Women in forestry in India

LPolicy, Research, and ExterlA Ji WORKING PAPERS Women In Development Population and Human Resources Department The World Bank July 1991 WPS 714 Wlomen in Forestry in India Ravinder Kaur Women play a much greater role in forestry in India than has previously been documented - and their involvement in for- estry should be strengthened. ThePolicy. Research, and External Affais Complex distnbutes PRE Working Papers todisseminate theftndings of work in progress and to encourage the exchange of ideas among Bank staff and all others interested in development issues. These papers carry the names of the authors, reflect only their viewb, and should be used and cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions are the authors' own. They should not be attributed to the World Bank, its Board of Directors, its management, or any of its member countries.  Plc,Research, and External Affare Women in Development WPS 714 This paper - a product of the Women in Development Division, Population and Human Resources Department --- is part of a larger PRE review of women and development in India. Copics are availablc free from the World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433. Please contact Audrey Sloan, room S9-121, extension 35108 (78 pages, wilh tables). For projects to , wed, it is essential to docu- energy need but also contribute to ihe degrada- ment women's relationship to forests -- in the tion of forests. This degradation can be reversed context ol their roles in different farmning and only by increasing hiomass production and food supply systems, domestic tasks, and generating more jobs and income lor women. income-earning activities. Such docunientation Social forestry programs must be broadened to would reveal ways to generate employment and include women, watershed management, the income for women. management of common property resources, and such related enterprises as animal husbandry. The minor forest product economy, for example, which is dominated by women, has Women can and do carry out most forestry never been the focus of government policy or a tasks, even such arduous ones as pit digging, specific component of social forestry projects. watering, and soil work. Women involved in Social forestry project; tend to be oriented to small-scale forest-based industries - such as cash crops, which mostly benefit men. bidi-rolling (indigenous leaf cigarettes) and basket-making - must be helped to improve The fuelwood and fodder crisis has focused their skills and to leam to manage the entire on problems of domestic subsistenec; planners process from collection to processing and sale. have been blinded to women's equally important Rights to forest produce must be more clearly role in the nondomestie forest economy. Forest- delineated. bascd activities are often poor women's main -- sometimes only - source of income, particu- Women have successfully organized groups, larly where women have no property rights in reclaimed degraded land, planted forests on it, land. Women who have property rights only in and managed forests jointly. Rights in degraded livestock also depend on fodder, a product of land allotted for afforestation can most easily be forests and common property resources. Forests enforced and protected by organized women. also provide food, medicines, and other products The most important help nongovemcent organi- useful to poor people, especially in times of zations can provide is to strengthen existing famine. women's organizations and help build new ones. Collective organizations seem best adapted to The urban poor bear the brunt of the exploit such development facilities as credit, fuelwood crisis, especially as fuel prices rise. extension advice, and access to new technology, But the headloading of wood (collecting wood raw materials sold in bulk, and the purchase and for sale) by rural women partly reflects their lack maintenance of labor-saving devices. of jobs and income. Headloaders meet a crucial The PRE Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work under way in thc Bank's Policy, Research, and Extenial AffairsComplex. Anobjectiveof'the series is to get these findings out quickly, even if presentations arc less than fully polished. I The findings, interpretations, and conclusions in these papers do not necessarily represent offlicial Bank policy. Produced by the PRE Dissemination Center  TABLE OF CONTENTS MLBCUTIVE SUMMARY ili Section I: Introduction to Women and Forestry Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Major Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Women's Intimate Knowledge of Forests 5 Section II: Organization of the Paper Depletion of Forests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Section III: Forests and the Household Economy Farming Systems and Women's Role . . . . . . . . . 11 Forests and the Satisfaction of Basic Needs . . . 16 Security Aspect of Forests for the Household . . . 20 Constraints to Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Fuelwood and Fodder Crisis . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Women's Major Role as Gatherers and Users of Fuelwood .... . . . . . . . ....... . . 22 Household Energy Demands and Fuelwood Supply . . . 22 All-India Demand and Consumption Figures . . . . . 24 Types of Fuelwood Used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Time Allocation in Fuelwood Gathering . . . . . . 30 Impact of Deforestation on the Household . . . . . 32 Impact of Fuelwood Crisis on Forest Protection and Regeneration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Section IV: Employment and Income Generation in Forestry Sources of Employment and Income . . . . . . . . . 35 Types of Employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 "Headloading" of Fuelwood and Fodder . . . . . . . 37 Employment and Income for Women in the Plains and the Hills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Tribal Women and the MFP Economy . . . . ... . . . 43 MFP Trade and Forest Development Corporations . 49 Constraints to Women's Participation in the MFP Economy: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 a) Access to Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 b) Lack of Technical Skills and Know-how . . . 