The Maldhari community is a tribe of herdsmen in the border state of Gujarat. The name Maldhari means owner of goods - in this case, goods referring to cattle. The Maldharis have lived in the Gir National Park, in the Banni Grasslands Reserve area, for the past thousand years[1]. They have co-existed with the lions, which the Gir National Park was created to preserve, for these thousand years. The lions have been periodically hunting the Maldhari cattle for food, but the Maldharis understand the cycle of life. They consider the taken cows an offering to the lions, whose territory they share[1].
Story of CLASH
As is the case across India, the unbridled development over past few years has disturbed the centuries-long lifestyle of these nomadic herdsmen. Although the grassland reserve is off-limits to industries, several exist at its periphery and have been dumping toxic contaminants into the reserve's natural resources. Recently built dams, overgrazing have also taken their toll. Another concern is the tree Prosopis juliflora (Ganda Bawal), which was introduced by the Forest Department for its salinity-resistant characteristic in the 1980's and which grew into an invasive species threatening local grass and tree species[2]. However, the tribe and its lifestyle was most threatened by the creation of the Gir National Park.
Creation of a sanctuary for lions necessitated movement of humans out of the region, so as to provide a safe shelter for the large cats. However, the Maldhari community steadfastly protested any relocation. There were a few tribal groups that were moved from the National Park, however, their relocation procedure was mismanaged[3]. The Maldhari tribesmen have had to face eviction threats and accusations by government authorities of endangering the lions, just for living in the land of their forefathers[4]. In addition, due to mismanagement of the existing population of lions in the National Park, the interaction between the lions and the tribals have increased over the past few decades[5]. Experts note that although the populations of lions have been increasing, the land has been shrinking. Not only have some lions started exploring outside the reserve for food, but some tribesmen from Maldhari and other communities have also been charged of poisoning or poaching lions[5][3].
This tussle between local communities and conservation almost always turns out bad in the long run. Consider the case of thethe Olive Ridley turtles in Orissa, where the fishermen were opposed to conservation for fear of losing their livelihood. Such communities not only possess the knowledge required for devising conservation practices, but also the tools and the zeal. Thus, it is quite critical to involve the local communities in conservation if any tangible, lasting benefits are to be reaped from the effort. In this direction, the government did make an effort by passing the Recognition of Forest Rights Bill 2006, which recognized the rights of forest-dwellers to stay in the land of their ancestors[4]. However, more efforts are required from academics, social activists and concerned government authorities alike to ensure proper integration of local communities in conservation efforts.
Story of Co-Existence : Partners in conservation
The latest lion census conducted in Gujarat reaffirms this. The exercise has shown a 27 per cent rise in the feline’s numbers, which now stand at 523, compared to 411 in 2010.
Forest officials acknowledge that this conservation success story would not have come about without support from the Maldharis, a nomadic tribe of cattle-rearers, and also farmers living in the vicinity of the Gir National Park. The lions have actually helped control the population not only of nilgai, its principal source of food, but also of wild boars, which frequently destroy standing crops. Thus, they have benefited the local communities. These communities have reciprocated by protecting the animals from poachers, resisting retaliation when lions prey on cattle, and even building parapet walls around farm-wells to minimise the accidental death of lions that may fall into them.
Forest officials acknowledge that this conservation success story would not have come about without support from the Maldharis, a nomadic tribe of cattle-rearers, and also farmers living in the vicinity of the Gir National Park. The lions have actually helped control the population not only of nilgai, its principal source of food, but also of wild boars, which frequently destroy standing crops. Thus, they have benefited the local communities. These communities have reciprocated by protecting the animals from poachers, resisting retaliation when lions prey on cattle, and even building parapet walls around farm-wells to minimise the accidental death of lions that may fall into them.
Although humans and animals have coexisted for ages, the story has not always had a happy ending.Challenges posed by human casualties, and damage to crops, buildings and so on from wildlife intrusions have led one group of conservationists to argue that villagers residing in forest areas ought to be sent out. But another group insists that such a move will result in the loss of goodwill of local communities, impeding conservation efforts. The question is how goodwill could be generated when fear of the animal itself looms large. In Gir, it has become possible to inculcate a sense of pride and ownership among local communities regarding the animal.
ONE more story
AHMEDABAD: The secret why lions have been flourishing in Gir has finally been decoded. Wildlife experts have found that it is the generosity of maldharis, who do not grudge the big cats preying on their cattle, deserve to be given credit for the steady growth in population of the Asiatic lions.
