Implications of research on policy reforms in the forestry sector in India: the case of joint forest management

For any research to be able to feed into policy-making processes the findings, besides being scientifically sound, need to be communicated and accepted in networks where policy-makers are not only members, but also there is the 'factor of trust and respect' between them. In fact, networks have played important role in strengthening JFM in the country, by bringing the voice of the marginalised closer to the decision- making and policy levels.

In the initial stage of JFM, national-level networks such as the SPWD (Society for Promotion of Wasteland Development) National JFM (Joint Forest Management) Network and the WWF-India Foresters JFM Network had provided direction by holding national-level discussions on JFM. These forums enabled local level issues to be discussed and debated so as to strengthen JFM polices in the country. However, as there was no institutional ownership of this body by the MoEF, these institutions petered out after a while.

Meanwhile a wide range of marginalised stakeholders expressed the need for a neutral forum to influence policy-makers to come up with more people-friendly policies. The MoEF was also looking for an institutional mechanism to monitor the progress of JFM. Responding to these needs, a neutral stakeholders forum - Resource Unit for Participatory Forestry (RUPFOR), was initiated with support from Ford Foundation and is at present housed in Winrock International India.

Since its formation in 2001, RUPFOR has had considerable success in making the policy-making process a more participatory and inclusive one, however one cannot ignore the fact that it is a relatively new experiment that is still very much work-in-progress.