Master thesis

5.1.4Jaisalmer District Conclusion

Overall the Jaisalmer District, with its very harsh nature and scarcity of resources, are maintaining well functioning local governance of the CPRs. There are no examples of inter-village conflicts, such as the case of Udaipur and only minor conflict within the villages. The size of the Orans and Gochars as well as their necessity for the communities’ survival is definitely contributing to the community solidarity and accountability towards the norms and thereby towards supporting the local management. This is partly out of necessity as well as due to no outside actors are doing development work on the Commons other that the water conservation efforts by the Government. The encroachment levels in both villages are low and there is basically no one who breaks the rules towards the sacred areas. In both villages the elders could not remember anyone felling a tree within the Oran. Although fines are rarely given, the strongest sanction is the exclusion from the community and the fear of the gods’ anger for “trespassing” on their land.

Although many of the encroachments in the Barren land and in the Revenue wasteland are seen as private property, due to the size and the poor status of the areas this is currently of no real concern to the villagers. This indicates that some of the villages are prioritising their individual gains over the good of the community, the majority is well aware of the sensitive situation of the environment and show consideration and restriction towards private usage in the Orans and Gochars.

In accordance with Ostrom´s principles of community management, the communities in Jaisalmer have well functioning and participatory community institutions and decision making processes. The size of the land makes it impractical to uphold a strict form of property as well as the area needed to meet the resource needs, which fits well with Ostrom’s principles. The scarcity of the resources is well known and intensively felt during droughts and this leads to a good community management with very little help from external players. An overall monitoring of the CPRs, however, is difficult to make effective due to the size, which does not fit with Ostrom’s theory but because the main resources are located within the Orans and Gochars the monitoring of these areas is fairly efficient. The most efficient governing tool in Jaisalmer is the “fear of the gods”, trespassing into the Orans is unthinkable to all members of the community and this have led to a good local management of the sacred areas.

5.1.5Case III - Alwar District

Alwar District; is located in the north-east corner of Rajasthan. It is bound on the north by Bharatpur district and the Gurgaon and Mahendragarh districts of Punjab, and on the south by Jaipur and Sawai Madhopur districts. According to the Census of 2011, Alwar had a population of 3.671.999 of which male and female were 1.938.929 and 1.733.070 respectively. There was increase of 22.70 percent in the population compared to population as per 2001. In the previous census of India 2001, Alwar District recorded increase of 27.22 percent to its population compared to 1991. The initial provisional data suggests a density of 438 in 2011 compared to 357 of 2001. Topographically, Alwar district is characterised by ridges of rocky and precipitous paralleled hills. The Aravalli range runs southwards from the north-east, surfacing again towards the south-west at the Jaipur district boundary. These chains of hills intersect the district: to the west is a level plain, mostly sandy and dotted with small hills; on the eastern side is a succession of hill ranges.

Like all districts in Rajasthan, Alwar experiences erratic seasonal rainfall. The annual average is 61.16cm, but this is generally scattered and uneven, meaning the occurrence of both drought and flooding in the region is frequent but highly unpredictable. In response to this underlying uncertainty the region’s rural inhabitants employ a variety of subsistence strategies, including agro-pastoralism, rain-fed and irrigated agriculture and more specialised forms of crop rotation, mixed cropping and agro-forestry.

Three villages in Alwar was selected for the study, namely Bakhtpura, Kalikhol and Kairwari. The villages are an integral part of a macro watershed ‘Umren Development Block located along the east - north periphery of the well-known Sariska Tiger Reserve, in Alwar district of Rajasthan State.

After Independence, a series of land reforms were implemented in Alwar. These were characterised by the discontinuity of the zamindar system (intended to enhance tenurial security for the rural poor) and the conservation of state lands through the process of nationalisation. Both the Forest Department and the Panchayat system that replaced intermediaries under the 1955 Rajasthan Land Tenancy Act were ill-equipped to control village commons. Prior to this, forests had generally been well maintained through coercive local governance, but now such areas fell victim to bureaucratic incompetence, corruption and widespread unchecked resource extraction for industrial concerns¹⁶⁸.

Villagers commented that their fathers’ generation was greatly concerned by this trend, but that they lived in constant fear of the Forest Department guards, who would demand bribes of ghee or threaten villagers with firearms. As such, they could do little to prevent the depletion of their traditional resource base. There followed a period of some three decades, in the region, during which forests became increasingly degraded. Finally, the pressure from illegal timber contractors began to let off, and the attention of Forest Department turned elsewhere. After years of widespread neglect, the people were left with a simple choice: protect the remaining forest or give up their traditional livelihoods. They chose the former, bringing together age-old systems of ‘ecological prudence’ and new, formalised management institutions.