52 Impact of Deforestation on the MFP Economy . . . 53 Forest Department Employment . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Wage Labor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Employment Generated in Government-sponsored Social Forestry Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Section V: Impact of Afforestation Programs on Women . . . . 60 Section VI: Role of Womer in Forest Management and Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Section VII: Role of Non-governmental Organizations . . . . . . 64 Section VIII: Conclusions and Recommendations . . . . . . . . . 66 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72  LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Forest Area and Tribal Population by State, 1980 12 Table 2: Indicators of Dependence on CPRs by Different Categories of Rural Households in Selected Villages 15 Table 3: Energy consumption in the Household Sector by Source 24 Table 4: Household Consumption of Firewood Equivalent Per Day in W'nter and Summer in Different Villages 26 Table 5: Distribution of Firewood Consumption According to Family Size 27 Table 6: Percentage Use of Types of Fuel in Different Villages 28 Table 7: Domestic Fuel Consumption by Household Economic Position and Source of Fuel in Rural India 29 Table 8: Time Taken to Collect Fuelwood in Various Parts of India 32 Table 9: Average Farm Work (hours) Per Worker Day in Himachal Pradesh, 1983-84 40 Table 10: Estimated Proportion of Women in Direct Employment in the Forestry Sector 45 Table 11: Average Income Derived From the Sale of MFP in Four States 47 Table 12: Estimated Employment Generated in BJ,O-rolling From en_d Leaf 49 Table 13: Tasks in Forestry by Sex 55 Table 14: Percentage of Female Employment Generated in the Orissa Social Forestry Project 57 * This paper has been prepared for the World Bank as part of its review of Women and Development in India. I would like to thank Lynn Bennett, Surjit Bhalla and Gabriel Campbell for their extremely useful comments on an earlier draft.  -iii- Executive Summary The E__lvood Crisis and Women'sa Inlment in rojt= i. The increasingly visible impact of the fuelwood and fodder crisis on the household has called attention to the need to involve -women in forestry planning. It has highlighted women's d9ependence on forests both to supply basic household needs and as a source of necessary income. ii. In this paper, women have been classified Lnt four groups, based on farming system and habitat: tribal women (shifting cultivation and the collection of MFP); hill women (practicing terrace agriculture and animal husbandry); plains women (agriculture and animal husbandry); and poor urban women (those who are dependent on fuelwood for cooking energy). The FuelwoQd Qrisisand Social Forestry iii. Social forestry projects, though expressly dasigned to address the fuel-wood crisis by providing fuelwood, fodder and small timber to rural people, did not make women the focus of their stratogies aimed at providing household fuel. This was surprising since women's iredominant role in the subsistence fuel supply and use system in most parts of the world is well known. The role of women ln livestock rearing, which revolves around grazing and gathering of fodder, should also have alerted planners to the need to involve women centrally in forestry projects.  -iv- Roed to PL Sgeia , Attention to WoMen iv. The failure to do so can be attributed partly to the fact that traditionally little attention has been paid to gender issues in the planning and execution of development projects. Women, when they have been seen at all, have been seen as beneficiaries of development projects at a very general level: neither their knowledge, nor their widespread rarticipation in various spheres of the rural economy has been acknowledged. v. If attention is now being drawn to women's relation to forests, it is also partly as a result of their participation in movements for forest protection and regeneration. The much-publicized Chipko movement has thrust women into the forefront of forest conservation activities. Voluntary organizations have found it much easier to work with women than with men to achieve environnaental goals. Roles of Zgomen in Diverse Farming Systems and Their, RelationshiR to Forest. vi. This paper attempts to make a few basic points. First, it is essential to document women's relationship to forests OULill Lhts USm, UZ Lilht household aned the .utside economy. For projects to succeed the linkages must be drawn between women's roles in the different farming systems, the food supply system, domestic tasks and their income-earning activities.  vii. Su6h gender-specific information should substantiate women's dependence on forest -esources and the extent of their participation in the forest-based economy. As a result, previously unexplored ways of generating employment and income for * zen would be revealed. For example, the Minor Forest Produce (MFP) economy, which is dominated by women, has never been the focus eitnler of government policy or been a specific component of social forestry projects. viii. In spite of their professed goals, social forestry projects have turned out to be cash-crop oriented, and thus mostly benefit men. This could have side advantages L. terms of enhancing wood resources, but also may be seen as another instance where new technology or innovations or development efforts are male-oriented. Except for improved cookstoves, no new technology designed expressly for women nas been introduced as a part of social forestry programs. __men's Use_of Forest Resoure fr Earning an IncoMe ix. A second major thrust of the paper is to demonstrate that atn overriding concern with the impact of the fuelwood and fodder crisis on women as actors in the domestic subsistence economy has blinded planners to their equally important role in the non-domestic forest economy. Few planners realize that women's forest-based activities are often a major and sometimes their only available source of income. Where women have no property rights in land, forest products and common property resources (CPRs) provide the only sources of income for poor women. In many communities the only property