A study by YV Zala of Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and his team says that the maldhari communities and lions of Gir co-exist in a win-win situation. A major part of the lion prey base is the livestock of maldharis while the community gains from free access to forest resources.
The WII study, 'Living with Lions: The Economics of Coexistence in the Gir Forests, India', done by Kaushik Banerjee, Yadvendradev V Jhala, Kartikeya Chauhan and Chittranjan V Dave reveals that Gir maldharis do not view lions as a threat. There had been no attack by the big cats on humans in the past two decades within the area covered in the study. Moreover, lions had attacked and killed mainly unproductive cattle (such as bulls, ailing calves, aged, and dying cattle) for food.
The study further states that the average annual financial loss per household for maldharis because of livestock lost to lions (after excluding compensation) was minimal (Rs 2,038). But the free grazing rights and the compensation at current rates were additional profits for maldhari families living inside Gir. The profit is approximately equivalent to a person's annual minimal wage for 213 man days.
The report further states that the study had not taken into consideration the additional benefits maldharis get by living inside Gir. These benefits include collection of fuel wood and minor forest products, use of forest topsoil mixed with dung sold as manure, free access to water, job opportunities with the forest department and maintaining their social customs.
The study reveals that the total revenue loss because of hunting by lions came to Rs 3.56 lakh per 100 live stock (in cases where government pays compensation. Where no compensation was paid, the loss was Rs 6.19 lakh).
The study further states that a family which had 100 heads of livestock annual made Rs 11.04 lakh per annum because it lived with lions. This was only where compensation was paid for livestock lost to the big cats. Where compensation was not paid, a family made Rs 8.40 lakh per annum.
Zala and his team have recommended that if removal of livestock is ever contemplated, it should be done in a phased manner so the natural prey base of the lions can be built up. However, removal of livestock was unlikely to be fully compensated by any increase in wild ungulate biomass. With a lion-focused conservation policy for Gir, maintaining livestock at the current levels or lower stock density could also be considered as an alternative management practice.
A study by YV Zala of Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and his team says that the maldhari communities and lions of Gir co-exist in a win-win situation. A major part of the lion prey base is the livestock of maldharis while the community gains from free access to forest resources.
The WII study, 'Living with Lions: The Economics of Coexistence in the Gir Forests, India', done by Kaushik Banerjee, Yadvendradev V Jhala, Kartikeya Chauhan and Chittranjan V Dave reveals that Gir maldharis do not view lions as a threat. There had been no attack by the big cats on humans in the past two decades within the area covered in the study. Moreover, lions had attacked and killed mainly unproductive cattle (such as bulls, ailing calves, aged, and dying cattle) for food.
The study further states that the average annual financial loss per household for maldharis because of livestock lost to lions (after excluding compensation) was minimal (Rs 2,038). But the free grazing rights and the compensation at current rates were additional profits for maldhari families living inside Gir. The profit is approximately equivalent to a person's annual minimal wage for 213 man days.
The report further states that the study had not taken into consideration the additional benefits maldharis get by living inside Gir. These benefits include collection of fuel wood and minor forest products, use of forest topsoil mixed with dung sold as manure, free access to water, job opportunities with the forest department and maintaining their social customs.
The study reveals that the total revenue loss because of hunting by lions came to Rs 3.56 lakh per 100 live stock (in cases where government pays compensation. Where no compensation was paid, the loss was Rs 6.19 lakh).
The study further states that a family which had 100 heads of livestock annual made Rs 11.04 lakh per annum because it lived with lions. This was only where compensation was paid for livestock lost to the big cats. Where compensation was not paid, a family made Rs 8.40 lakh per annum.
Zala and his team have recommended that if removal of livestock is ever contemplated, it should be done in a phased manner so the natural prey base of the lions can be built up. However, removal of livestock was unlikely to be fully compensated by any increase in wild ungulate biomass. With a lion-focused conservation policy for Gir, maintaining livestock at the current levels or lower stock density could also be considered as an alternative management practice.
Demand for Right
The Maldharis, a pastoral community, have been living in the Banni grasslands of Kutch for centuries and have enjoyed customary grazing rights over the land. Of late, their arcadian peace has been shattered by the Gujarat forest department's forest working plan for the area. The plan makes the grasslands off limits for grazing livestock—the main source of living for the Maldharis. The department recently deputed a divisional forest officer and three range officers to the Banni division to implement the forest working plan.
Pushed to a corner, 15 of the 19 village panchayats in the region sent notices to the state government in the first week of February, demanding their right to manage the grasslands under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006. The community has asked the government to withdraw the Banni working plan and has threatened legal action if the government fails to respond to the demand.
