IPP71Uttaranchal

Decentralised Watershed Development Project

Tribal and Transhumant

Strategy

Watershed Management Directorate

Uttaranchal, Dehradun

21 Feb, 2004

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CONTENTS

S1. No. Chapter Page No.

1 The Tribes in Uttaranchal State 4

2 Project Area 6

3 Experience from IWDP SIWALIK 16

HILLS-II

* 4 Strategy and Action Plan 18

5 Indicative Project Outlay for Tribal 23

Sub-plan

Annexure - Route Map

Abbreviations.

* ACF Assistant Conservator of Forests

* DFO Divisional Forest Officer

0 ESMF Environmental and Social Managemcnt Framework

* GI Galvanised Iron

C GPWDP Gram Panchayat Watershed Development Plan

C MDT Multi-Disciplinary Team

OM Operation Manual

RCC Reinforced Cement Concrete

RF Reserved Forests

RO Range Officer

RVC Reveneue Village Committee

* SHG Self Help Group

* UDWDP Uttaranchal Decentralised Watershed Development Project

* Vet Veterinary

* WMD Watershed Management Directorate

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Chapter - I

THE TRIBES IN UTTARANCHAL STATEThere are five tribes found in Uttaranchal state namely, Raji, Buxas, Tharus,Gujars, Bhotias and Jaunsaris. However, in the project area the only transhumanttribe is the Bhotia, while Jaunsaris are settled tribe. A brief introduction about allthe tribes and their socio-culture is given below:

(1) RAJI

Originally belong to the Indo-Tibetan border area of district Pithoragarh, atpresent residing in a few villages of Pithoragarh and Nepal. They are consideredthe descendents of KIRAT kingdom though some scholars trace their origin fromASCOTE kingdom or from Nepal. They are shy and try to keep themselvessecluded form other communities. Their main food is rice, fish, mandua etc. Theystill capture the fishes with the help of long clothe - The DHOTI from localponds & streams. They have their own dialect completely different from theKumaoniin which is not used by even the local communities.They have nospecific dress culture. The poverty forces them to wear only dhoti in lower half ofthe body keeping upper scantily. Children remain scantily dressed. Women wearGHAGHARA, Blouse etc. like other hill communities. They observe the Hindureligion with some specific modified rituals like community feast under a largetree in the month of October after worshipping the Goddess of Forest. Van-Devtais their main worshipping God along with some others like BHUMIA DEVI,GANAINATH, MANANATH, BALCHANDRA, JALDEVI etc. They have nospecific festival and fairs except Jol Jivi in October. They are mostly illiterate orlow in education which is the main reason of their backward ness. They are notpresent in the proposed Uttrancahchal Watershed Development Project (UWDP)area.

2. BUXAS - They mainly reside in district Udhamsingh Nagar, Tarai areaNainital, Haridwar, Pauri and Dehradun. They are not present in the proposedUWDP area.

3. THARU - Mainly reside in district Udhamsingh Nagar. They are not presentin the proposed UWDP area.

4

4. BHOTIAMainly reside in the border district of Chamoli, Uttarkashi, Bageshwar andPithoragarh in the North - East of Uttranchal. They observe the Hindu ritualsworshipping mainly GHANTA KARAN, PADAON, NANDADEVI etc.Marriages are made in vedic manner within the tribe. Death rituals are also likeHindus. Once in a year they celebrate a collective worship. Women and menhave equal status in this tribe. Their traditional profession is the production ofwool for which they rear Sheeps and Goats. The other livestock they own areMules and cows. Their dress is like other hill communities. The food consists ofrice and meat with self made wine. Their traditional dances are Pandav,Chhanchhadi, Chaufala which are performed during Baishakhi fair on Ashtami orduring marriages.

(5) JAUNSARIThey reside in the Chakrata tehsil of district Dehradun. The women wearGHAGARA, KURTA and DATU at the head with gold and silver ornaments.The men wear mainly Kurta, Paijama, Chola and cap on the head. There was atradition of polyandry, which is gradually diminishing, with the development ofeducation.They live in joint families. The food consists of wheat, rice and madua with meat.They celebrate Magh, Visso, Nunai, Jagda, Depawali and Deshara festival.

