India - Uttaranchal Decentralized Watershed Development Project : indigenous peoples plan

IPP71 Uttaranchal Decentralised Watershed Development Project Tribal and Transhumant Strategy Watershed Management Directorate Uttaranchal, Dehradun 21 Feb, 2004  CONTENTS S1. No. Chapter Page No. 1 The Tribes in Uttaranchal State 4 2 Project Area 6 3 Experience from IWDP SIWALIK 16 HILLS-II * 4 Strategy and Action Plan 18 5 Indicative Project Outlay for Tribal 23 Sub-plan Annexure - Route Map  Abbreviations . * ACF Assistant Conservator of Forests * DFO Divisional Forest Officer 0 ESMF Environmental and Social Managemcnt Framework * GI Galvanised Iron C GPWDP Gram Panchayat Watershed Development Plan C MDT Multi-Disciplinary Team OM Operation Manual RCC Reinforced Cement Concrete RF Reserved Forests RO Range Officer RVC Reveneue Village Committee * SHG Self Help Group * UDWDP Uttaranchal Decentralised Watershed Development Project * Vet Veterinary * WMD Watershed Management Directorate 0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  OXXI (X1 ,aez / v --S/,^.< ) W.---------- I4I~~~~~~~~~~I' ..C CN V.l- I ))t(lft Oo NEflE IilEol lls '{Lll} 0 0 00-00  Chapter - I THE TRIBES IN UTTARANCHAL STATE There are five tribes found in Uttaranchal state namely, Raji, Buxas, Tharus, Gujars, Bhotias and Jaunsaris. However, in the project area the only transhumant tribe is the Bhotia, while Jaunsaris are settled tribe. A brief introduction about all the tribes and their socio-culture is given below: (1) RAJI Originally belong to the Indo-Tibetan border area of district Pithoragarh, at present residing in a few villages of Pithoragarh and Nepal. They are considered the descendents of KIRAT kingdom though some scholars trace their origin from ASCOTE kingdom or from Nepal. They are shy and try to keep themselves secluded form other communities. Their main food is rice, fish, mandua etc. They still capture the fishes with the help of long clothe - The DHOTI from local ponds & streams. They have their own dialect completely different from the Kumaoniin which is not used by even the local communities.They have no specific dress culture. The poverty forces them to wear only dhoti in lower half of the body keeping upper scantily. Children remain scantily dressed. Women wear GHAGHARA, Blouse etc. like other hill communities. They observe the Hindu religion with some specific modified rituals like community feast under a large tree in the month of October after worshipping the Goddess of Forest. Van-Devta is their main worshipping God along with some others like BHUMIA DEVI, GANAINATH, MANANATH, BALCHANDRA, JALDEVI etc. They have no specific festival and fairs except Jol Jivi in October. They are mostly illiterate or low in education which is the main reason of their backward ness. They are not present in the proposed Uttrancahchal Watershed Development Project (UWDP) area. 2. BUXAS - They mainly reside in district Udhamsingh Nagar, Tarai area Nainital, Haridwar, Pauri and Dehradun. They are not present in the proposed UWDP area. 3. THARU - Mainly reside in district Udhamsingh Nagar. They are not present in the proposed UWDP area. 4  4. BHOTIA Mainly reside in the border district of Chamoli, Uttarkashi, Bageshwar and Pithoragarh in the North - East of Uttranchal. They observe the Hindu rituals worshipping mainly GHANTA KARAN, PADAON, NANDADEVI etc. Marriages are made in vedic manner within the tribe. Death rituals are also like Hindus. Once in a year they celebrate a collective worship. Women and men have equal status in this tribe. Their traditional profession is the production of wool for which they rear Sheeps and Goats. The other livestock they own are Mules and cows. Their dress is like other hill communities. The food consists of rice and meat with self made wine. Their traditional dances are Pandav, Chhanchhadi, Chaufala which are performed during Baishakhi fair on Ashtami or during marriages. (5) JAUNSARI They reside in the Chakrata tehsil of district Dehradun. The women wear GHAGARA, KURTA and DATU at the head with gold and silver ornaments. The men wear mainly Kurta, Paijama, Chola and cap on the head. There was a tradition of polyandry, which is gradually diminishing, with the development of education. They live in joint families. The food consists of wheat, rice and madua with meat. They celebrate Magh, Visso, Nunai, Jagda, Depawali and Deshara festival. Table 1 - Population of Tribals, Census 1991 Si. No. Name of Tribes Population 1. Raji 416 2 Buxas 40167 3 Bhotia 23410 4 Tharu 66123 5 Jaunsari 66948  * Chapter II * PROJECT AREA * The project builds upon the successful experiences, and scale-up the coverage