With the legislative emphasis now firmly on wildlife conservation and the Reserve increasingly touted as a natural place (Shahabuddin et al. 2005) or wilderness (Sehgal 2001), the region’s human populations were again placed in the spotlight. Sariska’s management plans declared human habitation to be a major threat to the preservation of the Reserve’s flora and fauna, in particular the tiger (Government of Rajasthan, 2002). According to a comprehensive report on ‘human-nature interactions’ in Sariska, done by the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), “agriculture introduces “exotics”, changes animals’ feeding habits, depletes water resources, and induces soil erosion; grazing spreads disease and weeds, and creates fodder scarcity; and fuelwood collection decreases forest density and cover, and leads to irregular and stunted tree growth” (cited in Johari 2003:106). From 1982 and onwards, this logic was used to legitimate sustained attempts to relocate settlements situated in Sariska. Already at this time, a number of villages had been forcibly evicted following a ban on agriculture in the valley introduced during the 1960s. Now, efforts were formalised and intensified. Despite this increased pressure, village relocation from Sariska have been far from a smooth process.

Sariska Tiger Reserve has experienced serious problems with illegal timber production and poaching since its creation. There are no original tigers left in the forest and five tigers from Ranthambore tiger reserve have been moved into the area, four are now left. Some possible reasons for this decay are stated in the village interviews further on.

The most immediate threats to the existence of traditional resource management systems are increasing human and livestock population, which may render institutions such as Khadu, Kankad, Dhara, Dharadi, Johad entirely ineffectual. These systems evolved several generations ago, when total demands for natural resources were considerably less. These systems are based on inherited land tenure – de facto rights to a pond or patch of pasture – and as such can persist only so long as there is space enough for new Johads and Dharas. Moreover, by the community’s own admission the shift from cows to small ruminants has resulted in poor floral regeneration, as goats are prone to graze on new seeds and shoots, as soon as they appears.

For Alwar village details see Appendix III

Village Statistic:

Village	Total area Ha	Irrigated area (Ha)	Un- irrigated Area (Ha)	Cultivable Waste (Ha)	Area not available for cultivation (Ha)	Forest Ha
Bakhtpura	346	119	35	14	30	148
Kalikhol	265	27	123	24	25	66
Kairwari	306	66	211	9	20	0

The land areas of the CPRs in the three survey villages in Alwar is fairly small, with the forest in Bakhtpura being the only large area of CPR, although this area is part of the tiger reserve and many of the traditional rights no longer apply to this forest.

Land holding varies from Buffer area to outside the reserve, in Kalikhol village located in the buffer zone, the average land holding is 0.8 hectares per house hold where as it is on an average 2 ha per household outside the reserve.

Status of encroachment:

All of the Revenue Wasteland areas in all three villages are highly encroached upon, ranging from 83-99%, and it is partly due to the availability of regularization. As stated earlier, the high level of encroachment in this category is a general trend in all of Rajasthan, as the government policy naturally applies to this category in all of the state. The Barren category on the other hand holds only a fairly low level of encroachment (3-10%) as this land is not available for regularization and therefore little effort is put into the land.

The Oran/Devbani category in Alwar is generally well vegetated in all three villages. There is only little encroachments within the Orans and only significant in Kairwari village. The encroachment here is due to the expanding village and population as well as a growing neglect for the old traditions by the new generations.

Status of vegetation:

The landscape appears for half a year barren and brushy, its plains and ridges dominated by thorny shrubs, sinewy grasses and the occasional stunted acacia. The Orans in all the villages look well vegetated, where as wastelands and forest lands are Scrub types. Barren uncultivable lands are scrub sparsely vegetated. The main niches of vegetation are:

• 
  Hill top plateaus called Maalas, where pasture of quality is to be found, and on the other hand the foot of the hills are dominated by scrubs and below average vegetation cover.
  
• 
  Community protected scrub forests along foothills are in contrast to the rest of the foothills, with a good vegetation cover within the community protected areas.
  
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  River beds and streams which are also used to collect sand and Sarkanda (Reed) production for marketing. A large part of the general income in Kairwari stems from the sale of thatching materials grown on the river beds.
  

9. Bakhtpura (periphery of Sariska Tiger Reserve):

Bakhtpura lies within the borders of the Sariska Tiger reserve and during the creation of the reserve forest, in 1982, the villagers lost many of their traditional land rights and have been subject to relocation by the government. The village has been in conflict with the Forest Department ever since the creation of the tiger reserve, as well as nearby villages, mainly over rights to access and use of the forest. The typography is generally dominated by steep hills with flat plateaus and the forest is naturally dominating much of the landscape, although it is degraded to a large extent. The Devbani/Oran in Bakhtpura is held in high regard by the villagers and is protected and managed by the community itself.

