Economic Rationality in Joint Forest Management: A Saga of the Bankura (North) Division, West Bengal

Abstract

Joint Forest Management (JFM), the partnership between the Government Forest Department and the forest - fringe community (organized through the Forest Protection Committees (FPCs)) towards Forest Protection, had its inception in the state of West Bengal and is considered to be most successful in this state. Bankura (North) Division, being part of the successful JFM zone, has some unique features like diverse topographical configurations and availability of commercially viable minerals beneath the forests in some areas and regions like Barjora. The study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of JFM from the economic perspective through understanding the effect of the protection-linked direct incentives, impact of market forces and the existence of demand for alternative use of forest land. In the study, 80 FPCs were studied, based upon the presence of 11 criteria chosen for the purpose. The results confirmed that the effect of protection - linked direct incentives, impact of market forces and existence of demand for alternative use do influence the effectiveness of FPCs. The findings also confirmed the existence of free - riders and the fact that the very JFM in the study area is in actuality a result of the choice of the economic rationale within the FPC community, rather than that of being motivated by the emotions attached to being a part of a peoples' movement, as is normally attributed to the JFM regime in south West Bengal.