that women have sole ownership rights to is livestock. But, for livestock to be a source of income, fodder must be available. This again is derived from forests and  -vi - CPRa. Studies have shown the importance of animal husbandry for women in the h.ill districts of India, ir the desert region of Rajasthan and among the tribal peoples. IM2ortance of Fost Products for Household x. The paper also points out how important forest resources are for poor households and as a source of income for resource-poor women. Forest food v_'ntribute to household nutrition, especially during periods of food scarcity (their role during famines is documented in a forthcc,ming paper by Agarwal), and medicines derived from forest products promote physical well-being where health facilities do not exist. Numerous other items of household use are derived from the forest.' :mt."HgastloaLing" Signifies xi. Women's perceived d'fficulty in acquiring fuelwood for the home has caused them to be seen mainly in their role as fuelwood and f0dd6K gathe.ers. That women derive an income from forests, often frLm the very activity of gathering fuelwood, is only now being recognized. Wh .as been seen as household drudgery disguises a real need--the need for income. The fact that two to three million people, most of them women, are headloading wood 1 Comprehensive quantitative estimates of the contribution of forest products to household welfare ar3 as yet lacking. (Some quantitative estimates of the contribution of CPRs to household income have been made by Jodha for Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh: broad estimates of extent of dependence exist for various tribal communities..'  -vii- (collecting wood for sale) suggests that the f'uelwood crisis is not the only crisis they face. Headloading areas are chara-Aterized by extreme poverty and chronic employment. In fact, most rural women when questioned, do not see fuel as their greatest problem; lack of work and their consequent inability to buy food is seen as the main problem. FirewL2od Cisis: AUrban Proble xii. The headloading of wood and its sale to urban areas voints to another important dimension of the problem. The urban poor bear the brunt of the fuelwood crisis. They are too poor to buy substitute fuels yet, with no forest from which to collect firewood, they are forced to buy firewood for cooking and other household purposes. The Planning Commission Fuelwood Study Committee (1982) noted that 73.7% of the firewood consumed in urban areas is purchased. According to one study, the poor in Bangalore city spend 17% of their income on firewood (Reddy and Reddy, 1983). Agarwal and Bhatt's studies on the rural-urban firewood trade (1983) show that this percentage might be going up as firewood prices rise due to the increasingly greater distances firewood must travel to reach cities. Women's Unintended Contribution to Forest Degradaticn xiii. Although headloaders fulfill a crucial energy need, while acquiring an income for themselves, they also contribute to the growing degradation of forests. This degradation can only be reversed by pursuing the twin goals of p increasing biomass production and generating greater employment and income.  -vLLi- Those go&lu can be partly achieved through a reorientation of social forestry programs that involves women centrally in conception and execution. The scope of the programs must also be broadened to include watershed mar tSement, martagement of CPRs, and to bring within their purview such related enterprises as animal husbandry. WoMen's Wsrk Ln Foretr xiv. Womer can and do carry out most forestry tasks, even arduous ones like pit digging, watering and soil work. They are especially adept at nursery work. Besides creating jobs for women under social forestry programs, their role in forest management must also be strengthened. xv. A National Review Paper (NRP, 1988) on Small Scale Forest Enterprises estimates employment for women in forest based enterprises at approximatcly 371,851 million womandays. This estimate is - obably on the low wide as women's involvement in all small-scale forest-based enterprises has not been ftully evatluated. And it does not include figures for the match industry, sericulture, and employment in the rest of the forestry sector. However, it is an indicat, that substartial improvements can be made. xvi. Women involved in small-scale forest-based industries, like bidi- rolling (indigenous leaf cigarettes) and basket-making must be helped to improve their skills and to learn to manage the entire process from collection to processing and sale. To do this, rights to forest produ.K must ae more clearly delineated for local dwellers.  5g].,, pi NGOa in He1Rinna Women_t=ranz o DeveloRment xvii. Accounts of various non-governmental organizations testify that women have been successful in organizing groups, reclaiming degraded lands, afforesting them and managing them jointly. Elsewhere they have successfully operated joint protection measures against grazing and illegal felling. The most important role of NGOs seems to lie in itrengthening existing women's organizations and helping to build new ones. Collective organizations seem best adapted to exploit developmenc facilities like credit, extension advice, access to new technology, raw :macerials sold in bulk, purchase and maintenance of labor-saving devices, etc.. Rights in degraded land aliotted for afforestation can most easily be enforced and protected by or, nizec women. xviii. Further, interventions must take into account domestic chores and their structuring throughout the day and over the seasons. To this end, time allocation studies among women of different income groups and in different regions must be carried out. New technology must be ew4tlved wf4h wnmpnlc requirements in mind and with their help, as attempts to introduce improved fuel-saving cookstoves show. xix. Finally, through an examination of women's roles in different farming systems, the paper shows women's substantial involvement with forests and makes the case for strengthening their Lnvolvement in the entire forestry sector.  