A compilation of Ecologically Sensible Good Practices
Imprints of Ecological Footprints ‌. A compilation of Ecologically Sensible Good Practices Aug 2016 Authors: MV Rama Chandrudu Beneta Mahanta Waseem Mohammad Anitha Reddy V MB Vali Saab Editors: K Suresh MV Rama Chandrudu Visuals:Cheriyal Nakashi Artists Family - Shri D Vaikuntam and his family members Mrs. D Vanaja (wife); D Vinay and D Rakesh (sons). Design and Layout : Ankush Copy Left : These case studies could be used for non-commercial use, with proper acknowledgement. Supported by : Indian Foundation for Humanistic Development, Bengaluru Produced by : WASSAN (Watershed Support Services and Activities Network) Produced for Leaders For Nature Program. This program is collectively organized by CII; Hivos; IUCN; Wild Life Trust of India. IFHD is anchoring the Leaders for Nature Program. Published by: IFHD, Bengaluru
Acknowledgements I am very happy to present "Imprints of Ecological Footprints ‌. A compilation of Ecologically Sensible Good Practices". I take this opportunity to thank all organizations and individuals who contributed to the process of documenting these good practices. They were kind to frankly share with us their experiences, thoughts, challenges and achievements. They also shared relevant data to substantiate any critical point from their experiences. Some of them even prepared the first drafts of these case studies. They also revised them, based on our feedback. All the organizations/ individuals happily gave consent for publishing these case studies and using them for learning purposes under "Leaders for Nature" program of IFHD, IUCN, CII, Hivos and Wild Life Trust of India. The entire process of producing this compilation was an enriching and fruitful experience. It is also a humbling experience for us to learn several lessons from these interactions and visits to several villages/ sites. We genuinely believe that this compilation truly enriches the learning processes of "Leaders for Nature" program. The Writeshop was one of the important events of this process. We got guidance and feedback on the '0' drafts from the participants of the writeshop. This was useful in refining the initial drafts. The participants of writeshop also made important suggestions on the presentation and utility of these case studies. From their busy schedules, they spared few days for refining these case studies, which is a very kind gesture. I thank everyone who participated in the writeshop. Their inputs are invaluable. I thank Ms. Aruna Rangachar Pohl, IFHD for having faith in WASSAN and entrusting us the responsibility of compiling these case studies. She is an active team member at all critical stages of the project and guided us on choice of case studies, structure/ framework, presentation, etc. The partnership with IFHD is really cherished by all of us, at WASSAN.
I also thank the family of artists of Cheriyal - Shri D Vaikuntam, Mrs D Vanaja, Mr D Vinay and D Rakesh, who visualized these experiences in their own unique style. My team -MB Vali, Anitha Vustela, Waseem Mohammad, Benita Mahanta, Radhashree who spent considerable time on this agenda. I also thank K Suresh for providing editorial inputs and support at various stages of this process. MV Rama Chandrudu WASSAN Aug 2016
Foreword It is almost three decades back, the threats to "Our Common Future" were formally identified and deliberations started gaining more steam and support from governments too‌ (Our Common Future,Gro Harlem Brundtland, 1987). Climate Change and its implications were also slowly getting recognized during this period. The need for "producing more with less" was also part of this thinking process, as a means to address the challenges of the future. Over a period of time, the world witnessed more economic distress, unemployment, political turmoil and ecological disasters across different countries and regions of world. Those early predictions seemed to be less threatening than the current reality. The global gloom got predictable companions - unscrupulous industrial growth, irresponsible urbanization, careless global politics, dishonest governments, self-centric citizenship, which tried to glorify the current trends as achievements and inevitable solutions. In the middle of such despair and misery, there is a hope. "Imprints of Ecological Footprints - A Compilation of Ecologically Sensible