Revenue/Culturable Wasteland: Out of the total 14 hectares, field data was collected on 9.73 hectares, and most of it (i.e. 8.24 hectares), is reported encroached by the villagers for cultivation, by expanding their cultivated lands into the nearby revenue wastelands. According to a revenue department letter, 9.22 hectares were offered for regularization/allotment. This means that a very high percentage of the revenue wasteland is encroached upon and all of it is being processed for allotment. Within a short time the Culturable Wasteland in Bakhtpura will be completely privatized.

Barren/Uncultivable: The total area of this category is 30 ha and during the collection of field data it was estimated that only around 0,9 ha was encroached upon, about 3% of the area. This encroachment was used for livestock enclosure. The Barren/Uncultivable land cannot be allotted as the Revenue Wasteland and therefore the amount of encroachments is naturally low.

Forest Land: A large part of the total area for research in Bakhtpura is forest land, 148 ha. This has been enclosed as a forest reserve (a part of Sariska) but lying stripped bare – presumably by the local community. Encroachment is a recurrent problem. As much as 11 hectares area was reported encroached.

Cultivators living on the margins of the forest land stealthily expand their cultivated lands into the forest area. Guwada (cattle camps/livestock enclosures) is also a common practice for encroachment. Thus most of the forest land in the villages is over-grazed and depleted as livestock graze freely on the land.

Oran Land: The Oran in Bakhtpura is known as ‘Bharu Nathji ki Devbani’. The area of the Oran is 6.56 ha. Legal status of this land is Area not available for cultivation but for the study the Oran is viewed as a separate category. Encroachment in the area is very low, only around 0.5 ha, and they are all temporary, mainly for storing fuel wood and dung cakes. The village Bakhtpura illustrates the difference a community’s involvement in an Oran can make.

The Oran of this village has been cut into two parts, one that is community controlled and another, which has been enclosed as a forest reserve. The result of this has been that the Reserved forest has been stripped bare, presumably by the local community, whereas the community controlled forests retains fairly thick stands of trees. In the Oran, a very good Johad water harvesting structure (water tank) also exists. With the coming of the rains in late July, the Johad swells to its maximum.

Interview Findings:

BAKHTPURA:

When the interview group was asked about the boundaries of the village commons, there was a very good and precise understanding of the areas of land. The main area of CPR in the villages in Alwar district is the Devbani (Oran) and it is very closely linked to the community, both in terms of livelihood and through the local culture. This should indicate, according to Ostrom’s theory; where the users support effective rule enforcement, a foundation for good local management. The Devbani is sacred forest and is characterized by temples and a good and diverse tree cover. Given its religious significance, like the Oran, the management of usage and access is very well respected in the community. The part that has come under the Forest Department have become increasingly degraded and holds a below average vegetation with only few trees.

It was stated by the villagers that, the CPR boundaries was set by the Patwari and are largely set on the same lines as they have been since the Mughal Empire. In this way the boundaries of the commons have had a very long and well known history in Bakhtpura village. Although the Forest Department has extended the area of the forest and what land comes under F.D. over the last 15 years, this has only affected the village commons to a very small degree, as the land simply have shifted category from Revenue Wasteland to Forest Land.

Bakhtpura village has an ongoing conflict with the nearby village of Bruha over the grazing and forest products on the Bakhtpura CPRs. A short time ago (Sept, 2011) one member of the Bakhtpura community was beaten by members of the other village, and this resulted in a major fight between members of the two communities, where both parties used weapons, such as axes, stones and clubs. The police came and arrested some members from both communities and held them for 3-4 days. A settlement was made to follow the traditional grazing rights and boundaries although minor fights have occurred since.

The group interviewed felt that they could control their own village in regards to taking wood and breaking the grazing rules. They stated that they had done so for over 25 years and protecting the Devbani and the village. But during this year (2011), a group of 20-25 women from a nearby village have come very often to cut the trees. They stated that, it is very difficult for them to control that, and especially to do it without creating a new fight, as well as the social norm of never touching another man’s wife, which could result in death in the tribal areas. They said that some damage was done to the forest because of this. The neighbouring villages have overexploited their own forest and are now coming to collect forest resources from the forest in Bakhtpura. The change in conduct from the neighbouring village was described as a process evolving over the last three years. The first two years they came and did some lumbering on the community forest, they took only little and there was no real reaction from Bakhtpura community, as only small amounts of resources was taken. The villagers stated that, this year they are taking in bulk and they thought that it could be due to they meet no consequences earlier from Bakhtpura’s community.

The CPR in Bakhtpura is being managed by two sets of institution systems; one is an old tax collecting system (Patele). This position is inherited and is not being used anymore, informally the family or household is still Patele but they hold no power. The other is the Thai-system where decision-making is now taking place and rules for the commons are created. The Thai is made up by a committee of 5-6 elder members of the village, and they set the fines for rule breaking and decide on the rules and penalties. If someone from the community breaks the rules, the villagers will sit together and identify the encroachers and evict them and sometimes give out a fine.