1 SECTION I 1.1 Interest in the role of women ls. forestry and the forest economy has been sparked by a number of factors: a) the increasingly visible impact of the fuelwood and foddar crisis on the household economy, b) the dominant role women have played in movements to protect forests; c) the consequont realization that numerous forestry projects can only partially succeod if they do not involve women, and d) an emerging understanding of the importance of so-called "minor forest produce" (KFP) and women's participation in the forest-derived economy. 1.2 Development expertd have rarely analyzed gender issues in the course of project preparation. However, evidence shows that men and women are aifected diffUntl;y by changes brought about by economic and social developuent. Gender-specific plans might be needed to cater to the welfare of women who are 1-sually ignored by development projects an" whose interests are assumed co be common with those of men. in forestry projects. evidence to the contrary is abundant. For example, when new, fast-growing riiproved" species are iitroduced, these usually provide a cash crop, often at the zUat= of the multipurpose species that women use for food and fodder production and as a source of income. The products that women derive from forest resources arc rarely recognized as important, or profitable; so their loss goes unnoticed by planners and foresters (both usually men), and even the men of the community. Women often depend on so-called useless scrub or on Community Property Resources (CPRs) for additional sources of food, fodder, medicines and raw materials for the households. When these disappear under the pressure for  2 cash tree crops, women's ability to provide a security buffer to the household disappears. 1.3 Mgi2r Egcul. The paper will argue that preoccupation with the impact of the fuelwood and fodder crisis on women as actors in the lomestic subsistence economy (in terms of the increasing drudgery in firewood collection, with its resultant impact on the nu,rition, health and education of family members as well as wemien's increasing workload) has obscured the egualIv important role women play in the non-domestic forest economy. Deforestation has vitally affected the "working" and "earning" lives of millions of women, who shoulder a major part of the responsibility for the survival of the household. Yet, because of this "domestic" bias, attempts to involve women in social forestry programs are peripheral or restricted to such components as improved chulahs (cookstoves). Projects/programs have not focused directly on incraasing income and employment for women. The programs for afforestation in India must - be given a new direction. This paper documents evidence to argue the case for involving women more broadly ln forest development as actors in both the subsistence and the market economies. 1.4 The extensive literature reveals that women's relationship to forest management and resources has beean considered exclusively in relation to the household economy. The focus has been on women"s problems within the household. As a result, women have beeu seen mainly in their role of fuel and fodder gatherers. Although the literature alludes to the fact that women also derive income from the forests, often from the very activity of fathhring -  3 fuelood whici' has been seen ao the epitome of household d%ud2ery, this is only now beginning to be highlighted. 1.5 The significance of "headloading" (the phenomenon of women collecting bundles of firewood from the forest for sale in the market) as an important income generating activity for a large number of women (and sometimes even for men), needs to be developed. A series of reports by the Centre for Scie-ce and Environment link headloading to the increased urban demand for firewood (Agarwal and Deshingkar, 1983, 1&2, Agarwal and Bhatt, 1983, 1&2). This phenomenon, increasingly documented in many of the Central states of India, and even in the cities, points to a number of conclusions. First, it indicates that these women are not collecting firewood Merely for subsistence or household needs. They are also doing it when poverty and unemployment make this the only source of income available to them. As long as there is a market fo, firewood, and some forest, however distant and depleted, there will be people to ply this trade. Second. time devoted to collectin; fuel Ls not Derceived as unrmunerative. If women have to buy fuel, they have to part with a substantial portion of their family income. In fact there is evidence that, with the commercialization of wood, people are beginning to buy fuelwood even in the rural areas. 1.6 This strongly suggests that women's relationship with the forest extends beyond the domestic domain to productive activities. This "unrecognized' sphere of women's lives has been equally affected by deforestation and the ecological crisis. If both aspects of the problem--the domestic and the economic--are recognized, the kinds of policies and programs designed to  4 inereeso women's share of benefits from investments in forestry would be differently oriented. The role of forests in providing for household subsistence needs and for employment and income should be emphasized equally. A byproduct of such measures would be women's increased interest in forest protection and regeneration. 1.7 Although there is no doubt that a rural energy crisis exists, accounts of it, in terms of the increasing drudgery for women of collecting fuelwood, when evaluated from an all-India perspective, seem to bo somewhat exaggerated. The paper examines time allocation studies and concludes that they highlight the more extreme figures. Nor is the fuelvood shortage the only serious impact of forest degradation. The paper attempts to evaluate other dimensions, among them the fodder crisis, given the importance of livestock raising for women's income earning activities, and the loss of numerous other forest products that traditionally contribute to household welfare. 