Table 1 - Population of Tribals, Census 1991

Si. No. Name of Tribes Population1. Raji 4162 Buxas 401673 Bhotia 234104 Tharu 661235 Jaunsari 66948

* Chapter II

* PROJECT AREA

* The project builds upon the successful experiences, and scale-up the coverage of* the current IDA/IBRD financed Integrated Watershed Development (Hills II).* The IWDP (Hills II) project covers five States. The project will expand the

geographical coverage of these successful experiences. It will expand to cover* 129 micro-watersheds in the Uttaranchal Hills benefiting the populations of 400* village Panchayats. The settled and transhumant population constitutes40 approximately 51350 i.e. 6.5% of the total population.

* Historical Background of the tribes in Project Area: When man* started to live in caves and started hunting for survival that was the beginning of

civilization. Slowly they started rearing animals and cultivate food products, andby in large took sedentary mode of life. However, there were some communities,

* which continued hunting, food gathering and rearing animals. They are todayknown as pastoral nomads and transhumant.

* The adaptive strategy practiced by pastoral nomadic societies is transhumance. It* is based on agro pastoral mode of subsistence. This was associated with the

movement of people and animal in vertical and horizontal space, which is a* cultural adaptive process that arose from response to a particular set of* environmental conditions. Their annual migratory cycle is a seasonal one with

longer and irregular period of migration, which often lasts for years. There aretwo types of transhumance practiced in Uttranchal (a) Intra valley transhumance -

* movement of pastorals between valleys to valley and (b) Inter valleytranshumance - movement of pastorals from foot hill and low land of Shivaliks tohigh Himalayan alpine valleys. In addition there are settled tribes called the

* Jaunsari..* 1. SETTLED TRIBE: The Jaunsari's are settled in the project area known as the

Jaunsar - Bhawar. The population is approximately 28, 941 and they are settled inChakrata and Kalsi blocks of Dehra Dun district. These blocks fall within the

* scheduled area. They receive all benefits from the different government schemesand the special privileges provided to scheduled areas under the tribaldevelopment plans.

.

6.

(a) Distribution of Settled tribal population (Jaunsari) in proposed project(UDWDP) Area

Table 2: Population of Settled tribe0_

S. District Development SW.S. Population of Settled tribeNo. Block

Bhotia Buxas Raji Tharu Jaunsari Gujar] Chamoli Tharali Simli - -

Pokhri PlusPokhri Simligad

Narainbagad Lower Pindar

Karn Prayag Lower Pindar

Gairsain MaigadKhansar

= Gairsain Alagad = = = =2 Pauri Dhangu Hiyunl

(Dwarikhal)

Dhangu Nayar Left(Dwarikhal)

Lansdowne Nayar Left _ :

Dwarikhal Nayar Left

Thalisain Bino Nadi

3 Tehri Jaunpur Aglar - 123Jaunpur Yamuna - 188

MiddlePratap Nagar Jalkurgad - -

Thauldhar Kharmolagad - -

Thauldhar Nagungad - _ _ - 28

Thauldhar Aglar - -

* 4 Uttarkashi Naugaon Kharmolagad -

Naugaon Yamuna -

MiddleDunda Indrawati - -

Dhanarigad

_ Chinyalisaur Indrawati 2Dhanarigad

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S. District Development SW.S. Population of Settled tribeNo. Block

Bhotia Buxas Raji Tharu Jaunsari GujarChinyalisaur Kharmolagad -

5 Dehradun Chakrata Amlawa 63 79 _ 6Saligad

Kalsi Amlawa 22221Saligad

Total . _ - 28941

(b) The Socio-cultural- religious scenario

* Polyandry is the principal feature of the system. The advantages of thesystem are locally said to limit the scope to fragment land holding andconflicts.

* In Jaunsar, the orthodox worshippers of the five great gods are few. The greatmajority of the people revere Mahasu or Parsuram, the sixth incarnation ofLord Vishnu. A famous temple to this later deity exists at Lakhamandal. Tothe east of pargana, the snake is adored. Mahasu, however, is the great god ofthe area and deserves a detailed notice.

* In Jaunsar- Bhawar, there are four deities known collectively as the Mahasudeotas, Basak, Pibasak, Buthiya or Baitha and Chalta or Chelda. The firstthree abide in temples dedicated to them at Hanol in Khat. Bhawar, at Tahnuin Khat Panjgaon and at Anwar. The fourth or Chalta Mahasu took up hisresidence at Bairat in Khat Kuru and moves from Khat to Khat as occasionarises.

(c) Participation in Pachyati Raj Institution: In Chakrata Tehsil the tribalpopulation (Jaunsaris) is about 66% of the total population. They actively takepart in decision making. They are represented in the panchayat raj institutions asPradhans as well as local representatives in Kheshtra and District Panchayat.They have access to all the benefits of various schemes-both state government aswell as centrally sponsored scheme especially designed to benefit tribals. Theyare educated and many have government and private sector jobs.