The villagers also stated that around 20 years ago, there was a pass-system in place, for entering in to the forest for grazing purposes and collection of fuel wood. The amount paid for passing into the area was determined by the number and species of livestock and/or by the number of axes carried into the forest¹⁶⁹. Thereby, it was a taxing system where the amount paid, was determined by the amount of resource a household took from the CPR. This system is only enforced to a limited degree today. This indicates a decrease in the in the norms of conduct and enforcement and should lead to prioritising private property, according to Hardin. This has not been the case in Bakhtpura, where the focus on protecting and keeping the CPRs is still widely accepted.

In 1985 the area was turned into a Tiger Reserve and the village lost the majority of their grazing rights in the area. Although, they still have the right for grazing within a distance of 3-4 km from the village, in the periphery of the reserve. After ’85 a system of fines was set up by the Forest Department for breaking the rules in the reserve, but the amount of fines that are registered are very low. The villagers believe that, the Forest Officials are usually bribed by the trespassers and as a result a low amount of fines are given. This indicates that the guarantied sanctions are not in place or effective, but the source is derived from the Government Forest department and not the local institution. This goes against Hardin where strict government control would help alleviate pressure on the natural resources.

There are some specific social norms in regards to the CPRs in the community; no one is allowed to carry and axe into the Devbani and outside the Devbani, it is only allowed to do lobbing on the trees not to cut the whole tree. Although, the villager indicated that, the accountability in the community towards the norms is not very strong anymore, and said that some of the women are sometimes carrying axes into the forest.

It was stated that, there is no regular meetings regarding the CPRs and a meeting is basically only held when a prominent person is present. Earlier they had monthly meetings, but with the change in the social norms, this has decreased. This goes against Ostrom’s principle of face-to-face communication and participation and should lead to decreased interest in the Commons and more towards private property, but as stated the community’s acceptance of the current status of land is widely accepted. When they do have a meeting, fines and rules are agreed upon, and they usually invite a forest-guard to discuss management efforts on the CPRs. The members of this committee are not elected but shifts and membership are based on individual performance and relations.

Regarding the level of dependency on the village CPR, the villagers were asked; if you earn Rs. 100 how much of it is produced from the CPRs? The interview group agreed upon, that about 50% of their income was produced through the commons, when the monsoon rains was normal. Around three months of the year, during the summer, they migrate for grazing or for manual labour. Approximately three months during the winter they depend on their private and often irrigated lands for grazing and agriculture and for about six months during and after the monsoon their livelihood are dependent on the village commons.

In times of droughts the village CPR can sustain their livelihood through 2-3 months. Therefore the villagers will migrate with their Buffalos to the Nogarwa plains, around 90 km from the village, to graze the livestock. One member of the interview group said that, during the last drought, he lost 50-60% of his livestock as there was not enough fodder available. He gave up on trying to find fodder for his livestock and came back to the village with his remaining buffalos and started using mustard plants, Char berries and leaves from a specific tree that grow on the Devbani as fodder. Although, the fodder is not good he made it through the drought, with the rest of his livestock. He stated that the leaves from the tree are only used under severe famines. One plant, the Keep can grow without water for a very long time, and in rocky areas; this plant will also be harvested during a drought. Some special rules come into effect during a drought; some land is allotted to each household from the Barren category for grazing, and no grazing in the forest is allowed for the sake of letting the forest regenerate its vegetation. The villagers indicated that, some households do break the drought-rules, but not often.

10. Bakhtpura Conclusion

The knowledge of CPR boundaries in the village is very precise; this is partly due to the conflict with the Forest Department and partly to the relative new conflict with the neighbouring village over forest resources. This makes the villagers very aware of their local lands and what they feel they have lost to the reserve. The boundaries were set by the Panchayat and have changes little since the time of the Mughal. The only changes to the land have come with the creation of the Tiger Reserve and the division of the Devbani. This should, according to Ostrom, enhance the ability to exclude outsiders, but it does not seem to the current case of Bakhtpura.

The local institution is only functioning to a certain degree, there are no regular meetings and the main reason for the protection of the Devbani is due to their past history of depletion and the very significant religious importance. The Local Devbani is also the main source of fodder and firewood collected from the fallen branches, in an otherwise relatively depleted environment. The local institution has good control over the conduct of the community but has little control over the “outsider” that has been coming into their area, especially without creating new fights as have happened in the past and are still occurring with the recent beating and the resulting, very violent fight.

There is a significant problem with encroachments on the revenue waste land, around 90% encroachment, and it is now accepted within the village as private land. But the Devbani and the forest is still widely accepted as common property.