1.8 It.is impossible to exaggerate the need to document and understand women's close involvement in the use and management of forest resources, both in the household and the non-household sectors. Such evaluation would dispel the myth that the forest is a "male" domain.1 Fortmann (1986), contends that "whatever the product and whatever the use, subsistence forestry is practiced primarily by women. In a profession where masculine images predominate, this may be a startling fact." If one looks at women's role in the tribal and hill I On the other hand, one cannot ucritfeelly accept the contrasting stanc. that wmn are "naturally" closer to tha forest, that they have an fntrinslc sense of forest proservatfcn (for such a vIeipofnt SOO 6h fva, 1988). A related mth uhich doea not stan up to scrutiny in moy areas io that of mn as ovders" and wown an "depedents."  5 economies, in the latter especially where male migration is occurring, it is obvious. 1.9 Women's roles in shifting cultivation, settled agriculture, wage labor and the collection of minor forest produce neGd to be considered. Even where women are not the main farmers, (as in villages in the plains) their dependence on forest produce is frequently greater; hence their involvement and knowledge of the forest is likely to be greater. Ignoring this valuable knowledge often adversely affects project development (see section on social forestry). Also, with increasing loss of forest species due to degradation and introduction of monocultures, this knowledge with its potential for innovative, cost-effective solutions to the domestic energy crisis may be lost. 1.10 Ynt t nowdge of &orsts. Women's knowledge of forests is often fourd to be qualitatively different from that of men. Fortmann (1986) argues that their extensive contact with the forest may give local women a more detailed understanding of forest resources than local men or foresters from other localities. This is partly because women relate to the forest in a number of contexts. They are more likely to make daily trips into forest areas in different seasons for food, fodder and fuel. Examples abound where women have identified many more species than local men or agricultural extension agentq and foresters. Even children often have such detailed knowledge; Shiva (1988) mentions an illiterate Irula boy from a tribal settlement near Kotagiri in Karnataka, who identified 37 different varieties of plants, giving their Irula names and their different uses.  6 1.11 Local women can differentiate among species that provide a long-lasting, low heat, a quick high heat, or those which smoke and so on. Where wood is the main energy source for cooking, knowing such characteristics is important for planning. Fortmann argues that without the benefit of women's knowledge, foresters could product a plantation of quick-growing wood that would not meet local needs (Fortmann, 1246). 1.12 Brar's study of the commons in Rajasthan reveals that when consulted about species to be planted on the village pastures, women were interested in a large range of the naturally occurring grasses, herbs and trees that they used as forage, fuel and vegetables. The majority of men, by contrast wanted to plant trees that had a market value (Brar, 1987). 1.13 It has become increasingly clear that illiterate village and tribal women are aware of the importance of maintaining the ecological balance; that much more than men they see the damage done by the degradation and destruction of forests. This is partly because they are the first to face difficulties in finding food, fuel, fodder, water and other household essentials. Women, of 0 course, play their part in depleting forest stock (mainly through sale of firewood), but usually they have no alternative to fulfilling their household needs nor do they have other ways to earn subsistence income. Under such conditions, women are "forced" to ignore their knowledge of the long-term consequences of ecological imbalance to satisfy their immediate need.  7 SECTION II 2.1 The prLmary Lssues relating to women and forestry are outlined above. The remaLnder of thli paper wlll document, ln detail, the available evidence on these Lisues. The paper is divided lnto five sections: 1) Depletlon of Forests; 2) Forests and the Household Economy; 3) Employment and Income for Women in Forestry; 4) Role of Individual Women, Informal Local Groups and Non- governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Forest Management, Protection and Regeneration; and 5) Recommendations and Conclusions. 2.2 Depletion of Forests. The environmental impact of deforestation has been extremely well-documented. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), in its reports on the State of India's Environment (1982, 1985) has brought together evidence on the extent of forest resource depletion. Department of Environment statistics reveal that despite the stipulated requirement of 33% forest area, the actual coverage is only 10.63%. Further, the National Remote Sensing Agency confirmed in mid-1984 that India's annual loss of forests was 1.3 million hectares. From 1974 to 1984, India is estimated to have lost 34% of its forest area (Agarwal and Narain, 1985a, p. 80). 2.3 Theories as to who is responslble for this massive destruction of forest resources have been widely debated. The Forest Departments and the official bureaucracy blame people's insatiable demand for fuelwood and fodder. (The impact of population pressure on forest resources cannot be discounted, although often analysts do not give it sufficient importance for a reasoned viewpoint see, Gadgil, 1985).  8 2.4 Euvironmentalists consider the Government the main agent of destruction, arguing that the Government sees forests simply as revenue-generating resources and therefore sacrifices local welfare to the interests of industry and other elitist groups. Scholars have traced the depletion of forest resources to colonial practices of forest mravgem'w thrht are seen to be continued by the National Goverment (Guha, 1983; Gadgil and Guha, 1984; Singh, 1986; Kulkarni, 1983, etc.). Gadgil and Guha believe that the solutions offered by each side (the environmentalists who support forest- dweller's and other poor user's interests and the Forest Departments and Government who are seen to support elite interests) have been in keeping with their respective biases. Thus the Forest Departments advocate stricter control over access to forests while the environmentalists seek a radical reorientation of forest policy. Activist organizations are pressing for a forest policy that takes the forest users' interest into account in their belief that further degradation can only be prevented when users have a vested interest in preserving forests. They maintain that forests are being depleted at a much faster rate by industrial interests in collusion with the Forest Departments, than by the activities of local people. 