(d) Shelter: The typical Jaunsari houses are generally two to three storeyed, builtmainly of Deodar timber. Some of these houses have one or more rooms in thebasement used for storing grains. Cattle are seldom kept away and very oftenkept in the ground floor of the house. The walls of the houses are made ofhorizontal wooden beams with alternate layers of stone and rubble and roofs aremade of wooden slabs and slates. Roofs of GI sheets and RCC structures have

8

also become very common, particularly in the areas connected by motor ableroad. In addition, almost every family has one barn house which is entirely ofDeodar timber.

(e) Legal rights and concessions in reserved forests: Jaunsar-Bhawar wasformerly a part of Sirmour state and was conquered by the Gorkhas in 1804. Itpassed into British possession in 1815. The people had a right to forest producefor their personal, agricultural or domestic use and that was allowed by British tocontinue. They however, did not have a right to sell or alienate the produce soobtained. With the increase in population, pressure on the forests also increased,and in the interest of forest conservancy, various executive orders were passedfrom time to time defining, extending or limiting the rights of the people, whichwere finally settled in 1918-19 and sanctioned by notification No.104/XIV-217dated January 24, 1921.

* The region they are settled in is known as Jaunsar-Bhawar which is dividedinto groups of villagers called Khats. Each Khat used to be under a recognizedheadman called Sardar Sayana, but with the application of ZamindariAbolition Act to this area, the institution of Sardar Sayanas has beenabolished. All rights to forest produce have been recorded by Khats and aredistributed among individuals according to rules, as notified under ForestDepartment Notification No. 1227/XIV-217 dated 15 th January 1920 and G.O.No.1222/XIV-217 dated July 17, 1920. Grazing rights have, however, beenfixed by individual villages are included in Khat. The maximum number ofcattle owned by a village can be apportioned among the individual rightholders of the village concerned and if the total number of cattle owned by avillage is less than the number it is entitled to graze, the excess right can bedistributed among other villagers of the Khat.

* All people enjoy rights to graze their animal nd forest produce in Jaunsar-Bhawar. This implies that a Khat has a right not to any particular area but towhole of Jaunsar-Bhawar. Following table gives in brief the annual rights andconcessions enjoyed by the people.

Table 3: Recognized RightsNature of rights Extent of rights Remarks1.Trees 1. Deodar 273 trees Regulation of rights of the species is by

2. Chir 377 trees number of trees only. Right to Deodar has3. Kail 205 trees been fixed at 273 trees of 1.8 to 2m girth.4.Rail Morinda 250 trees If trees outside this girth class are given,5. Moru 257 trees the number will be calculated from factors6. Ban 453 trees given in para 19 of notification7. Sal 52 trees No.1222/XIV-217 dated 17.07.1920. The

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Nature of rights Extent of rights Remarks. rights can be accumulated for 3 years.

Deodar planks a 7206 dry Deodar planks and Right holders have the option to exchangebeams from fallen from fallen Deodar trees the right to the whole as part of the dryDeodar trees planks and beams for an equivalent

quantity of unsawn timber. Thedepartment has the option of supplyingthis equivalent either at a rate of 0.038cum of sawn timber or 0.057 cum ofunsawan timber per plank or beam

2.Grazing Buffaloes 434 Grazing rights have been fixed byCow 22439 individual villages and can be apportionedSheep 44185 among individual right holders or amongGoat villages of the same Khat. Excess number

of cattle in village can be allowed to grazeon payment of fee.

3.Lopping All species other than Lopping of certain species allowed all theconifer, exotics and year round unrestricted in conifers forestscultivated fruit trees beyond else where if is regulated.50ft. the road can be lopped.

4.Fire wood and Removal permitted for bona Deodar and Leuri logs more than 0.91m incharcoal fide use from fallen trees girth can not be cut for firewood. Hammer

and stumps of felled trees marks from stumps not to be obliterated.and by cutting the shrubs.

5.Ringal Permitted for bona fide use Not more than 2/3rd of the culms of anywithout any limit for clump can be used in any one year.marking baskets, mats, etc.but not for manure, fodderor litter.