Good Practices" is a compendium of good practices that brings the efforts made by relentless civil society organizations, citizens and community based organizations, to change the direction of this trend. These experiences bring cheer and hope in the lives of thousands of rural, tribal and urban citizens in India, who are part of these experiences. They were able to take a different path that is less travelled and troublesome. There were several challenges, at each step and milestone. But they continued their journey and proved that "producing more with less" is possible. They also ensured that the ecological and environmentally sustainable processes are feasible for improving economic standards and quality of life of poor communities. These case studies give a hope and confidence that we can face the cruel world and transform the same into a comfortable place for all - including endangered species, poor and marginalized communities. While Corporate Social Responsibility is gaining more support
from governments, corporate agencies and development agencies, these experiences provide guidance and help them to think about alternatives. These experiences help the willing and discerning development agencies and investors in social change, to transcend the mundane "photo stories" of majority of current CSR interventions. They provide an array of options, strategies and ideas that proved themselves in different parts of the country. I thank all the organizations and agencies who shared their stories - highs and lows of it, with us frankly and completely. I thank them for providing leadership on the chosen theme - promoting biodiversity; conservation and governance of natural resources; promoting ecologically sensitive production processes; enhancing livelihoods by developing environmentally harmonious economic models and several others. These experiences are invaluable and are certainly useful for provoking thoughts in the minds of participants of "Leaders for Nature" programs, which are jointly organized by IFHD, IUCN, CII, Wild Life Trust of India, HIVOS and other like-minded organizations. I thank WASSAN for producing this compilation of case studies and supporting us in this endeavor.
Aruna Rangachar Pohl IFHD, Bengaluru Aug 2016
20 Sticking your neck out, with a sticky gum bottle‌
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aka Lakshmaiah, a resident of Alubaka village, Venkatapuram Mandal in Khammam District, Telangana state claims that one Gum Karaya tree will give an annual income of 1200 rupees. He has 100 trees and expects an average income of Rs 10000/ month. "Am I not better than a government employee?" he quips, with a broad smile. You could not agree more. For a tribal farmer, depending on NonTimber Forest Produce like gum, this income from his trees is like a dream coming true. It is not an uncommon story that most tribals are grossly exploited in Non-Timber Forest Produce (NTFP) collected by them. As the tribal families are disorganized and untrained, they are exploited in different stages of supply and value chains. Their income loss could be as high as 50%, for a product like gum. There are several reasons behind these unbelievable and avoidable losses. Unsustainable harvesting practices, absence of Sticking your neck out, with a sticky gum bottle‌
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proper technical expertise and tools, absence of processing facilities, absence of necessary infrastructure at family/ community level are some of the factors that are behind the low incomes from gum collection. Markets are also very unfriendly and exploitative. It is also a common scene that most of the NTFP resources are declining with neither regeneration nor replenishment. Given this bleak picture of NTFP related incomes, Kaka Lakshmaiah stands tall like a hero. It is also heartening to know that the number of such heroes and heroines (like Para Bapiraju, Arjun, etc from East Godavari district, Korra Yerakanna Dora, ThamalavPothuraju, Rambabu, etc from Visakhapatnam district) is growing slowly in tribal regions of Telangana state (Khammam, Warangal, Karimnagar, Adilabad and Mahabubnagar Districts) and Andhra Pradesh (Vizag, Vizianagaram, East Godavari, Kurnool, Chittoor). They are able to earn good incomes, without undermining natural resources, mainly Gum Karaya (Sterculia urens)/ Kovel trees.