2.5 There is evidence to support either contention. On their part, the Forest Departments have fought against encroacnment or rorest Lanas ror agricultural purposes and are recognized to have preserved some areas (Gadgil, 1985, 119). It cannot be denied that encroachment for satisfying agricultural demands is a major source of forest depletion in India. The States of Punjab and Haryana are prime examples of this phenomenon. In West Bengal, Utter Pradesh and Bihar too, natural vegetation has been replaced by cultivation in  9 many areas (A Social and Economic Atlas of India, 84). Dams for irrigation and power generation have also entailed large-scale deforestation. The depletion of forests for railway sleepers is well documented. Large-scale deforestation for industrial and commercial uses is also a major cause. Traditional (colonial) management practices have tended towards managing forests for commercial and industrial purposes, often changing che character of multipurpose forests, resulting in large-scale deforestation. 2.6 Various studies confirm that the impact of deforestation is exacerbated by the privatization and depletion of common property resources (CPRs), (Jodha, 1983, 85, Brar, 1988). It would require a more detailed study than has been done to date to ascertain and understand all the causes of forest depletion in India.  10 SECTION III EForest n h oshl cnm 3.1 The role of forests in maintaininig the ecological balance, in preventing soil erosio.:', desertification, conserving water resources, maintaining fertility of the soil and preserving the micro-climate in general is well- established. The depletion of forests and the reduction of forest cover is harmful for the entire population, as well as detrimental to future generations. Directly or indirectly, forests affect everyone, although in this paper we are concerned only with a subset of the population, i.e., women and their involvement with forests. 3.2 At the outset, it is important to elarify what is meant by forests, since the definition will influence the context in which the relation between women and forests is discussed. Forests are usually though of as continuous stands of trees or those tracts that are classified as forests by the Government (into categories of reserved, protected, village and private forests). In non-industrial regions, trees are inextricably woven into the rural and household economies, therefore, for our purposes, we will deal with trees wherever they grow, whether in the so-called "proper" forests, or on wastelands, village settlements, private farms or those included in common property resources on pastures. Trees found in urban areas and in cities also come within the purview of this definition. This ample definition makes it possible to consider the relation of women to forests not only in forest- dwelling communities, or afforested hill areas, but also in the plains  11 agricultural regions which have poor forest cover and even in urban areas where poor women are dependent on biomass for cooking purposes. Under this broad definition, forest-dependent animal husbandry and other such occupations wAhieh are central to women in the sparsely forested areas can also be discussed. 3.3 Tho relationship between women and forests varies considerably depending on whether one is looking at: (a) tribal women in forest-dwelling communities, (b) hill women in various parts of the country, (c) peasant women (land-owning and agricultural laborers) in the plains, or (d) the urban poor. This section analyzes how the women in each of these categories use or depend on forests for direct satisfaction of household needs. 3.4 n So. Women play a dominant role in food production in some farming systems, such as the tribal system of shifting cultivation. In the states of Maharashcra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh (and the north-eastern hill states)--home for most of the indian tribes--the subsistence economy is entirely dependent on the forest (Table I gives forest area and tribal population by State). Shifting cultivation, described as a female farming system by Ester Boserup (1970), persists in these areas. Several thousand hectares are still under this system of farming in the hilly parts of Assam, Tripura, Manipur and Orissa (Agarwal, 1985, p. 31). In Orissa, kgZgq2, or shifting cultivation is carried out by women with some help from the men.  12 Table I Forest Area and Tribal PooRlatIon y tat" 18 Forest Area Adivasi Adivasi Pop. as Forest Area as Proportion Population Proportion Total U~~~~~19 ham V tal L 190 L QQQ a M Andhra Pradesh 6,409 23.2 2,226 4.2 Assaa 3,071 39.1 1,607 8.1 Bihar 2,923 16.8 4,933 7.1 Gujarat 1,952 10.0 3,757 11.1 Haryana 164 3.7 - - Himachal P. 2,119 39.1 142 3.4 J and K 2,189 9.9 n.a. n.a. Karnataka 3,787 19.8 262 0.7 Kerala 1,112 28.6 193 0.8 Madhya P. 15,389 34.8 9,815 18.8 Maharashtra 6,408 20.8 3,841 6.1 Manipur 1,515 67.8 334 23.3 Meghalaya 855 38.0 814 61.3 Nagaland 288 17.4 n.a. n.a. Orissa 6,767 43.4 5,057 19.3 Punjab 243 4.8 -- - Rajasthan 3,491 10.2 3,135 7.3 Sikkia 260 35.6 Tamila Nadu 2,179 16.8 450 0.9 Tripura 593 56.6 451 21.9 Uttar Pradesh 5,139 17.5 199 0.2 West Bengal 1,184 13.5 2,603 4.8 Andaman and Nicobar 714 86.1 18 9.6 Arunachal P. 5,154 61.7 n.a. n.a. Others 838 31.0 -- -- Total 74,743 22.7 39,855* 5.8* * Excludes the tribal population of Nagaland and Kashmir. Source: Commander, 1986. At the height of the agricultural season women are extremely busy. They bern and clear areas and dig, weed and sow; they harvest and thresh the crop. They also grow vegetables, and collect and process minor forest produce (details in Fernandeis and Menon, 1987). In a detailed study of the Ho tribe of Singhb=m,  13 tadhu Kishwar (1987) comss to similar conclusions about the greater role of women in this agricultural system. 