6.Leaves to roofs, Climbers and shrubs can be DFO is empowered to prohibithouse, to make taken unrestricted. Leaves temporarily, cutting, removing or loppingumbrellas of tree can also be taken as of all shrubs in any area in which their

provided under lopping preservation is required, provided there isrights. sufficient forest or wasteland in the

neighbor hood.7.Roots herbs, Permitted for bona fide Use of fire not permitted in collectingbark of the shrubs requirement honey.for medicinalpurposes, fruits,honey, baib grass,climbers, cuttingof grass etc.8.Fishing Permitted throughout the Nets can be used in Yamuna, Tons, Pabar

year by rod and lime and Amlawa only.9.Quarrying of Permitted for bona fide Allowed only under a permit from theslates domestic requirements DFO.

Ol.Right of way to For human beings existing If it is required to provide the water for

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* Nature of rights Extent of rights Remarks* water rights to continue. For cattle cattle in areas closed to grazing, them

the right to water allowed previous permission must be obtained.* only in areas open to* grazing.

I1 .Burning ghats All the existing ones can be Fallen wood can be collected for forests to* in RF used provided intimation is bum the bodies.

given to forest staff and fire* is put out before going* _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ away.

Table 4: Recognized Concessions

Name of Khat Nature of concessionAthgoan upreli 5 Rhododendron trees and dry fallen Rai timber if availableBhawar Two inferior trees if available, to make vessels.Deoghar Two inferior trees (Sandan and the kile) if available for the purpose of

making vessels.Silgoan Alsi Alsi village has a concession to one inferior tree species unspecified, for

*________ plough etc.

* * In addition special free grants may be sanctioned in case houses are destroyed* by fire.* * (Against the permissible quantity of rights and concessions mentioned above,

only 1/ 4th quantity was being utilized by the right holders. Rights were more* than enough to meet their demand PLEASE check this fact and mention the* source).

* (f) Agricultural customs and dependence of Jaunsari people on* forests - The people of Chakrata Tehsil by and large live on subsistence* farming. Gradually some people have entered in various government jobs and

they provide support to the economy of the area to some extent. Some people* have become petty contractors, small businessmen, and professionals.* Nevertheless, the people are mostly rural and their main occupation is* agriculture, cattle rearing and sheep breeding. Big herds of cattle are generally

kept. Improved breed have not been adopted so far by the villagers and therefore* majority of the cattle produce little milk and are kept mainly for dung to be used* as manure. Recently some people have realized importance of fruit trees and

small orchards can be observed coming up on the gentle and steep slopes in* certain areas.* * Cultivation is done both on terraced and un-terraced fields. The main crops

raised are paddy, maize, pulses, madua in kharif and wheat and barley in rabi.Apart from cereals, they also grow cash crops like potatoes, beans, chillies,

* ginger, turmeric etc. Some surplus of the cash crops walnuts, ghee and timber

* 11

.

are exported to plains. Most of the non agricultural products of day to day use* and considerable quantities of food grains, sugar, gur, and oil are imported.* (g) Livestock - In the two development blocks Chakrata and Kalsi as per thei recent survey indicates people are highly dependent on goat and cow.

Table 5 - Population of Livestock

Types of animal Animal population Remarksaccordi g to 1998 census

* 1 Chakrata Kalsi Total1 ~~ ~ ~~~2 3 4 5

* Cow 30034 22321 52355 There are 315 cross breed cow familyBuffalo 3847 4819 8666 livestock at Kalsi and 2 at ChakrataSheep 464 3782 4246

* Goat 41167 27086 68253

.* * The forest area and grazing land outside RF have already been degraded to

the extent that these can not provide fodder to the animals round the years, the* reserved forests are over burdened with the pressure of grazing and lopping.* Problems of uncontrolled grazing for long periods every year have caused

deterioration of some good forests as in Mundali and Murach compartmentsof Deoban and Kanasar blocks. In Murach and Mundali villagers take their

* horses, non milking cows and buffaloes for grazing in the mouth of April* every year. These cattle are left free to graze till the month of July/August

when they bring them home.

* (h) Nature of Dependency on forests - (a) Timber and ballies forD construction of house; (b) Fuel wood; (c) Wood for agricultural implements,

utensils and torch wood; (d) Grass and leaf fodder for animals; (e) Oak leaves* and pine needles used as litter for cattle bed, to be finally used as manure; (f)* Building stones and slates for roofing; (g) Ringals for basket and mat making andl (h)Fruits, medicinal herbs, fibres.

* All these products are collected by the villagers from the Reserve Forest areas* free of cost. Although about two-third of the forest area of the region wasl given to the villagers as their own forests locally called Khatbans, but because

of over-exploitation and mismanagement most of these Khatbans have now* been reduced to bare unculturable hill sides..

