1. Action in specific protected areas
Though there appears to be action on the ground in some of the six PAs discussed at the September 1994 workshop, no specific details are available. P.R. Seshagiri Rao, Indian Institute of Science has reported that, independently of this initiative, there is a move towards joint management of Nagarahole National Park. He has promised to send details, or request the concerned forest officers and NGOs to send us a write-up.
2. Regional Meetings
a. The Centre for Environment Education and other groups in collaboration with the Forest Department had planned a regional workshop on joint management in early January, at Sawai Madhopur. However, due to the upcoming elections, it was felt that many people may not be able to participate. The meeting has been postponed to mid-February; exact dates are not yet fixed. Contact: Sachin Sachdeva, Centre for Environment Education, 25 Jawahar Nagar, Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan. Ph: 07462-20210.
b. A proposal for a regional meeting in the North-east has been made by Dhrupad Choudhry of the G.B. Pant Institute. This is to be considered by the funding Steering Committee (see below) in March. Dates and venue are yet to be fixed. Contact: Dhrupad Choudhry, Scientist-in-Charge, G.B Pant Institute of Environment and Development, North-eastern Unit, OB 49 Naga Shopping Arcade (Supermarket complex), Dimapur - 797112, Nagaland.
3. Jungle Jivan Bachao Yatra
The Jungle Jivan Bachao Yatra, which was reported in the first Update, and about which two circulars have been sent to readers, has commenced from Sariska National Park on January 15. As reported earlier, this Yatra is being taken with the primary purpose of initiating a dialogue between local people of various areas, and between these people and the Forest Department. Having already traveled through Rajasthan, the Yatra will over the next few weeks cover national parks and sanctuaries in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh. While a detailed schedule has already been sent earlier, members wishing to join on a specific stretch can contact us, or the following state coordinators: Rajasthan: Rajendra Singh, Tarun Bharat Sangh, Bikampura - Kishori, via Thanaghazi, Alwar, Rajasthan, Ph:014652/4443; Maharashtra: Anand Kapoor, Maharashtra Arogya Mandal, Bhimashankar Project, P.O. Narodi, Tal. Ambegaon, Dist. Pune 410503B, Maharashtra, Ph: 02133/4263; Madhya Pradesh: Indu Netam, Ekta Parishad, 11, Shamla Hills, Bhopal, or Bittu Sahgal, Sanctuary Magazine, 602 Maker Chambers V, Nariman Point, Bombay, Ph: 2830061/81 (O) & 3633471 (R).
Short statements are being issued at every point of the Yatra, with details of the Yatra's main observations regarding the protected areas visited. A full report will be prepared at the end. Copies of the statements can be had from us, or from Bittu Sahgal (as above).
4. Meeting of Fund Steering Committee
As you may recall from Update1, a fund Steering Committee was to be set up to deliberate on the proposals received on JPAM. An initial list of 9 members had been proposed, namely Vinod Rishi/ Kishore Rao (MOEF), Representative of WII, Representative of WWF, Bittu Sehgal (IPT), Ashok Chaudhary (VIKALP), Kiran Desai (CCE), H.Ramachandran (LBSNAA), Rajendra Singh (TBS), Ashish Kothari (IIPA), Seshagiri Rao (IISc), and Michael Loevinsohn (IDRC). Under a proposal entitled " New Directions in Conservation of Wild Habitats", Prof. Ramachandran from LBSNA had outlined the structure and functions of Steering Committee. IDRC has given an initial grant of Rs. 23 lakhs for JPAM work, which this Committee is to disburse. This fund has been called the "New Directions in Conservation Fund (NDCF)".
There was a meeting of the Steering Committee in Dehra Dun on January 3, 1995 in which the following proposals for funding were discussed.
i. Shankar Narayan's proposal on " Protected Area Management Strategy for the Gir National Park, in Gujarat " (no amount specified).
ii.The Gujarat Ecological Commission's proposal of initiating a pilot Environmental Awareness and Communication programme for Junagadh (Gir). GEC says it can take up JPAM for the area due their strong existing networking of NGOs in Gir and surrounds (Rs. 32 lakhs).
iii.IIPA's proposal on " Towards Participatory Management of Protected Areas", which includes research and networking as a follow-up to the September workshop (Rs. 11 lakhs).
iv. Dr. Ramachandran's proposal to produce a newsletter on JPAM, at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy, Mussoorie (Rs. 2 lakhs).
v. Ashish Kothari's proposal for part funding of the Jungle Jivan Bachao Yatra (Rs. 60,000).
While the last two were accepted in principle, revisions of the other proposals have been sought before a decision is taken. A formal note on this is awaited from Dr. Ramachandran, Chairman of the Committee.
5. Follow-up Coordination Group
At an informal meeting held at IIPA on October 28 regarding steps needed to facilitate and coordinate the various follow-up actions emerging from the September workshop (reported in Update 1), it was decided to have a small and informal coordinating group. Suggested names were: Vinod Rishi/ Kishore Rao (MOEF), Representative of WII, Representative of WWF, Bittu Sehgal (IPT), Ashok Chaudhary (VIKALP), Kiran Desai (CCE), H.Ramachandran (LBSNAA), Rajendra Singh (TBS), Ashish Kothari (IIPA), Seshagiri Rao (IISc), and Michael Loevinsohn (IDRC). The suggested composition is very similar to the fund Steering Committee named above. However, it was stressed that the two functions should be separated, since the Steering Committee is meant only for the purposes of disbursing the NDCFund, while the overall coordinating group should be helping with the entire JPAM effort in various ways.
The above are only suggested names for the coordinating group. However, it is essential that the process of deciding this be democratic. If you have any suggestions for changes in this composition (additions or deletions of names), please send them in to us as soon as possible. As there are already a considerable number of follow-up activities going on, it would be necessary to have this group up and running as soon as possible. Please treat this as urgent. Any suggestions on the functioning and role of this group would also be most welcome.
6. Workshop Report
A detailed (50 pages) report on the deliberations at the JPAM workshop held in September 1994 has been completed. However, as there is no fund available yet to have the report reproduced or published, we are unable to immediately make it available to participants of the Workshop. Hopefully, some funds will come our way soon for this purpose. Meanwhile, copies are available for reference at the IIPA office.
JPAM Update 2 was prepared By Neena Singh, Saloni Suri, and Ashish Kothari. Ideas and comments may please be addressed to Ashish Kothari, Indian Institute of Public Administration, I.P. Estate, New Delhi 110002. Ph: 3317309; Fax:3319954; Email:akothari@unv.ernet.in. Please note that there may not be another Update for some months, as our funding situation is rather poor.
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Last modified on: Tue Apr 5 15:37:29 2005