Too fictitious to be real? How did this happen? During 1993-94, Girijan Co-operative Corporation Limited (GCCL, an agency promoted and managed by government of Andhra Pradesh) established habitation level groups called GGPA (Girijan Gum Pickers Associations). The main purpose of these groups was to improve income levels from collection/ sale of gum besides conservation of the natural resource base of the same. GCC's failure to dispose twelve hundred metric tons of inferior quality Gum Karaya was another immediate necessity. Soon, GCCL realized the need for strengthening these groups on institutional aspects, technical details, sustainable gum harvesting 222
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protocols and marketing systems. As GCCL is not equipped to address this agenda, it thought of establishing an alternative and independent support system that is rooted in the groups of tribals. This gave birth to a Trust by the Indigenous People for Research on Sustainable Technologies-Kovel Foundation in 1994. The Trustees of Kovel Foundation are elected by leaders of NTFP groups, from different regions of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh along with 3 nominated Trustees who are interested in tribal welfare and development. There are special invitees on the board including Managing Director of GCCL and Commissioner, Tribal Welfare. The organization is managed by qualified development professionals. The executive team of the organization has experts on botany, social work, marketing, capacity building, etc. The organization is named after "Kovel" tree (other local names are Kovela, Thapsi, Thabisi, Yerra/ Thellapoliki, KondaThamara, etc), which is one of the main income sources for tribal families. The main objective of the Foundation is to provide capacity building support to the tribals on NTFP related issues. The initial surveys of GCCL indicated that Kovel tree is one of the species that is fast declining. The gum is also one of the most remunerative products among NTFPs, indicating its importance in the lives of tribal families. GCCL also allocated highest share of its annual budgets for procuring gum from Kovel trees, which indicates the commercial value of this product and tree. GCC initiated "Gum Extension Fund (GEF)" - tribal Gum pickers paid Rs 2/ Kg of gum sold to GCC and matching contribution was given by GCC. 224
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GCC facilitated training program to the needy tribal families and also provided tool kits required for proper harvesting and processing of Gum Karaya. Later, Gum Extension Fund was discontinued due to change in GCC's policy and the accumulated fund was transferred to Kovel Foundation. Kovel Foundation is striving to improve its quality of services to tribal gum pickers. While focusing on capacity building, Kovel Foundation explored the reasons behind low income from gum. A team of botanists at Kovel Foundation sphereheaded this agenda and found that there are several problems with harvesting, collection and storing processes followed by tribals. They create more than one injury on the trunk with an axe to extract the gum. This is inappropriate and unscientific. This causes more damage to the tree, resulting in low quality gum and eventually death of the tree. Apart from this, there are several issues related to rights of NTFP. Traditionally, each village has informal rights over a certain patch in the forest and they harvest Non Timber Forest Produce from this area. Similarly, each family also has unwritten rights over certain number of trees/ locality. Others do not 'encroach' this land. The undefined jurisdiction and traditional equations changed, when the forest department gave rights over the same forest land to more than one village. This created some confusion on the jurisdiction of each village and family. The traditional practices of harvesting forest produce changed and irresponsible way of harvesting forest produce crept in. This also resulted in several disputes amongst the villages and the gum pickers. As this trend deepened, tribals realized that many Kovel trees died and that gum collection reduced Sticking your neck out, with a sticky gum bottle‌
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drastically. As a result, the income from Kovel trees also reduced considerably. In this context, Kovel Foundation evolved training programs and support systems and protocols were promoted. It organized several training programs, exposure visits, demonstration and field trials to motivate tribals to adopt scientific process of harvesting gum from Kovel trees (putting a blaze in half moon shape, putting a polythene liner to collect gum without contamination of tree bark sap). They also provided necessary tools that reduce damage to Kovel trees. This increases the life span of the tree, besides retaining gum quality. In addition, the Foundation tried to address the issue of ownership by facilitating allocation of the available trees in the village jurisdiction among the gum pickers of the village. Initially GCCL sponsored these capacity building programs and off late, Kovel has been collaborating with various Government and Non-Government agencies such as TRIFED, NIRD, NRLM, SERP, ITDAs, etc for this purpose. As tribals were organized and educated on scientific process of harvesting gum, grading and quality control, the gum received good price. Tribals realized the importance of these practices and started following the protocols suggested by Kovel Foundation. The success of Kovel Foundation in Gum Karaya intervention resulted in replicating the process in other States like Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, etc. Kovel was able to transfer the technology to Senegal, a West African country, and enabled the indigenous communities dependent on another important gum species similar to Kovel tree to earn increased incomes. As the Kovel trees were on the decline, Kovel Foundation started promoting its plantation. The Foundation established nurseries for and Sticking your neck out, with a sticky gum bottle‌