* (i) Problem analysis: Since, the Jaunsari's are settled in the project area withlarge livestock population special emphasis is required on fodder plantations inChakrata and Kalsi blocks and improved pasture management. Their other

* problems of the are mainly the protection, reclamation, improvement of their0

o ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~12

agricultural lands, link roads, employment generation, permanent lined channels,* introduction of better agricultural & horticultural techniques etc..

* 2. TRANSHUMANTS -Mainly Bhotia tribes are found as transhumant* population in the project area. With advancement in life style this tribe has also

settled in some pockets of the project area. Bhotias shepherds from Uttarkashi* and Chamoli districts also migrate in winter season to the Shivalik region. They* rear goats and sheep and come to the low land during winter from high hills. The

Bhotias Shepherds do not keep their families during their migration period. Theymove with their herd of sheep and goats and three or four servants to look after

* the herd. They maintain a settled life in high hills.

(a) Migratory Routes

* There are two traditional routs through which the Bhotias migrate to lowerarea in winter.1. Munsyari/Dharchula +* Thal '*' Lohaghat +'

0 Champawat

0 Sukhidhang +.oI Tanakpur m+I Haldwani

2. Munsyari/Dharchula +1 Thal +* Berinag +

Barecheena

0 Almora +~i Pura +-I' Nandhor

0 * This route takes them around 3-4 months to reach their destination wherethey stay from March to September. Their travel starts around middle of

* September and they reach Kotdwar and Duggadda around November. Ind February they start moving towards high hills again. So the total stays of

these sheep owners are from May till September in high hill settlement and* from November to February in the lower altitude of Kotdwar andd Duggadda. They do not strictly follow these traditional routes. Theyd deviate from the traditional routes often as per their convenience.

* They depend on agriculture along with animal husbandry. They get the* permission of Forest Officials for six months from October to March. Thed permission of grazing is given to them in identified compartments of

Forest Range. In each family there are one master and 3-4 servants who* reside by making temporary huts inside forest. They should not be calledd family as generally the members are not related to each other. The

distribution of Bhotia tribes as resident and transhumant in the project areaas follows-

0

013

0

Table 6: Population Distribution

Sl. No. Name of District Name of Block Population1 Almora Garur baijnath 60

* 2 Bageshwar Bageshwar 225Kapkot 1306

3 Pithoragarh Dharchula 6404* Munsyari 7167* Berinag 407

Didihat 293Kanalichina

* 4 Uttarkashi Bhatvari 1142* 5 Chamoli Joshimath 4534

*________ Dasholi 1872* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~23410

* * The nomads now distinctly prefer that their children should get into more* rewarding professions rather than to follow the traditional occupation of

their elders. Many of their youth are now successfully joining the army,* becoming teachers or taking up other government jobs after completing* their basic education. Other reason for this gradual decrease in the number

of nomads coming to the project are seen economic changes in the area,0 increasing local population, decreasing sources of forage and gradual* change of the life style of the younger generation among nomads.

* (b) Rights and Concessions in Reserved Forest - The Bhotias enjoytraditional privilege of grazing in the forest area. The legal status seems to varyfrom forest division to division. Divisions make provision for grazing concession

* but no rights. Free grazing is allowed inside RF up to the carrying capacity. It0 was believed that such arrangements would create a sense of responsibility

among themselves and they would abstain from destructive lopping practices.* (c) Measures Adopted by Forest Officials to control Grazing- The* rules prescribed in the working plan provides for (i) Enumerations of cattle to be

done by a forest officer not below the rank of a forester; (ii) All cattleenumeration should be completed and approved by the DFO by 3 0 th September;

* (iii) Cattle should be marked; (iv) Cattle counting should be checked - 25% by* RO, 5% by ACF; (v) DFO will issue a grazing permit on which the serial number

of the grazer will be mentioned; (vi) A herds man has to appointed to look after* 50 cattle in the forest. Cattle with no herd's man will not be allowed in the* forests. A serially numbered grazing badge should be given to every grazer; (vii)

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Every herds man must carry the badge and the permit with him at all times in theforest; (viii) Cattle without a heads man will be sent to the "Kanji House"; (ix) Arecord of grazing incidence actually permitted must be maintained separately foreach block showing the number of Cow units admitted for grazing; (x) Cattleshould be vaccinated for Rinder pests; (xi) The DFO can make other rules forhaving effective control on grazing.

