Project Detail

OAK FOREST COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION & LIVELIHOOD PRACTICES IN ZAGROS ARMARDEH REGION IN BANEH, KORDISTAN PROVINCE

Project Location: Baneh (Lat.:36.0390310/Long.:45.8184810 )
Background:

SGP/Damoon project IRA-G52-2002-018 for the first time legalized good traditional forestry practices in Havareh Khol village and it facilitated the establishment of a Forest Research Center related to University of Kurdistan for promoting community forestry
In the current project the above research centre in partnership with the communities and SGP is promoting community forestry based on livelihood activities for the first time in the area to help shape a new policy in promoting community management practices in Zagros forests.
Project team and the Active Core will participate in other SGP projects participatory trainings as they become available.
3 selected villages through a planning grant have listed their livelihood possibilities. In this project the community information for livelihood projects related to community forestry will be operational.
Research centre will provide cofunding/parallel funding to backstop the project in technical terms on community forestry work possibly through funding from Ministry of Higher Education and also providing for a common project office.
A quarterly newsletter will be prepared by the project
Thesis work and papers will be promoted in the project
A lessons learned booklet and a short documentary will be produced
Project activities and results will be presented to experts and to SGP Forest Thematic Group by project active Core using project reports and power point presentations in order to affect policy.
Forestry work will be linked to climate change indicators
This project will also support another SGP project in applied rural renewable energy demonstration project in Zagros Oak Forests (IRA/SGP/OP4/RAF/07/04) to remove one of the major threats to Oak Forests which is firewood consumption.

The website www.galajarepaydar.com has been designed after the project started and is operational. This website is the initiative of the grantee with the objective of reporting on ongoing activities.

For more information please visit www.galajarepaydar.com

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Project Snapshot

Grantee:

HEDAYAT GHAZANFARI & ASAAD MAHDAVI (legal representatives of Local Communities of Havareh Khol, Kokhehmamo & Oshtormol Vilages in Armardeh Region, Baneh, Kordistan Province

Country:

Iran

Area Of Work:

Climate Change Mitigation

Operational Phase:

Phase 4

Grant Amount:

US$ 50,000.00

Co-Financing Cash:

US$ 17,718.00

Co-Financing in-Kind:

US$ 20,500.00

Project Number:

IRA/SGP/OP4/RAF/07/01 (92)

Start Date:

12/2007

End Date:

11/2009

Status:

Satisfactorily Completed

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Project Characteristics and Results

Project sustainability

During implementation of Havareh Khol Galazani (coppicing) project and due to close ties between project team and Kurdistan Province Natural Resources head office, a project was defined on ?participatory forest management? respecting the role of local communities and Kurdistan University to lead the pattern. Establishment of ?participatory forest management office? in faculty of natural resources of Kurdistan University as the initial outcome of this cooperation was the basis for further activities protecting forests in the region. This office which was established based on an idea and further supports of Small Grants Programme, Kurdistan University and Natural resources organization, later was joined by Iranian Society of Environmentalists as a supplementary scientific resource. As a consequent and as soon as baseline studies and village selection phase were completed, another project, Combination of renewable energies technologies, came into action in Armardeh region. Academic studies and theses prepared on the topic, reintroduced this traditional method to the Faculties of Tehran and Kurdistan universities.

Replication of project activities

Following to project implementation in Haverah Khol, local community of a neighboring area (Armardeh) IRA/SGP/OP4/RAF/07/01 (92) proposed the same project to be executed in their village. Promoting Havareh Khol project?s achievements and reducing the pressure on the environment in the whole area, proposal was approved and project started in Armardeh based on the knowledge and pattern prepared in initial project.

Significant Participation of Indigenous Peoples

Galazani (Coppicing) is traditional technique used by indigenous people in Baneh region. It means cutting the leaves and branches of trees (sometimes the entire tree for younger ones) to provide fuel wood and fodder. Based on local custom, each extended family manages a specific territory of forest for 4 years. Traditional knowledge of this operation used to exist in rural areas of Baneh and one the first activities of this project was to gather indigenous knowledge through holding participatory workshops in the villages. Further during implementation, indigenous people had the main role of applying improved methods of coppicing introduced by project team. In addition local people acted as guides in the region and during the Galazani (Coppicing) festival they refereed the contest. In SWOT workshops held in the forest in presence of villagers, local forest and rangeland organization authorities and project team, local people explained different aspects of Galazani (Coppicing) operation to the authorities and defended its efficiency.