FRA recognises the traditional rights of the forest dwelling communities over forest resources. It says the scheduled tribes and other forest dwellers who have been dependent on forest resources for their livelihood for 75 years or more up to 2006, have the right to use, protect and manage such forest resources. The Maldharis are not scheduled tribes but they have been living in the Banni grasslands, the second largest grasslands in Asia, for centuries. The erstwhile ruler of Kutch, Maharav Khengarji, had given the land to the Maldharis in the 19th century for grazing.
As of now, around 25,000 Maldharis live in 48 villages inside the Banni. The grasslands are spread over 2,400 sq km between mainland Kutch and the Greater Rann of Kutch. The area was declared a protected forest in 1955. However, villages continued to function under the revenue gram panchayats. No survey was carried out to settle the rights of the villagers as the forest and the revenue departments kept passing the buck to each other.
Turning point
The state forest department prepared the working plan for the management of Banni grasslands in 2009. It justified the action by saying the villages were within protected forest and hence their rights would be altered. The working plan disallows open grazing on the grassland. Around 600 sq km of the grassland is already off limits as it is a part of the Kutch desert sanctuary and the Chhari Dhandh Conservation Reserve. In the remaining grasslands, the forest department proposes to protect 30 percent land as grass plots, 38 per cent will be used for harvesting Prosopis juliflora commonly called Vilayati keekar by the forest development corporation and 30 per cent will be utilised for plantation and regeneration of forests. The plots will be fenced off for five years on by rotation. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) approved the working plan in 2010 and now the forest department is in the process of implementing it.
Pushed to a corner, 15 of the 19 village panchayats in the region sent notices to the state government in the first week of February, demanding their right to manage the grasslands under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006. The community has asked the government to withdraw the Banni working plan and has threatened legal action if the government fails to respond to the demand.
FRA recognises the traditional rights of the forest dwelling communities over forest resources. It says the scheduled tribes and other forest dwellers who have been dependent on forest resources for their livelihood for 75 years or more up to 2006, have the right to use, protect and manage such forest resources. The Maldharis are not scheduled tribes but they have been living in the Banni grasslands, the second largest grasslands in Asia, for centuries. The erstwhile ruler of Kutch, Maharav Khengarji, had given the land to the Maldharis in the 19th century for grazing.
As of now, around 25,000 Maldharis live in 48 villages inside the Banni. The grasslands are spread over 2,400 sq km between mainland Kutch and the Greater Rann of Kutch. The area was declared a protected forest in 1955. However, villages continued to function under the revenue gram panchayats. No survey was carried out to settle the rights of the villagers as the forest and the revenue departments kept passing the buck to each other.
Turning point
The state forest department prepared the working plan for the management of Banni grasslands in 2009. It justified the action by saying the villages were within protected forest and hence their rights would be altered. The working plan disallows open grazing on the grassland. Around 600 sq km of the grassland is already off limits as it is a part of the Kutch desert sanctuary and the Chhari Dhandh Conservation Reserve. In the remaining grasslands, the forest department proposes to protect 30 percent land as grass plots, 38 per cent will be used for harvesting Prosopis juliflora commonly called Vilayati keekar by the forest development corporation and 30 per cent will be utilised for plantation and regeneration of forests. The plots will be fenced off for five years on by rotation. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) approved the working plan in 2010 and now the forest department is in the process of implementing it.
“Six months ago, the forest department called the village panchayats to sign a MoU with them for harvesting the wood of Prosopis juliflora (the forest department had planted these along the coasts in the 1960s to check salinity ingress; the trees have now spread in more than 80 per cent of the grasslands). Under the MoU for harvesting Prosopis juliflora, villagers are promised labour employment for cutting the trees. The villagers said they would sign the MoU only if the forest department promised these trees would be uprooted and open grazing allowed on the land. The forest department did not agree as it has plans to sell the wood from these trees to some power companies to be used as fuel for their power plants. The villagers refused to sign the MoU.
A fortnight ago, the villagers refused to sign the MoU allowing fencing of the grass plots because the forest department was not ready to promise in the MoU that it will open the plots after five years,” says Sabyasachi Das, chief executive officer of Sahjeevan, a Kutch-based non-profit working for the rights of Maldharis.