(d) Problems - There is losses of dozens of animals due to hailstorms orinfectious diseases in the project area within a span of 2-3 days. Shortage ofdrinking water for their livestock and for humans has been observed in theproject area. During their stay in the region facilities for shelter is extremelylimited.

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* Chapter III

* EXPERIENCE FROM IWDP SIWALIK HILLS-II0 In Shiwalik Hills -II project the experience of working with tribal communitywas encouraging for the department. Mainly Gujars, Tharus and Bhotias were* found either in settled forn or as transhumant. In order to benefit the tribals,0 tribal sub-plans were prepared to achieve the following objectives -

* 1. To mitigate anticipated adverse impacts on environment.* 2. To support the marketing of milk and setting up milk co-operatives.3. To improve the water availability in dry season for livestock and human* consumption.* 4. To improve animal health and support breed improvement.0 5. To organize them to boost up their traditional skills like fiber handicraft, matmaking, fisheries etc. to use it as a part of their economic development* After a careful implementation of the plans prepared by village institution,* GAREMA, following achievements were realized -

* 1. Conservation of forest for future and sustainable utilization of forest* resources- fodder, fuel and water.0 2. Proper management of fodder through use of mangers and 'chaff - cutters'.3. On- going efforts to include them in different developmental programmes.* 4. Productive land with proximity to market or on the milk route was provided0 to them.

5. Veterinary services were provided for breed and health-improvement of* livestock.* 6. Established linkages with milk co-operatives and market forces7. Support for improved water availability in the dry season for livestock was* provided.* 8. Proper management of fodder through awareness programmes was achieved.9. Veterinary services were provided.

10. Empowerment of women through the formation of Self Help Groups.* 11. Specific activities promoted under the tribal sub plan for the Tharu tribe of* the Hills-2 Project area are as follows:-

* (1) Fiber Handicraft* As the Tharu women are traditionally crafts women, they were motivatedand trained in different handicraft items to involve them in commercialmarketing. The supply of raw material ensured through the formnation of grass0

* 1 6Sa

banks. Their products were exposed to the market through the stalls in big fairslike Pantnagar Kisan Fair, Trade Fair, Pragati Maidan, New Dehli etc. Finallythey made a federation to boost up their activities and opened a local shop inSitarganj area as a sale point as well as a point where the concerned institutionscan reach them easily for orders and supply. At present the 27 Tharu SHGs arehaving around 3.50 lac rupees in their account which is increasing fast. One suchTharu lady of village Lauka got the opportunity to represent the Tharu skill offiber handicraft in a conference on Global Perspective on Indigenous People'sForestry Linking Commerce, communities and Conservation held at Vancouver,Canada in June 2002.

(2) FisheryThe Tharu skill and long time experience in fish culture was utilized asan additional income generation activity in the village ponds which were made toconserve the water for dry seasons. They added ducks to these ponds themselves.

Now they are earning around Rs. 50,000 per year per pond from this activity.

(3) Institutional StrengtheningThe village institution- GAREMA of 17 Tharu villages of the IWDPHills-2 has emerged as a very strong institution not only for the Project Works

but as a strong social institution also. They are now discussing collectively theproblems of the village as a whole, taking decisions and implementing them.They are now better mixing with the other communities for the developmentthrough the collective efforts. These 17 Tharu villages are having around 12 lacrupees in their Revolving Fund at their disposal.

In addition to the investments made in accordance with the plans additionalprograms were undertaken like (i) Natural Breeding Centers; (ii) ParaVeterinarians support; (iii) Silage Demonstration; (iv)Nitrogen treatment of cropresidue; (v) vaccination campaign; (vi) Live-stock shows; (vii) Castration; and(ix) Water holes/Chari

17

*

Chapter IV

* Strategy and Action Plan

The main objective of the proposed project is to increase the productivity and* income of the rural inhabitants in the project area through sustainablea management of natural resources. Since agriculture and related activities are the

main source of livelihood for the proposed target area, land based activities andlivestock will play a significant role in achieving the project objectives. The

* project will reduce the emphasis on traditional crops and will increasea prominence on high value crops and value addition through grading, packaging,

processing and encouraging organic farming. Further, to ensure sustainability of* the proposed activities, emphasis will be placed on reducing subsidies anda ensuring cost sharing by participants for capital investments and also the

recurrent costs associated with maintenance of the assets.

a As it is well established, the tribal/ nomadic group's strong self-identification is adistinct cultural group; they are vulnerable to being disadvantaged. Therefore,there is need to ensure that following objectives are achieved:

* * To sensitize all project partners about their cultural uniqueness and theya are able to anticipate any possible adverse trends/ impacts due to which

they neither suffer adverse effects during the development process nor face* economic subordination.a * There is informed participation of the indigenous people in the project

activities and they identify their local preferences through direct* consultation process and incorporation of their indigenous knowledge.* * Development plans give due consideration to the options preferred by thea indigenous people.

