Saihunlang Phanbuh; Adrian Albano; Vincent Darlong. 2008. Forest-based interventions of Nercormp in Meghalaya, India. North Eastern Region Community Resource Management Project for Upland Areas (IFAD & Govt of India).

Summary:

The study documented and analyzed patterns and trends of livelihoods changes due to forest-based interventions of the NERCORMP in Meghalaya. It showed that the economic activities in the study villages are generally limited to primary production for subsistence, with limited commercialization. This is due to various and reinforcing constraints to encouraging economic activities such as village remoteness and the general lack of infrastructure. The village rules and traditions also do not encourage the commercial extraction of forest products.

The bottom-up strategy of the project resulted to highly diverse but interrelated interventions, although following a standard set of project components. The interventions directed at forest-based livelihoods were limited. Some reasons for this are restrictions on trade of forest products, the communal ‘ownership’ of forest, and greater profitability of other income generating activities. Despite limitations in investment in forest-based livelihoods, there were significant number of villages and households that practiced forest-based activities such as improvement in the management of forest, cultivation of forest products, value-addition of existing forest products. Most of these activities were made possible through project intervention at the organizational and external level, facilitating with line agencies, land owners, NGOs, and traders.

Collected forest products, particularly the most collected ones such as fuelwood and timber decreased and is mostly attributed to increase people collecting them. There is also increase production of cultivated and value-added products, mostly due to improved cultivation, increase in price, and better products due to various capacity building activities. From the findings, it is recommended that the effective practices of the project could be replicated and further improved such as the organization and capacity building of NaRMGs and provision of various support services to forest-based enterprises. Various other activities were also suggested to further improve the current practices of the project.

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