of * the current IDA/IBRD financed Integrated Watershed Development (Hills II). * The IWDP (Hills II) project covers five States. The project will expand the geographical coverage of these successful experiences. It will expand to cover * 129 micro-watersheds in the Uttaranchal Hills benefiting the populations of 400 * village Panchayats. The settled and transhumant population constitutes 40 approximately 51350 i.e. 6.5% of the total population. * Historical Background of the tribes in Project Area: When man * started to live in caves and started hunting for survival that was the beginning of civilization. Slowly they started rearing animals and cultivate food products, and by in large took sedentary mode of life. However, there were some communities, * which continued hunting, food gathering and rearing animals. They are today known as pastoral nomads and transhumant. * The adaptive strategy practiced by pastoral nomadic societies is transhumance. It * is based on agro pastoral mode of subsistence. This was associated with the movement of people and animal in vertical and horizontal space, which is a * cultural adaptive process that arose from response to a particular set of * environmental conditions. Their annual migratory cycle is a seasonal one with longer and irregular period of migration, which often lasts for years. There are two types of transhumance practiced in Uttranchal (a) Intra valley transhumance - * movement of pastorals between valleys to valley and (b) Inter valley transhumance - movement of pastorals from foot hill and low land of Shivaliks to high Himalayan alpine valleys. In addition there are settled tribes called the * Jaunsari. . * 1. SETTLED TRIBE: The Jaunsari's are settled in the project area known as the Jaunsar - Bhawar. The population is approximately 28, 941 and they are settled in Chakrata and Kalsi blocks of Dehra Dun district. These blocks fall within the * scheduled area. They receive all benefits from the different government schemes and the special privileges provided to scheduled areas under the tribal development plans. . 6 .  (a) Distribution of Settled tribal population (Jaunsari) in proposed project (UDWDP) Area Table 2: Population of Settled tribe 0_ S. District Development SW.S. Population of Settled tribe No. Block Bhotia Buxas Raji Tharu Jaunsari Gujar ] Chamoli Tharali Simli - - Pokhri Plus Pokhri Simligad Narainbagad Lower Pindar Karn Prayag Lower Pindar Gairsain Maigad Khansar = Gairsain Alagad = = = = 2 Pauri Dhangu Hiyunl (Dwarikhal) Dhangu Nayar Left (Dwarikhal) Lansdowne Nayar Left _ : Dwarikhal Nayar Left Thalisain Bino Nadi 3 Tehri Jaunpur Aglar - 123 Jaunpur Yamuna - 188 Middle Pratap Nagar Jalkurgad - - Thauldhar Kharmolagad - - Thauldhar Nagungad - _ _ - 28 Thauldhar Aglar - - * 4 Uttarkashi Naugaon Kharmolagad - Naugaon Yamuna - Middle Dunda Indrawati - - Dhanarigad _ Chinyalisaur Indrawati 2 Dhanarigad 7  S. District Development SW.S. Population of Settled tribe No. Block Bhotia Buxas Raji Tharu Jaunsari Gujar Chinyalisaur Kharmolagad - 5 Dehradun Chakrata Amlawa 63 79 _ 6 Saligad Kalsi Amlawa 22221 Saligad Total . _ - 28941 (b) The Socio-cultural- religious scenario * Polyandry is the principal feature of the system. The advantages of the system are locally said to limit the scope to fragment land holding and conflicts. * In Jaunsar, the orthodox worshippers of the five great gods are few. The great majority of the people revere Mahasu or Parsuram, the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. A famous temple to this later deity exists at Lakhamandal. To the east of pargana, the snake is adored. Mahasu, however, is the great god of the area and deserves a detailed notice. * In Jaunsar- Bhawar, there are four deities known collectively as the Mahasu deotas, Basak, Pibasak, Buthiya or Baitha and Chalta or Chelda. The first three abide in temples dedicated to them at Hanol in Khat. Bhawar, at Tahnu in Khat Panjgaon and at Anwar. The fourth or Chalta Mahasu took up his residence at Bairat in Khat Kuru and moves from Khat to Khat as occasion arises. (c) Participation in Pachyati Raj Institution: In Chakrata Tehsil the tribal population (Jaunsaris) is about 66% of the total population. They actively take part in decision making. They are represented in the panchayat raj institutions as Pradhans as well as local representatives in Kheshtra and District Panchayat. They have access to all the benefits of various schemes-both state government as well as centrally sponsored scheme especially designed to benefit tribals. They are educated and many have government and private sector jobs. (d) Shelter: The typical Jaunsari houses