The indigenous people benefit from development investments and they* receive special attention to avail of culturally compatible social and* economic benefits with social opportunities.

The opportunity of supporting tribal groups will be through a conscious effort in* preparing action plans that safeguards their interests and the provisions to ensure

that nomadic populations within the project areas are not negatively impacted.Also they obtain a fair share of culturally compatible benefits through project

* interventions. They are recognized as important partners and stakeholders ina various stages of the project cycle.

* (a) Institutional Arrangement: The project will benefit both the settled tribes* and the transhumant population. The institutional arrangement to facilitate thea preparation, implementation and monitoring for these groups varies. Overall

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project will be managed by the Watershed Management Directorate (WMD)under the leadership of the Chief Project Director, who would be responsible forimplementation of the project. In addition to the existing technical andadministrative staff, the WMD at Dehradun would appoint a Deputy ChiefProject Director and a Coordinator for Environment and Social aspects of theproject and a Communications Specialist. The responsibilities of the WMDwould be overall management of the project, release of funds to the ProjectDirectors and Divisional Project Directors on a timely basis, management ofprocurement of high value for the project, maintenance of project accounts,monitoring, organizing training of the project staff at various levels andimplementing the communications strategy for the project. Below the CPD, theWMD has two Project Directors for Gharwal and Kumaon regions. Below thePD are Deputy Project Directors with a multi-disciplinary team of 4-5 peopleeach. The multi-disciplinary teams (MDT) would include experts fromhorticulture, agriculture, animal husbandry, minor irrigation, forestry and acommunity mobilizer. In the case of the settled tribe the NGO will be required toprovide on-going support, training and career development opportunities for thecommunity mobilizers. They will facilitate the tribals to prepare Revenue VillageCommittee Proposals (RVC) and consolidate them in the GP watershed*Development Plan (GPWDP)which will be implemented by their respectiveGram Panchayats (GP). However, for the transhumant population, the WMD willbe solely responsible to carry out the project preparation and implementationthrough the consultative framework provided in the Operational Manual (OM)which includes the Environment and Social Management Framework (ESMF).

(b) Action Plan Project: The Forest department reaction to protect interventionsfavoring nomads and tribes was little unsympathetic and rigid. However, withtime there has been a shift in the attitude. The project interventions should beadequately phased out so that reciprocal obligations to natural resource basemanagement are clearly understood between various stakeholders. It is acontinuous learning process for the project and will help us to fine tuneimplementing successful strategies to reduce threat of degradation of naturalresource base. The intervention strategy has triggered the need for creativeintervention and lateral thinking among the project staff.

(i) Orientation of staff- Experience from Hills II project indicates that steps haveto be taken to strengthen the training and reorientation of staff working in thetribal and transhumant areas for mainstreaming their issues. Informal interactionsand humility are central to the project staffs' interaction with the tribal. Theproject staff is initiating dialogue with what the tribal know, understand and learnfrom them, build on what they know. There is complete role reversal on accountof new orientation and "handing over the stick" as a part of this management ofchange. There is a slow shift from regulatory mode to participatory mode. The

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planning process has been geared up to ensure that relationships can be improvedthrough participation, consultation and conflict management after carefulunderstanding of the existing relationships among transhumant pastoral groups,settled stakeholders groups, Government staff and the vulnerable groups. Seriesof sensitization and orientation workshops between the field staff and watershedproject implementation office to take forward the implementation of nomadicplan have been planned. The thrust will be towards developing skills of theproject staff to carry out consultations with the stakeholders

(ii) Interventions - As a broader guide line the negative & positive list ofinterventions may be prepared like one proposed below -

- Positive List* Vet. Aid camps* Vet. Aid kits* Mobile vet. Services.* Tarpaulins/Polythene sheets/Swiss tents.* Medical check up camps* Fodder kits* Medicines for tribal/ nomads* Awareness campaigns* Fodder plantations and raising of pastures, fodder grasses.