Policy Impact

In 1963 following to nationalization of forests, government decided to restrict exploitation of forests. As a result of new regulations, any form of cutting wood (to be used as fuel or fodder) was banned and there were strict penalties against breaking the rules. Since then Galazani (Coppicing) was officially prohibited. Although governmental authorities tried to introduce alternative plans for forest management, those plans were not accepted by indigenous people and consequently not successful. ?Fighting against Galazani (Coppicing)? was a common policy during all those years. Successful implementation of this project led forest and rangeland organization (the main legal authority of forest management in Iran) to justify their policy. In 2003, high council of forest decided to change the name of previous long term plan from ?fighting against Galazani (Coppicing)? into ?Organizing Galazani (Coppicing)?. A year later, project received the award of best national project on natural resources and an article about project achievements were published in Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research. Recognizing project achievements, North Zagros Research and Development center was formed in Kurdistan province to facilitate effective communication between education and development sector and executive agencies active in forest management. There has been several discussion sessions and at least 5 master?s degree dissertations have been proposed since the center established.

Capacity - Building Component

Supporting local sustainable livelihoods, a bee keeping project proposed by local community was approved by SGP national steering committee. Upon implementation of bee keeping project, 10 families started managing 70 bee houses upon agreements with village Islamic council. Each family, owning 7 bee houses, committed to annually return $200 to invest on more bee hives for other families in the area. By the end of first year, local people of Vashtromel, who had never practiced bee keeping, succeeded to produce 600 ? 750 kg of Gazou (a local plant) honey.

Gender Focus

Traditionally women had very limited participation in social activities in Kurdish areas in Iran. While activities of female members of project team was treated as kind of unusual in the beginning stages, local community later accepted participation of females and also started accepting social activities of female members of their own families.

Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods

When Baneh (a border town between Iran and Iraq) became a trade market between two countries, many villagers who mainly lived on livestock breeding and forestry changed their traditional livelihood and started trading consumer goods. In addition fuel export and its income as well as increase in fuel price at national level, raised the threat of forest overexploitation as an alternative to fuel. As a result, promoting participatory forestry through focusing on alternative livelihoods came to project top priority. Reducing local reliance on wood for their daily living, a complementary project was suggested in the area: ?Combination of renewable energies technologies in Armardeh, Baneh region?. This project was approved to introduce alternative energy resources in order to recreate and preserve Armardeh forests. Overexploitation of Oak forests to provide wood and fodder, impassability of area, lack of proper accessibility to facilities, high costs of energy resources except of wood and low efficiency of heating systems (stoves and fireplaces) were the main reasons of pointing North Zagros as the project location. Nowadays people in Koukh Mamo village are using one of the advanced energy resources for heating and lighting purposes; students in village school are not using freezing water to wash up in the cold season and prayers have access to hot water in the mosque; but this water is not heated up burning wood or fossil fuels, Solar energy heats up the water.

Project Results

Replication of Project Activities:

Following to project implementation in Haverah Khol, local community of a neighboring area (Armardeh) IRA/SGP/OP4/RAF/07/01 (92) proposed the same project to be executed in their village. Promoting Havareh Khol project?s achievements and reducing the pressure on the environment in the whole area, proposal was approved and project started in Armardeh based on the knowledge and pattern prepared in initial project.

Project Sustainability:

During implementation of Havareh Khol Galazani (coppicing) project and due to close ties between project team and Kurdistan Province Natural Resources head office, a project was defined on ?participatory forest management? respecting the role of local communities and Kurdistan University to lead the pattern. Establishment of ?participatory forest management office? in faculty of natural resources of Kurdistan University as the initial outcome of this cooperation was the basis for further activities protecting forests in the region. This office which was established based on an idea and further supports of Small Grants Programme, Kurdistan University and Natural resources organization, later was joined by Iranian Society of Environmentalists as a supplementary scientific resource. As a consequent and as soon as baseline studies and village selection phase were completed, another project, Combination of renewable energies technologies, came into action in Armardeh region.
Academic studies and theses prepared on the topic, reintroduced this traditional method to the Faculties of Tehran and Kurdistan universities.

Acknowledment:

- An article was printed in Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research in 2004 based on project achievements.
- A presentation of project activities and results won the best award in the Third National Conference of Forests and Sustainable Development in Iran
- In 2004, Project received the award of best National Project on Natural Resources
- 5 university theses and dissertations have been proposed and implemented regarding the project objectives.

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