are generally two to three storeyed, built mainly of Deodar timber. Some of these houses have one or more rooms in the basement used for storing grains. Cattle are seldom kept away and very often kept in the ground floor of the house. The walls of the houses are made of horizontal wooden beams with alternate layers of stone and rubble and roofs are made of wooden slabs and slates. Roofs of GI sheets and RCC structures have 8  also become very common, particularly in the areas connected by motor able road. In addition, almost every family has one barn house which is entirely of Deodar timber. (e) Legal rights and concessions in reserved forests: Jaunsar-Bhawar was formerly a part of Sirmour state and was conquered by the Gorkhas in 1804. It passed into British possession in 1815. The people had a right to forest produce for their personal, agricultural or domestic use and that was allowed by British to continue. They however, did not have a right to sell or alienate the produce so obtained. With the increase in population, pressure on the forests also increased, and in the interest of forest conservancy, various executive orders were passed from time to time defining, extending or limiting the rights of the people, which were finally settled in 1918-19 and sanctioned by notification No.104/XIV-217 dated January 24, 1921. * The region they are settled in is known as Jaunsar-Bhawar which is divided into groups of villagers called Khats. Each Khat used to be under a recognized headman called Sardar Sayana, but with the application of Zamindari Abolition Act to this area, the institution of Sardar Sayanas has been abolished. All rights to forest produce have been recorded by Khats and are distributed among individuals according to rules, as notified under Forest Department Notification No. 1227/XIV-217 dated 15th January 1920 and G.O. No.1222/XIV-217 dated July 17, 1920. Grazing rights have, however, been fixed by individual villages are included in Khat. The maximum number of cattle owned by a village can be apportioned among the individual right holders of the village concerned and if the total number of cattle owned by a village is less than the number it is entitled to graze, the excess right can be distributed among other villagers of the Khat. * All people enjoy rights to graze their animal nd forest produce in Jaunsar- Bhawar. This implies that a Khat has a right not to any particular area but to whole of Jaunsar-Bhawar. Following table gives in brief the annual rights and concessions enjoyed by the people. Table 3: Recognized Rights Nature of rights Extent of rights Remarks 1.Trees 1. Deodar 273 trees Regulation of rights of the species is by 2. Chir 377 trees number of trees only. Right to Deodar has 3. Kail 205 trees been fixed at 273 trees of 1.8 to 2m girth. 4.Rail Morinda 250 trees If trees outside this girth class are given, 5. Moru 257 trees the number will be calculated from factors 6. Ban 453 trees given in para 19 of notification 7. Sal 52 trees No.1222/XIV-217 dated 17.07.1920. The 9  Nature of rights Extent of rights Remarks . rights can be accumulated for 3 years. Deodar planks a 7206 dry Deodar planks and Right holders have the option to exchange beams from fallen from fallen Deodar trees the right to the whole as part of the dry Deodar trees planks and beams for an equivalent quantity of unsawn timber. The department has the option of supplying this equivalent either at a rate of 0.038 cum of sawn timber or 0.057 cum of unsawan timber per plank or beam 2.Grazing Buffaloes 434 Grazing rights have been fixed by Cow 22439 individual villages and can be apportioned Sheep 44185 among individual right holders or among Goat villages of the same Khat. Excess number of cattle in village can be allowed to graze on payment of fee. 3.Lopping All species other than Lopping of certain species allowed all the conifer, exotics and year round unrestricted in conifers forests cultivated fruit trees beyond else where if is regulated. 50ft. the road can be lopped. 4.Fire wood and Removal permitted for bona Deodar and Leuri logs more than 0.91m in charcoal fide use from fallen trees girth can not be cut for firewood. Hammer and stumps of felled trees marks from stumps not to be obliterated. and by cutting the shrubs. 5.Ringal Permitted for bona fide use Not more than 2/3rd of the culms of any without any limit for clump can be used in any one year. marking baskets, mats, etc. but not for manure, fodder or litter. 