- Negative List* Any thing which is not accepted by the tribal & transhumance community.* Any thing against their cultural heritage and ethnic identity as given in

previous para.* Anything that encroaches upon their traditional rights in the forest areas as

given in previous para.

(iii) Animal Husbandry - The basic strategy will be to focus on their animalhealthcare, providing them mobile veterinary healthcare facilities, distribution ofveterinary minikit, feed concentrates, organizing health camps at their places ofstay, medicine for animal healthcare etc. In short, so far Bhotias are concerned,the main focus area will be animal health care and animal related activities. De-worming and other suitable basic medical support has resulted in near zeromortality of animals in previous Projects. The project therefore has to carefullyfocus on a strategy of strengthening the availability of medical facilities for theanimals/ cattle of tribal/ nomads through the provision of mobile veterinaryservices, providing emergency medicine kits and training them to use the kits andother similar appropriate measures.

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(iv) Other intervention - The project interventions have to be aimed at attemptingto revitalize common-property regimes for the settled tribe and other measuresfor transhumant population.

The project had also explored the possibility of providing better shelter for thenomads during their stay in the area. In areas where nomads are visiting on aregular basis, the tents will be provided through the department at the earliest.Interestingly, when the nomads arrived in the area and their priorities wereascertained, top priority they asked for support to protect tender off-springs oftheir animal flock rather than for themselves. Small tarpaulin sheets may beprovided by department for protection of new born animal off-springs.

The project has also to augment fodder and biomass resources for the cattle in thearea with careful monitoring that the interface between the permanent residentsand the nomads is of a mutually beneficial nature and not exploitative. Theplantations under the schemes of pasture development and silvipasture willgenerate the employment for these tribal as well will be helpful in reducing thegrazing pressure on adjacent forest areas. Planting of Moras alba (Mulberry)trees might be an important intervention to raise income level of the settled tribalas well as other landless families on the project area through sericulture.

The tribal of Uttaranchal (e.g. Jaunsari's in district Dehradun and Bhotias indistrict Chamoli and Pithoragarh) have a very good traditional knowledge ofmedicinal plants growing in their areas. This traditional knowledge is transferredfrom one generation to another. Most of these tribals, still today, believe incuring their ailments by using the medicinal plants. So, cultivation of medicinalplants in tribal dominated villages might be an important intervention to augmentthe income level of settled tribal.Specific interventions are as follows -

* Proper grazing management,* Tribal/nomads capacity building* Shelter facilities* Augmentation of water availability* Fodder management and fodder treatment* Mini-fodder kits* Promotion of medicinal plants

(c) Implementation Schedule - The implementation schedule for thepreparation and implementation of GPWDP for the settled tribe will be accordingto the OM. In the case of the transhumant population the implementation willcontinue through out their migratory period with scope to modify the agreedplans. Given below is the proposed schedule:

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Activity First Year Second Year Third Year ResponsibilityIdentifying the October to MDTspecific Januarylocations andthe target groupAwareness November MDTabout theproject andconsultationwith the targetgroupNeed December to MDT and theassessment February target groupPreparation of March Target groupPlan and MDTAgreements March Target groupreached with the and MDTtarget groupApproval of April PDPlanProcurement of May to August WMDgoodsDistribution of October to October to MDTgoods February FebruaryTraining of the October to October to October to MDTpeople February February FebruaryVeterinary October to October to MDTservices February February

(d) Budget - The proposed budget is approximately Rs 200 million which isapproximately 6.5% of the total project cost. In the case of the settled tribe, thefund management will be the responsibility of the respective Gram panchayat andin the case of the transhumant it will be managed by the WMD. The followingtable provides detailed information.

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INDICATIVE PROJECT OUTLAY FOR TRIBAL SUB-PLANSI. No. Activities Executing body Proposed outlay Remark

in million Rs.* ______ For Settled Tribe (Jaunsaries)

.

Activities to beActivities as per GPWDP GP 175.00 carried out as per* Operational

Manual.* For Transhumant (Bhotias).* 1 Vet. Aid camps Watershed

department* 2 Vet. Aid kits* 3 Mobile vet. Services -

4 Shelter/Polythene - Activities to bel sheets/Tarpaulins carried out as per

5 Medical check up camps - tribal sub-plan6 Fodder kits __25.00 by watershed* 7 Medicines for tribals - department8 Awareness campaigns -

* 9 IGA (Poultry, Gottery -* etc.)

10 Raising of pastures, -* _ _ fodder grasses _ ________

11 Fodder plantations -

Total 200.00.

0.

.0

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