Overall the community’s accountability towards the social norms has been decreasing and people are sometimes carrying axes into the forest, although the norms towards the Devbani are still respected. The efficiency of the community institution has also been decreasing and the communication and regularity of meetings is low. The management and conduct seem to be done out of individual or group initiatives, such as the taxing system and the drought management and not from the institution itself. This goes against both theories, where Hardin states that the individual would seek to enhance personal profit without enforced control and Ostrom; where the community would have a good local governance of Commons where the users support effective monitoring and rule enforcement. Contrary to Ostrom’s theory where the exclusion of outsiders should be easy and cheap to create good local governance, it does not seem to be the case in Bakhtpura with the fairly recent conflict over forest products. Especially in periods of droughts there is an overall effective management of the Commons, with no grazing allowed in the forest and additional land from the barren category is brought into use.

As stated, there is an ongoing conflict with a neighbouring village that has escalated into violent fight. The local institution is trying to put a lid on the conflict but beatings and larger fights, which include the use of weapons, are not uncommon. This indicates that the conflict resolution is not easily achieved which is a major principle for effective local governance, according to Ostrom.

Bakhtpura seems to be a mix of fairly respected rules and norms, especially towards the Devbani; although decreasing, an effective crisis management, violent conflicts over resources and a general frustration and large amount of anger towards the Forest Department, that are viewed as utterly corrupt and the source behind of the illegal timer production and the poaching. As well as the serious level of encroachment in the Revenue Wasteland that is generally seen as private lands now, and meets little resistance from the community. This land can be allotted and is definitely a motivator for the encroachments as stated in the introduction.

11. Kalikhol (Buffer-zone of Sariska Tiger Reserve):

Kalikhol is in many ways similar to Bakhtpura village, it has lost many user rights during the creation of Sariska tiger reserve, the typography is similar, it has also be subject to relocation of the villagers by the government and it is in open conflict with the Forest Department. Although it is technically outside the borders of Sariska it faces many of the same problems of Bakhtpura, and equally the Devbani is well protected and holds a significant importance to the village both social and economically.

Revenue Wasteland: Out of the total 24 hectares under the Revenue Wasteland category, as much as 20 hectares (83%) land was reported encroached for cultivation. This land category is open for regularization and it is an overall trend in all the villages in Rajasthan that this category is highly encroached upon, mainly due to the prospect of getting the land allotted as legally private property.

Barren/Uncultivable: The total Barren Uncultivable land in Kalikhol is 25 hectares (including 3.86 hectares of Abadi). In our field survey, only 6.93 hectares was reported encroached for livestock enclosures and cultivation.

Forest Land: The village of Kalikhol covers an area of 66 hectares, which is officially categorised as Reserved Forest by virtue of its partial location within the Sariska. However, this forest land is largely used for grazing, fuel wood and collecting NTFPs etc. About 11.03 ha (i.e. 17%) area of this land is under encroachment by individuals, particular for cultivation and Guwada (livestock enclosures).

This forest area is located in the hills/ hillocks and the hill top plateaus, called Maalas, are used as pasture by the local communities. All other fodder (both grass and leaves) is obtained from the surrounding forest area in accordance with a system known as dhāra. This system indicates that, no one can cut trees but collecting fallen leaves and branches is allowed. As well as no livestock is allowed to graze in the given area of dhāra, harvesting of grass is also allowed. The foothills, where the forest is degraded are encroached for agriculture purposes, both due to its proximity to the village and to the fact that the area is already “cleared” of forest, making agriculture easy and fairly productive.

Devbani/Oran Land: The main Oran of the village is located a little way from the village (approximately 3 km), in a crease of the valley. The area of Oran is about 10 hectares and under the official ownership of forest department (Sariska reserve). There is no encroachment is reported within the Oran. At dawn and dusk in winter months, the village men pass through en route to or from the plateau above, where the animals are left to graze; and pray for the deity to protect their herds from poor health and predation. Should time allow it, they may also visit the mahatma, a resident saddhu (holy man) who watches over the Devbani in return for food from the villagers. The general status of the Oran is well vegetated and the social norms regarding conduct within the Oran is widely acknowledged and upheld in the village.

Interview Findings:

The villagers in the interview showed a good and clear understanding of where the precise areas of community CPR are located. All of the land categories have been encroached except the reserve forest and Devbani. All the encroaching households, according to the interview group, are paying the fines and penalties for their encroachments. Inside the reserve forest the villagers graze their livestock and collect fuel woods and other NTFP. During the monsoon season, the livestock will be grazed on the top of the hill, and during post-monsoon season the grazing will be on the lower parts and the slopes of the hill. In the post-monsoon season, the land slots available for grazing will be rotated to give the vegetation time to recover.

