Awareness programme on Eco-system and deriving forest based livelihood in sustainable manner, methods of conservation and use of no-cost technology to protect village biodiversity, use of less fuelwood and use of coke briquette produced from industrial waste, cattle control mechanism and different issues related to forest and new forest bill, will be conducted.
Good linkage has been established by the NGO in the project area with Panchayat for setting up the environment resource center, district administration is also co-financing in various IGP activities, and bank linkages are ensured with SHG groups. The NGO is also developed a linkage with another SGP partner to use the smokeless briquette
Inovative Financial Mechanisms
Project activities are very closely allied with Government Agencies, Private Agencies and of course the people of the project area. While grounding the project WOSCA was involved in a micro watershed development program in community organization and it was implemented by ITDA Keonjhar in two project villages i.e Gopalpur and Nischintpur. When PRA was conducted ITDA was involved in that process, it was felt that due to lack of alternative source of livelihood people are depending on woodcutting and extraction of RR stone from quarry, which caused massive destruction of forest. This was felt by the then PA ITDA and accordingly poultry support to 66 tribal families (@ Rs 1000/- per unit X 66 units) at Gopalpur and Nischintpur was given as co-finance. Similarly involvement of Deputy Director, Horticulture, Keonjhar in capacity building program on Organic farming has develop a link and helped in availing massive subsidy of Rs 1,10,000/-(Rs 10per plants X 11000 plants).
Project sustainability
The NGO is trying to strengthen further the institutional arrangement mechanism in the project area by building the capacities in various aspects to conserve the biodiversity directly and indirectly as experienced from their earlier SGP project. This is a scaling up activity where about 90 SHGs would be involved in 50 project villages.
Capacity - Building Component
The NGO is trying to strengthen further the institutional arrangement mechanism in the project area by building the capacities in various aspects to conserve the biodiversity directly and indirectly as experienced from their earlier SGP project. This is a scaling up activity where about 90 SHGs would be involved in 50 project villages. Capacity Building Training Programme will be done to establish home garden in every HH, sustainable harvesting of NTFPs and further value addition, domesticated biodiversity issues including documentation of traditional knowledge through community or people?s biodiversity registers.
Notable Community Participation
The first intervention of the project is by performing the PRA techniques in the villages to make a need based assessment and micro-plan which would be implemented by the community themselves so that the project would be owned by the community.
Significant Participation of Indigenous Peoples
The project was designed for an area where the community is mixed; Scheduled caste, Scheduled tribe and Other Backward Caste. In one particular instance, participants from higher caste did not participate in the meeting just because people from lower caste were supposed to sit with them. Due to constant efforts to involve in action component people from all section were gradually came to a common platform .In early part of 2003 Munda tribal people were not allowed to sit in planning meeting of village at Gopalpur but due to program convergence with ITDA (Micro-Watershed project) they have been accepted by higher caste community and later on involved in planning process and monitoring. This has strengthened the forest protection committee of Gopal pur.
Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods
The project will ensure and facilitate sustainable livelihoods from forest biodiversity through appropriate selection of paddy & grams as traditional livelihoods, formation and strengthening tenant farmers groups (TFG) and linking them with bank for non-farm activities, facilitation of NTFP value addition as bio-resource-based enterprise. Equity and integrity will be made integral in ongoing ecosystem management initiatives by strengthening the institutionalization process and develop linkages with various other institutions such as ITDA, Bank, other line depts. Integration of agro-biodiversity into health and food related programmes through promotion of organic agriculture, integration of locally available foods produced by SHG members into anganwadi and mid-day meals and integration of nutritionally superior local foods into public health programmes will be done.
Gender Focus
This particular project is in its scaling-up phase based on the success of the earlier SGP project implemented. It is more focused on women empowerment for biodiversity conservation. Facilitation of forest protection and conservation will be done through women SHG members to prepare database and maps of the legal status of notified forest lands and ?encroachments?, Tally Forest and Revenue Department land records.
Replication of project activities
This particular project is in its scaling-up phase based on the success of the earlier SGP project implemented. It is more focused on women empowerment towards biodiversity conservation. Good linkage has been established by the NGO in the project area with Panchayat for setting up the environment resource center, district administration is also co-financing a lot in various IGP activities, bank linkages is ensured with SHG groups. The NGO is also developed a linkage with another SGP partner to use the smokeless briquette.
Project Results
?The project received Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Award; Best State Level NGO Award and community workers were also recognised.
? Community consensus on environment awareness built up in 50 project villages and 1500 community members trained on home garden biodiversity conservation methods and species diversification for kitchen garden.
? Communities capacitated on forest resource mapping and sustainable harvesting techniques of NTFP and appropriate value addition and facilitation of forest protection and conservation through SHG members (data base prepared on legal status of notified forest and triangulated cattle grazing controlled in project villages and 500 ha of forest regenerated).
? Linkage development of SHGs with banks and other govt. dept. on various IGP initiatives and 2 SHG groups set up RTE(ready to eat) plant and linked established with ICDS and district administration for Anganwadi , Mid Day Mea and SNP under IMR mission.
? Establishment of Environment Resource Center and sectoral decentralization with Panchayat.
