages. In Kui, the forestscape is called Sapangada, literally an open living space. The I