The community has approximately six months of benefit from the CPR during and after monsoon; where grazing is open to all. First they graze on the plateau of the hills and later they move down on the slopes and foot of the hills. After the monsoon grass is harvested and dried for fodder use during late winter and summer. The stored grass lasts for about three months. The villagers will migrate with their livestock for 3-4 months during the summer season to find fodder. The interview group agreed upon that about 70-80% of their yearly income was produced directly or indirectly by the village commons.

The community has a fairly strict set of norms towards their Devbani and the forest, it is not allowed to cut any tree and the penalty for doing so is Rs.500 and the money goes to the village committee. There are some management systems that apply for the forest area, but there is no management on any other land category, and all but the forest areas are highly encroached upon. In good monsoons seasons, like the last two years (2010-2011). During lesser monsoons there will be some regulation on the CPR, the slots of land available for grazing, in the latter part of the year, will rotate. This is done out of regenerating purposes and is controlled by a village committee that looks after the forest and Devbani. When asked, the interview group said that they created the forest committee due to the high dependency they have on the forest. “…we are utterly dependent on the local natural resources (the forest)…”

The village committee has a fairly good authority and accountability in the community, but they are facing problems from outside sources, such as people from the nearby villagers and corrupt forest officials. The committee has, over time, been dissolving and has steadily been losing influence. The interview group said that the village forest committee had no “legal tooth” and was not respected by the F.D, due to this the villagers have stopped meeting, as they saw little point.

The villagers stated that, they feel the Forest Department is encouraging the illegal timber production, because they are earning bribes on all the illegal activities in the forest. They said that until about 1975 there was a very dense forest on the hill range, but after the Forest Department has been alienating the communities from the forest, the depletion of the forest has increased in speed. In this regard the villagers said that the F.D. had applied a divide and conquer system on the local communities, in the circumstances of removing the villagers from the forest, both in physical and mental terms in introducing a bribe system for forest resources and not respecting the local committees. “..(The) Forest Department says, they are the owner (of the forest); but if the King is weak, what can you expect of the people..?”

The villagers also stated that the Forest Department tells them that the Forest Right Act does not apply to the reserve forest and therefore they have no access or user rights to the forest resources. “…If you want something from the Jungle, you have to pay (bribes)…”

There have been incidents, were fighting has broken out between Kalikholi villagers and people from other villages and the interview group admitted that, they had almost no control on the outside people who came. They stated that, the problems started around 6-7 years ago, when people came to know that there were no more tigers in the area. This resulted in outside people lost their fear of the forest, and started to come and cut the trees down. The interview group said that, there was no forest left in the nearby town so the people come from there to take forest resources form Kalikholi village. This happened in increasing groups, now that they don’t fear the tigers anymore.

The villagers stated that, they have no Gram Panchad or –Sabat, additionally they stated about the local management and institutions that, the local Panch needed to be pushed into action every time and he was only meeting with the same few elder members of the village, rarely including a broad social group of the village.

In regard to development work the villagers stated that, the Forest Department do work on the forest areas, one patch of land has been enclosed for JFM. The villager complained that they were not included in the decision making and for the manual work on the JFM, they were never asked. Workers were hired by the Forest Department from outside the village. The NGO “Krapavis” have done work on the forest by doing plantation and water conservation facilities.

12. Kalikhol conclusion

There is a massive problem with encroachment on the village commons, except the reserve forest and the Devbani. Fines are stated to be paid to the community but have apparently little effect on the amount of encroachments. This can be seen in relation to Hardin’s theory where the positive benefits from encroaching outweighs the cost of the fines and therefore the encroachments will, by all likelihood, continue. The villagers showed little interest towards the encroached Revenue Wasteland but show a high concern towards the forest and the Devbani. This is mainly due to the importance of these categories to their livelihood. As stated “…we are utterly dependent on the local natural resources (the forest)…” This has also led to the creation of the local committee that manages the fines and conduct within the forest. Although this committee is losing influence in the village and is facing problems with “outsiders” that come to extract forest resources. Given that it is a completely local institution it is facing problems with recognition from the Forest Department and has little legal weight. The breakdown in this institution is partly due to the lack of acknowledgement from the government and the villagers therefore saw little point in regular meetings. The acknowledgement of the institution from authorities is one of Ostrom’s main points for successful local management and it has clearly led to a breakdown of institution control and efficiency in the community. The community has fairly efficient management systems for their CPRs with rotation of grazing areas, an acknowledge sanction system and harvesting of grass in the winter.

The community has severe problems with the Forest Department, the local officials are known for accepting bribes and thereby encouraging the illegal activities in the forest to gain an income. It has been very difficult for the community to enforce sustainable management of the forest, according to the traditional norms, due to the forest official is not protecting the area but is expecting an income from the bribes. This was clearly stated by the villagers; “…If you want something from the Jungle, you have to pay (bribes)…”.

