The Hindu Business Line : Partnership to save forests

IN a State known for its participatory approach to development, the `Kallar Vana Samrakshana Samiti' is, perhaps, an example of a public-private partnership that can work. A joint venture between the local community at Kallar in Thiruvananthapuram district and the Kerala Forest Department, the Kallar Vana Samrakshana Samiti is responsible for the care of 200 hectares of forest along the Kallar River.

Established a little over three months ago as part of the Kerala Forest Department's participatory forest management initiative, the Samiti has 250-odd members from 128 families living in the locality. Two people - one man and one woman - from each family are registered as members of the Samiti, and its affairs are managed by an executive committee, which includes a Forest Department official who also acts as the Samiti's secretary.

Besides protecting the forest, the Samiti's responsibilities also extend to the care of a two-kilometre stretch of the Kallar River. In fact, its area of operations also includes a popular tourist destination, the Meenmutty waterfalls, explains Mr R. Ashok Kumar, President, Kallar Vana Samrakshana Samiti.

Each member of the Samiti is expected to work in the project area for at least five days a month, he says. Members of the Samiti take turns to protect the forests from encroachers, clear garbage from the project zone and regulate the entry of people into the area, explains Mr Ashok Kumar. And because of the large number of tourists who visit the project area, especially the Meenmutty waterfalls, the organisation's members also double up as guides, he adds.

In an area where not many employment opportunities exist, the daily wage of Rs 80 that the Samiti pays to each member on duty in the project area is a major attraction. "The Vana Samrakshana Samiti has really changed our life," declares Mr Anil Kumar, one of the members of the Samiti. And with each member likely to get at least five days of work - in the project zone - every month, the guaranteed monthly income per household works out to Rs 800 a month, he adds.

Operating expenses are met out of funds generated by collecting a Rs 10 per head `service fee' from all visitors who enter the project area, explains Mr Ashok Kumar. Given the significant number of tourists who visit the area, this fee has emerged as the main source of revenue, he adds. In fact, in the three months of its existence, the Samiti has collected over Rs 76,000 as service charges.