Livestock economy at stake
The Maldharis fear the working plan, if implemented, will jeopardise the livelihood of the community. There are about 100,000 cattleheads in the region which graze in the Banni. The Kankrej cow and the Banni buffalo, a breed raised by the Maldharis, are known for their good milk yields. Kankrej bullocks are used for agriculture in the Saurashtra region of the state. According to an estimate by Sahjeevan, the grasslands produce 110,000 litres of milk every day. The livestock economy— sale of milk, milk products, live bullocks and buffaloes— contribute Rs 100 crore per annum to the region, estimates Sahjeevan. “There are around 60,000 Banni buffaloes in the region. They are night grazers and need 8-15 kilometres of free grazing. If the forest department closes the grasslands in the name of the working plan, where will our animals graze?” asks Ramzan Halepatra, a community leader.
The Maldharis, hence, have demanded that the current working plan be shelved and the village gram sabhas allowed to prepare a new working plan for the region, for which the government should provide technical assistance.
The Gujarat government has not started implementing FRA in the region. The requisite committees at the village, sub-division and division level for processing titles over forestland under FRA have not been constituted yet. “When we asked the authorities to start the process of implementing FRA in our region, they said their priority was tribal districts of the state. Since Kutch is not a tribal district, they will think about it later,” says Salim Naode, another community leader.
The Maldharis have demanded that the activities of the forest department in the Banni should be stopped till the recognition of the community rights is settled under FRA. The notices say if the government does not respond to the demands in 60 days, the residents will take legal action as provided in the Act. The villages are collecting Rs 10 per livestock the Maldharis possess to fund a legal battle if need arises.
Government says it owns grasslands
S K Nanda, additional chief secretary (forest and environment) of Gujarat says the maldharis were being irrational. “The Banni grassland, which was famous for its nutrient-rich grasses, has decayed over the past few decades because of lack of protection. The government’s first priority is to restore the grasslands and this working plan is necessary for that. We have no problem in implementing FRA in the region. I have been personally pushing the district administration to implement FRA. Once the Act is implemented, we are open to make necessary changes in the working plan,” he says. He, however, adds that the management of the grasslands cannot be handed over to the people. “It is a government-owned property,” he added.
The Maldharis, it would seem, have to prepare for a long haul to win their rights.
A fortnight ago, the villagers refused to sign the MoU allowing fencing of the grass plots because the forest department was not ready to promise in the MoU that it will open the plots after five years,” says Sabyasachi Das, chief executive officer of Sahjeevan, a Kutch-based non-profit working for the rights of Maldharis.
Livestock economy at stake
The Maldharis fear the working plan, if implemented, will jeopardise the livelihood of the community. There are about 100,000 cattleheads in the region which graze in the Banni. The Kankrej cow and the Banni buffalo, a breed raised by the Maldharis, are known for their good milk yields. Kankrej bullocks are used for agriculture in the Saurashtra region of the state. According to an estimate by Sahjeevan, the grasslands produce 110,000 litres of milk every day. The livestock economy— sale of milk, milk products, live bullocks and buffaloes— contribute Rs 100 crore per annum to the region, estimates Sahjeevan. “There are around 60,000 Banni buffaloes in the region. They are night grazers and need 8-15 kilometres of free grazing. If the forest department closes the grasslands in the name of the working plan, where will our animals graze?” asks Ramzan Halepatra, a community leader.
The Maldharis, hence, have demanded that the current working plan be shelved and the village gram sabhas allowed to prepare a new working plan for the region, for which the government should provide technical assistance.
The Gujarat government has not started implementing FRA in the region. The requisite committees at the village, sub-division and division level for processing titles over forestland under FRA have not been constituted yet. “When we asked the authorities to start the process of implementing FRA in our region, they said their priority was tribal districts of the state. Since Kutch is not a tribal district, they will think about it later,” says Salim Naode, another community leader.
The Maldharis have demanded that the activities of the forest department in the Banni should be stopped till the recognition of the community rights is settled under FRA. The notices say if the government does not respond to the demands in 60 days, the residents will take legal action as provided in the Act. The villages are collecting Rs 10 per livestock the Maldharis possess to fund a legal battle if need arises.
Government says it owns grasslands
S K Nanda, additional chief secretary (forest and environment) of Gujarat says the maldharis were being irrational. “The Banni grassland, which was famous for its nutrient-rich grasses, has decayed over the past few decades because of lack of protection. The government’s first priority is to restore the grasslands and this working plan is necessary for that. We have no problem in implementing FRA in the region. I have been personally pushing the district administration to implement FRA. Once the Act is implemented, we are open to make necessary changes in the working plan,” he says. He, however, adds that the management of the grasslands cannot be handed over to the people. “It is a government-owned property,” he added.
The Maldharis, it would seem, have to prepare for a long haul to win their rights.
Collection of Articles from :
THEHINDU
TIMES OF INDIA
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/maldharis-demand-fra-titles-over-grasslands---35947
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