The local leader of the Panchayat is inactive in the management and protection process and the participation and inclusion of the community is next to non-existent and the more informal protection committee showed much more efforts towards the protection, this could indicate that the Panchayat is evolved, in some form, in the corruption and not only the Forest Department officials.

Kalikholi is having conflicts with neighbouring villages, which has turned into violent fights. Part of the reason is that the tigers have disappeared from the region and outside villagers therefore have no fear of the forest anymore. This was stated by the Kalikholi villagers as: “No Tiger, no fear”.

Overall it can be stated that the Government has taken control over a large part of the traditional community CPRs, which stated by Hardin should solve the problems of overexploitation and maintain the ecology. The contrary seems to have happened in Kalikholi after the creation of the tiger reserve and the Forest Department has taken control. The lack of recognition from the government towards the local institutions is a serious stumbling block for effective local management as well, and likewise is the inactiveness of the local Panchayat leader. Like Bakhtpura the local institution is ineffective but the community’s focus on protecting the local forest and Devbani is high. The finding in Kalikholi does not fit well to any of the theories, and only partly to some of the aspects

13. Kairwari (outside Sariska Tiger Reserve):

The typography and situation of Kairwari is very different from the two other villages in Alwar District. The land is generally flat and fertile and the production of the fields is high. Most of the households have irrigated fields that support them throughout the year. Therefore the dependency on the village Commons is low and it is mainly used for grazing and the river bed is used for growing thatching materials, mainly for sale. The village, being outside the Sariska Reserve has no conflict with the Forest Department and has not lost any land rights to the wildlife reserve. Partly due to the low dependency on the village CPR, the traditional social norms regarding conduct on the CPRs does not hold much power over the people, especially the young generation. This is indicated by the encroachments onto the Devbani/Oran with no real conflict arising out of it.

Revenue/Cultivable Wasteland: During the field survey, all of the revenue wastelands (which is 9 hectares) were reported encroached upon by the villagers for cultivation. This is mainly done by expanding their private cultivated lands into the nearby wastelands. This is in the hope of getting the encroached land allotted to the household and rightly so, as it is usually the end result of the encroachments in the Revenue Wasteland category.

Barren/Uncultivable: The total Barren Uncultivable land in Kairwari is 20 hectares. Out of which 2.24 hectares were reported encroached upon, mainly for livestock enclosures and house constructions. This category cannot be allotted but is widely used for grazing.

Oran Land: Bhrathari ki Devbani, a low lying hillock adjacent to a village Kairwari. The Oran has administratively been cut into two equal parts, one that is under the jurisdiction of Kerwawal village (a neighbouring village) and another part fall under Kairwari jurisdiction. The area that belongs to the survey community is 3.20 ha, out of which 0.25 have been encroached upon for livestock enclosures. It is a source of fuel wood and grazing for the village. The Oran also serves as catchment area to the adjacent Johad (water tank), where drainage has been blocked by extension of settlements and fields into the Oran.

Interview Findings:

There are three categories of CPR in the village; the hills, the pastureland and the local Devbani. Although, the river is legally government land, it is used and viewed as village CPR, a case of De Facto commons.

The hills are only used for grazing other than that the village stated that they got no other resources from the hills. The pasture land has been heavily encroached upon and much of the land category has been allotted to private land. Additional, the river is used for water for the livestock. The river bed, adjoining to the private fields, is used for both grazing and for harvesting thatching materials. In the winter season they are harvesting thatching materials, which are dried and thereafter either sold or used in constructions.

In the community there are plenty of tube wells and even if there is very little monsoon rains, the villagers feel that there is no real water scarcity. The village has a number of open wells but they have all dried up, most people have shifted to tube wells on their private land.

The livelihood of Kairwari is mainly based on agriculture, due to the flat plain lands dominating the area, the production is high. The villagers stated that about 75% of their income was generated through the farming on private land. They have about three months of grazing on the hill in the monsoon and then either on their private land or on the river bed. Overall the village has a low dependency on the CPRs, compared with the other survey villages in Alwar district, and it is mainly due to the difference in terrain and the productivity of the land.

The village Oran is located on a hill a little off the village and is small in size (around 8ha, but shared with another village) and is fairly degraded. The lover part of the Oran still holds good vegetation but the mid- and upper part are highly degraded. Additionally, the Oran has been encroached upon over the last four years. The villagers have not done any effort to remove the encroachers. As they stated; “they did not want to make them homeless and be remembered as the ones who disturbed the harmony of the community”. All of the encroachers are from the village, and the process of encroachment has mainly happened through family expansion and inheritance.

There is no grazing system of the CPR and it is open to all. Livestock from other villages are not permitted, but the situation has never arisen. Some of the villagers have tried, at Panchad level to change the rules of conduct on grazing and usage of the river bed. They wanted to create a tax on the multipurpose grasses, to raise money for the Gram Panchad and thereby be able to afford new development work in the village. They did not succeed, as the leader of the Panchad was against the idea. The villagers were not willing to discuss why this was not accepted.