3.5 The hill areas in India, consisting mainly of the Himalayas, cover 514,000 sq. kms or over 16% of the country and account for about 8% of the total population. These hill areas can be divided into two broad regions: the western Himalayas, comprising the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and hilly areas of Uttar Pradesh (Kumaon and Garhwal); and the eastern Himalayas, which consist of seven small states, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. In most of these areas women play a central role in agriculture. 3.6 In the Western Himalayan regions, crop production and animal husbandry are the main source of livelihood. In a study in Himachal Pradesh, Bhati and Singh (1987) found that women constituted 62% of the agricultural labor force in their sample. The average number of livestock units per farm was 3.35, 5.51 and 8.18, respectively on marginal, small and other farms. The average number of milch animals on marginal farms was 1.47, on small farms 2.26, and on other farms 3.18. Since farmers do not grow their owrT fodder crops, animal husbandry depends on common property open-access pastures and forests. As a result, animal husbandry is relatively labor-intensive and requires a constant amount of work through the year for grazing and collecting fodder (ibid, WS- 7,8). In these regions where tree fodder is predominant, women manage lopping and fodder collection. According to Shiva (1988, p. 66), older women train the younger ones in the art of lopping (pollarding) and of collecting forest produce.  14 3.7 Male migration characterizes many of these areas, which leaves women with the dual responsibility of looking after both the household and the farm. Subsistence cultivation is carried out on hillside terraces. Bhati and Singh (1987, WS-9) show that most work in hill agriculture Is light and hand operated--sowing, weeding, hoeing, harvesting, cutting of grass for fodder, etc. While men perform some of the heavier work like plowing, terracing and leveling, women do most of the other work. They also make a substantial contribution through their involvement in animal husbandry and crop production (87.2% of the working .ime of women in the sample was spent on tending of animals and 11.9% on crop production, leaving 0.9% for other farm activities), 3.8 Mazumdar (1982) states that in Asia "rural women constitute the single largest group engaged in agriculture and the production of food." Women's considerable contribution to agriculture in peasant farming has been well established. Here we will attempt to delineate only their role in the farming system as it pertains to use of forest and tree resources. This revolves arounad the village forest and the community pastu-.e or easentially what are known as common property resources (CPRs). Table II shows the extent of dependence of villagers in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh on CPRs.  15 Tabl- XI Indiatos ofDepnailc Oil CPRm b ifferent CatogoiLOsOf Rural Categories of Households in: = alasthanillages Labor, Labor, Indicators of Dependence Small Lar8e Small Large No. of Households 58 33 40 20 Proportion of Households: - meeting > 70% grazing requirement 97 24 82 25 - collecting food material 41 3 77 0 - collecting fuel 86 0 98 0 - collecting fodder 36 3 55 5 - collecting timber, silt, etc. 12 36 10 45 - getting supplies and wage employment on CPRs during drought 69 0 - - - using CPR water for irrigation 0 9 0 15 - consuming CPR-food items only by collection 39 0 50 0 - CPR based income as proportion of per household gross income 42 15 - - Source: Jodha, 1983, p. 8. 3.9 Women are central to livestock rearing for which fodder is essential, whether it is gathered from public or private lands. Grazing is also the work of women and children mainly. Jodha's study of villages in Rajasthan showed that households with up to 5 hectares of land had 4 to 12 animal units per hectare and those with between 10 and 15 hectares had from 1 to 3 animal units per hectare (1983, p. 3). However, where fodder is grown on croplands, as in Punjab, women are involved in its harvesting. Some non-farm work relates to auxiliary work like making baskets and ropes used in fodder collection.  16 3.10 Women in villages in the plains relate directly to forests in other ways as well. Here the relation and dependence is greatest among the poorer village women from marginal farming families or landless agricultural laborers. The latter derive all their firewood and fodder from the forests or from other people's land. Though in theory, most fuels are gathered "free" by household labor, in fact, chere is a price to be paid. With increasing scarcity, families reallocated household labor, reduce consumption, enter into barter or labor relationships with owners of fuel-producing resources such as land, trees and animals. They resort to illegal poaching and are subject to harassment and penalties by forest officials in order to obtain scarce household fuel supplies. 3.11 Although poor urban women are not involved in a farming system, they are dependent on fuelwood for cooking purposes. Poor women may derive seasonal income from fruit trees found in cities. Thus mulberry fruit, jamun and wild ber are collected in season and sold on the streets. Since many of the poor live on the outskirts of cities and pursue a semi-rural living style, livestock kept for milk purpoaes requires fodder collection from public areas. 3.12 Eorest anLd the Satiaction of aic Nee,Sg. Women everywhere and in India derive a large number of products from the forest. Trees are used not only for fuel, food and fodder; the forest habitat provides innumerable other useful products. Forest-dwelling communities derive the maximum number of products and this dependency decreases as one moves to other habitats, urban women being the least dependent due to lack of access to a forest.  17 3.13 EQQ. Women use flowers, fruits, roots, tubers, honey, oil, seeds, leafy wild vegetables, mushrooms, and some edible insects. Small animals and game are also found in the forest, althou h this source of food is usually exploited by men. Most forest foods are high in calories, proteins and vitamins. For most communities, they are contribute to a balanced diet. 3.14 ffie,cins. Women also use a large number of plants and herbs for medicinal purposes. Where health facilities are few and far between, tried and tested remedies from the forest are the basic ingredients of health care. For example, the tendu tree (Diospyros melanoxylon) has an astringent bark used to treat diarrhoea and dyspepsia. 