6.Leaves to roofs, Climbers and shrubs can be DFO is empowered to prohibit house, to make taken unrestricted. Leaves temporarily, cutting, removing or lopping umbrellas of tree can also be taken as of all shrubs in any area in which their provided under lopping preservation is required, provided there is rights. sufficient forest or wasteland in the neighbor hood. 7.Roots herbs, Permitted for bona fide Use of fire not permitted in collecting bark of the shrubs requirement honey. for medicinal purposes, fruits, honey, baib grass, climbers, cutting of grass etc. 8.Fishing Permitted throughout the Nets can be used in Yamuna, Tons, Pabar year by rod and lime and Amlawa only. 9.Quarrying of Permitted for bona fide Allowed only under a permit from the slates domestic requirements DFO. Ol.Right of way to For human beings existing If it is required to provide the water for 10  * Nature of rights Extent of rights Remarks * water rights to continue. For cattle cattle in areas closed to grazing, them the right to water allowed previous permission must be obtained. * only in areas open to * grazing. I1 .Burning ghats All the existing ones can be Fallen wood can be collected for forests to * in RF used provided intimation is bum the bodies. given to forest staff and fire * is put out before going * _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ away. Table 4: Recognized Concessions Name of Khat Nature of concession Athgoan upreli 5 Rhododendron trees and dry fallen Rai timber if available Bhawar Two inferior trees if available, to make vessels. Deoghar Two inferior trees (Sandan and the kile) if available for the purpose of making vessels. Silgoan Alsi Alsi village has a concession to one inferior tree species unspecified, for *________ plough etc. * * In addition special free grants may be sanctioned in case houses are destroyed * by fire. * * (Against the permissible quantity of rights and concessions mentioned above, only 1/4th quantity was being utilized by the right holders. Rights were more * than enough to meet their demand PLEASE check this fact and mention the * source). * (f) Agricultural customs and dependence of Jaunsari people on * forests - The people of Chakrata Tehsil by and large live on subsistence * farming. Gradually some people have entered in various government jobs and they provide support to the economy of the area to some extent. Some people * have become petty contractors, small businessmen, and professionals. * Nevertheless, the people are mostly rural and their main occupation is * agriculture, cattle rearing and sheep breeding. Big herds of cattle are generally kept. Improved breed have not been adopted so far by the villagers and therefore * majority of the cattle produce little milk and are kept mainly for dung to be used * as manure. Recently some people have realized importance of fruit trees and small orchards can be observed coming up on the gentle and steep slopes in * certain areas. * * Cultivation is done both on terraced and un-terraced fields. The main crops raised are paddy, maize, pulses, madua in kharif and wheat and barley in rabi. Apart from cereals, they also grow cash crops like potatoes, beans, chillies, * ginger, turmeric etc. Some surplus of the cash crops walnuts, ghee and timber * 11 .  are exported to plains. Most of the non agricultural products of day to day use * and considerable quantities of food grains, sugar, gur, and oil are imported. * (g) Livestock - In the two development blocks Chakrata and Kalsi as per the i recent survey indicates people are highly dependent on goat and cow. Table 5 - Population of Livestock Types of animal Animal population Remarks accordi g to 1998 census * 1 Chakrata Kalsi Total 1 ~~ ~ ~~~2 3 4 5 * Cow 30034 22321 52355 There are 315 cross breed cow family Buffalo 3847 4819 8666 livestock at Kalsi and 2 at Chakrata Sheep 464 3782 4246 * Goat 41167 27086 68253 . * * The forest area and grazing land outside RF have already been degraded to the extent that these can not provide fodder to the animals round the years, the * reserved forests are over burdened with the pressure of grazing and lopping. * Problems of uncontrolled grazing for long periods every year have caused deterioration of some good forests as in Mundali and Murach compartments of Deoban and Kanasar blocks. In Murach and Mundali villagers take their * horses, non milking cows and buffaloes for grazing in the mouth of April * every year. These cattle are left free to graze till the month of July/August when they bring them home. * (h) Nature of Dependency on forests - (a) Timber and ballies for D construction of house; (b) Fuel wood; (c) Wood for agricultural implements, utensils and torch wood; (d) Grass and leaf fodder for animals; (e) Oak leaves * and pine needles used as litter for cattle bed, to be finally used as