The villager stated that the Gram Sabat¹⁷⁰ meets every third month and the Ward Sabat meets on a monthly basis, although the villagers stated that the leader of the Ward Sabat was cheating and just collecting signatures and recording that there was a meeting. The villager stated that earlier they had monthly meetings, but not anymore, now they only meet “when required”. When the villagers were asked about the reason for the change in the social norms, they stated that; the younger people have stopped listening to their elders and there is increasing problems with alcohol in the community. With gradual steps towards more and more modern views the old system of meeting has broken down, and the elders in the village have given up trying to enforce the old system.

14. Kairwari Conclusion

Overall there is very limited dependency on the local CPRs; only around 25% of their annual income is from the CPRs and mainly through the thatching material they sell on the market. All household have private irrigated land and the pasture land and the Revenue Wasteland is completely encroached upon and widely accepted as private land as well. This seems to match the theory; when productivity is high and only “small” areas of land is needed to meet the production needs, private property is more likely to endure and succeed. The local institution is not functioning at all and the meeting is mainly for show and to little effect. The leader was accused of cheating with the meeting records and few people had any confidence in the local governance institution. This indicates that the local management is failing, which could be due to the focus on private property and the people have little need for it. A few villagers have tried to create a taxing system to produce money for more development work, but were turned down and gave up. Even the Devbani is encroached upon, with no reaction from the village; this has not been observed anywhere else in the study villages in Rajasthan. It indicates a near complete breakdown of the traditional social norms and with the low dependency on the Commons, people do not really care.

There is no conflict in the village, internal or external, as all nearby villages have equally productive private lands and abundance in water sources; therefore there is no real need for forest products and other products of the CPRs. The encroachment on the Oran was accepted by most of the community as nobody wanted to disturb the harmony. This seems to fit fairly well with Hardin’s assumption that the users are concerned with their private property and care little for community lands. The feeling of harmony and no conflicts are stronger than the “old” fear of the gods. The major difference from Kairwari to any other village in this thesis are that the resources needed is obtained to a very large degree through their private lands and with the encroachments being viewed as private as well all households have access to irrigation and fodder.

The village being outside Sariska and with no forest in the area they have never been very dependent on the forest products. Therefore it must be concluded that due to high productivity, the availability of water and the flat fertile lands the system of private property is serving the community better and the breakdown in the traditional systems is caused by modernity with no real pains felt by the community, other than nostalgia by the elder members. The individuals are mainly focused on their own profits and care little for the community management, as indicated by Hardin.

5.1.6Alwar District Conclusion

The part conclusions from Alwar District are diverse and very complex. To a very large degree the situation of local governance is determined by the typography and relation to Sariska. Near the forest reserve (Bakhtpura & Kalikhol); the communities are highly dependent on the CPRs, especially the forest and Devbani, and this leads to the community vividly protecting and defending them. It creates strong community cohesion and a fairly good accountability towards the social norms on the use of the forest resources as well as crisis management. Although, there is in general a negative process of the traditional rules, this is closely related to the loss of right to the forest and the alienation of the communities towards the forest. The general depletion of the forest creates severe additional pressure on the resources and has resulted in violent conflicts between communities. According to Ostrom this should lead to an effective local governing institution, but it does not seem to be the case. The local Panchayat is ineffective and to some extent, could be involved in the illegal activities within the reserve. But the major corruption problem seems to lie with the Government forest Department. This contradicts Hardin’s theory where a strong government control would be effective towards decreasing the depletion and successfully managing the natural resources and this is definitely not the case of Sariska Forest department, no matter if you accept the accusations of corruption or not.

In Kairwari (outside the tiger reserve), the typography, the fairly high productivity of the agriculture as well as the high amount of private and irrigated fields, render the dependency on the CPRs to a minimum. This is especially indicated by the encroachment within the Oran with little to no protest from the community as a whole, which would be unthinkable in any other survey village in Rajasthan. This has led to a near complete breakdown of the traditional management systems and the local governing institution and all encroachments are accepted as private lands even if they have not officially been allotted. Due to most of the resource needs are being met by the private fields, this seems to have little consequence in relation to the overall livelihood of the community, which indicates than when the resource yield is relatively high private property right will be prioritised over common property and local governance.

Overall it must be concluded that none of the theories alone are sufficient to describe the processes within Alwar. In all three villages the local institutions are not very efficient, but in the cases of Bakhtpura and Kalikhol the community itself is upholding the traditional right and methods of management, to some degree, due to their dependency and the scarcity of the resource. They are very focused on monitoring the area and excluding outsiders, which according to Ostrom is a major principle in successful community management.