3.15 Building Materiala. The household also derives building material in the form of poles, bark, leaves, fencing materials, etc. from the _-orest. 3.16 Other Household IteMs. Household furniture is constructed from materials derived from the forest. Utensils such as baskets, plates, water containers are made from forest produce, as are other items of household use including ropes, gum, resin, dyes and handicraft materials. 3.17 Farm Imnlements. Most farm implements are made from small timer that might be acquired from the forest or from trees on farmland. 3.18 Gremgatria. Most Hindu communities use wood to cremate the dead. Vast quantities of wood are used for this purpose in rural as well as urban areas.  18 3.19 $hAds. An important and often overlooked function of trees is to provide shade, whether in the village, or on long treks to collect food, fuel and fodder, or to protect children while the mother works in an adjoining field. 3.20 In a case study of three villages in Ranchi district and eight villages in Purulia district, N.G. Basu lists 16 types of leaves, 8 types of flowers, 26 types of fruits, 9 types of oilseeds, 4 types of bark, 4 types of grass, 3 types of resin, 8 types of roots and tubers and 12 plant species that are used for medicinal purposes (Basu, 1987, pp. 47-48). All these materials are collected primarily for home consumption. His studies in the tribal areas reveal that until today, 50% of the livelihood of local inhabitants depends on forest resources. 3.21 All these products play an essential role in sustaining the domestic economy. Yet most planners do not take into account how many of these items are lost due to deforestation or the introduction of monocultures. The impact of this loss is especially felt oy the women. The multifold importance of the sal tree for tribals in various parts of the country is a good example of what is at stake here. Food plates and dona (cups) to serve liquor are made from sal leaves. They are also used as bidi pAtta (cigarette leaf) instead of the more commonly used ken,t,u leaf. Sal leaves containing a few grains of corn colored with tumeric are used to send marriage invitations. Leaves are used to rear tasar silk cocoons and sal branches are considered to be good fuelwood. The twigs are used to brush teeth. Oil is extracted from Sal seed and sal cake is used as animal feed and fertilizer. Incense is made out of  19 sa! gm. The doities worshipped locally are often located under a sal tree. 6jitd the donudation of sal forests or restriction of access to them all these usos havo to be supplied from alternative sources. The commercial importance of sal to the people is also immense. A similar list can be drawn up for the .M tree. Several species have multiple uses for the villogPr.q and forest- dwellers. All these are tiems collected free from the forests by women, the only cost being their own labor. 3.22 From the above it is abundantly clear that forest produce is important for the fulfillment of basic needs. The degree of subsistence dependency varies from region to region and over different classes and income groups. Cultural variations are also found. A knowledge of this diversity would be valuable in project implementation. Irene Tinker (1982, p. 9) reports that conversations with rural women suggest that they are more concerned about the lack of such forest products as berries, leaves, and bark, which they use in sauces, than they are about wood. Often wild foods are used to flavor the main staple and are culturally preferred. 3.23 In the social forestry project for Karnataka state, 2,000 hectares of land in a tribal area were marked for bamboo cultivation. For over two years nou prgress was made on this component. Then, it was discovered that these particular tribals did not have much use for bamboo in their subsistence system. However, the bamboo was needed by the mgd^ caste in the 2ame region for making baskets to collect mulberry leaves and mats to be used in the cultivation of silkworms. The latter group would have benefited enormously  20 from a bmboo component sopocially since now they have to compete with the more powerful paper industry for bamboo (Kaur, 1985). 3.24 Stuity As t of ehe Houehold Econo . Social scientists and forestry experts are only now beginning to recognize the importance of the security buffer that forests provide to the household economy, especially to poorer households. This is true of common property resources also. Falconer (1987) argues that forest and farm trees make significant direct contributions to the food security of rural populations. Although forest foods are not dietary staples, they are important supplements which increase the overall diversity and nutritional quality of the diet. Processed and stored forest food products also make essential contributions to the year-round food supply. Falconer analyzes the nutritional components-- proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, oil and calories--provided by forest foods (ibid). He highlights the importance of snack foods used by people while they are at work, by children while going to school or grazing animals away from home. 3.25 Forest foods can be of crucial importance for seasonally dependent agriculture systems. Bhaduri and Surin (1980, p. 246) report that the headloading tribals of Bihar are dependent on forest food for three to four months in the year. In lean or famine periods, these foods sustain rural people. However, it would be incorrect to assume that the availability of chese foods coincides perfectly with lean seasons. Again, it is the women and the children who are most knowledgeable about these plants and responsible for  21 gathering them. Many of these seasonal foods, especially fruits, are a source of income for women and children who gather and sell them on the roadside. 3.26 Constraints to Access. The major constraints to women's access to forest resources for satisfying household needs are lack of defined ri&hts to forest produce, their socio