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motivated farmers to plant them in forest lands and also in private lands of individual farmers. Several farmers planted these trees in their agriculture and homestead lands. The farmerswho planted these trees in the initial phase have now started reaping the benefits. Kaka Lakshmaiah is one such farmer. Currently, Kovel Foundation is able to motivate about 10000 tribal families in 15 tribal Districts of AP and Telangana states to protect Kovel trees and adopt sustainable gum harvesting practices. As the plantation is a continuous program and the tree has long gestation period, Kovel Foundation encountered difficulty in motivating both officers and farmers. Kovel saplings need at least 9 to 12 months care in nursery and it produces gum only after 13 to 15 years. This means that the unit cost of raising Kovel sapling is much higher than any other tree. Thus, the forest department which expects quick results does not find this as an attractive proposition. As a result, the Gum Karaya/ Kovel Trees get very low priority in plantation programs, in spite of the gum being collected by large number of poorest of the poor tribals. GCCL also spends highest share of its budget in procuring Gum each year. During the past 5 years, the gum procurement is significantly less due to the drastic fall in the production. However, both forest department and GCCL gave low priority to plantation of Kovel trees. Kovel Foundation is making efforts to promote nurseries and plantations of Kovel trees in homestead plots, private lands of tribal community so as to ensure ownership on the trees. These efforts need consistent engagement with tribal families and also resources - financial and human. The conservation of Kovel trees adds value to the forest lands Sticking your neck out, with a sticky gum bottle‌
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and provides sustainable incomes to the poorest of the poor/ landless tribals. In this mammoth task of conservation and sustaining the Gum Karaya livelihoods, Kovel Foundation needs the support of external agencies including Government, Corporate, Industry and others.
M Waseem and MV Rama Chandrudu, WASSAN Based on the interviews with Ms. Hemalatha and Laxman, Kovel Foundation and villages where Kovel Foundation is working.
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About Cheriyal Paintings Shri D Vaikuntam and his family members Mrs. D Vanaja (wife); D Vinay and D Rakesh (sons) are keeping the tradition of Cheriyal Paintings of Telangana state, for generations. All members of the family are engaged in protecting and conserving this rare art form, that is not likely to survive for long. This is the only family in the country that is still engaged in this traditional art form. The Cheriyal Art has a unique character - red color background; vivid presentation of figures (men, women, animals, flowers, plants and others) with unique strokes and style. This art form belongs to "nakashi" form of paintings in India. But Cheriyal paintings contextualized this nakashi format to local Telangana and improvised it, with their unique styles. Apart from paintings and scrolls, Cheriyal Masks are also very attractive and unique with their bright colors and large eyes. D Vaikuntam received several awards from Central/ State governments, for his unique contribution to Cheriyal Art. D Vaikuntam and his family members agreed to present the key messages of these case studies. They spent time with us to understand the essence of each case study and presented it in their own style. These pictures further enriched the experiences, which are already exemplary in several ways. WASSAN thanks the family of artists of Cheriyal for their support in visualising these case studies. Pictures of some of the paintings/ scrolls and masks could be seen on this blog: http://vaikuntamnakash.blogspot.in/
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"…..In the middle of such despair and misery, there is a hope. "Imprints of Ecological Footprints - A Compilation of Ecologically Sensible Good Practices" is a compendium of good practices that brings the efforts made by relentless civil society organizations, citizens and community based organizations, to change the direction of the trend. These experiences brought cheer and hope in the lives of thousands of rural, tribal and urban citizens in India, who are part of these experiences. They took a different path that is less travelled and troublesome. There were several challenges, at each step and milestone. But they continued their journey and proved that "producing more with less" is possible. They also ensured that the ecological and environmentally sustainable processes are feasible for improving economic standards and quality of life of poor communities…"Aruna Rangachar Pohl, IFHD, Bangaluru. "……these experiences are invaluable and are certainly useful for provoking thoughts in the minds of participants of "Leaders for Nature" programs, which is organized by IFHD, IUCN, CII, Wild Life Trust of India, HIVOS and other likeminded organizations.The entire process of producing this compilation was an enriching and fruitful experience. It is a humbling experience for us to learn lessons from the interactions and visits to their villages/ sites. We genuinely believe that this compilation truly enriches the learning processes of "Leaders for Nature" program" - MV Rama Chandrudu, WASSAN