manure; (f) * Building stones and slates for roofing; (g) Ringals for basket and mat making and l (h)Fruits, medicinal herbs, fibres. * All these products are collected by the villagers from the Reserve Forest areas * free of cost. Although about two-third of the forest area of the region was l given to the villagers as their own forests locally called Khatbans, but because of over-exploitation and mismanagement most of these Khatbans have now * been reduced to bare unculturable hill sides. . * (i) Problem analysis: Since, the Jaunsari's are settled in the project area with large livestock population special emphasis is required on fodder plantations in Chakrata and Kalsi blocks and improved pasture management. Their other * problems of the are mainly the protection, reclamation, improvement of their 0 o ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~12  agricultural lands, link roads, employment generation, permanent lined channels, * introduction of better agricultural & horticultural techniques etc. . * 2. TRANSHUMANTS -Mainly Bhotia tribes are found as transhumant * population in the project area. With advancement in life style this tribe has also settled in some pockets of the project area. Bhotias shepherds from Uttarkashi * and Chamoli districts also migrate in winter season to the Shivalik region. They * rear goats and sheep and come to the low land during winter from high hills. The Bhotias Shepherds do not keep their families during their migration period. They move with their herd of sheep and goats and three or four servants to look after * the herd. They maintain a settled life in high hills. (a) Migratory Routes * There are two traditional routs through which the Bhotias migrate to lower area in winter. 1. Munsyari/Dharchula +* Thal '*' Lohaghat +' 0 Champawat 0 Sukhidhang +.oI Tanakpur m+I Haldwani 2. Munsyari/Dharchula +1 Thal +* Berinag + Barecheena 0 Almora +~i Pura +-I' Nandhor 0 * This route takes them around 3-4 months to reach their destination where they stay from March to September. Their travel starts around middle of * September and they reach Kotdwar and Duggadda around November. In d February they start moving towards high hills again. So the total stays of these sheep owners are from May till September in high hill settlement and * from November to February in the lower altitude of Kotdwar and d Duggadda. They do not strictly follow these traditional routes. They d deviate from the traditional routes often as per their convenience. * They depend on agriculture along with animal husbandry. They get the * permission of Forest Officials for six months from October to March. The d permission of grazing is given to them in identified compartments of Forest Range. In each family there are one master and 3-4 servants who * reside by making temporary huts inside forest. They should not be called d family as generally the members are not related to each other. The distribution of Bhotia tribes as resident and transhumant in the project area as follows- 0 0 13 0  Table 6: Population Distribution Sl. No. Name of District Name of Block Population 1 Almora Garur baijnath 60 * 2 Bageshwar Bageshwar 225 Kapkot 1306 3 Pithoragarh Dharchula 6404 * Munsyari 7167 * Berinag 407 Didihat 293 Kanalichina * 4 Uttarkashi Bhatvari 1142 * 5 Chamoli Joshimath 4534 *________ Dasholi 1872 * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~23410 * * The nomads now distinctly prefer that their children should get into more * rewarding professions rather than to follow the traditional occupation of their elders. Many of their youth are now successfully joining the army, * becoming teachers or taking up other government jobs after completing * their basic education. Other reason for this gradual decrease in the number of nomads coming to the project are seen economic changes in the area, 0 increasing local population, decreasing sources of forage and gradual * change of the life style of the younger generation among nomads. * (b) Rights and Concessions in Reserved Forest - The Bhotias enjoy traditional privilege of grazing in the forest area. The legal status seems to vary from forest division to division. Divisions make provision for grazing concession * but no rights. Free grazing is allowed inside RF up to the carrying capacity. It 0 was believed that such arrangements would create a sense of responsibility among themselves and they would abstain from destructive lopping practices. * (c) Measures Adopted by Forest Officials to control Grazing- The * rules prescribed in the working plan provides for (i) Enumerations of cattle to be done by a forest officer not below the rank of a forester; (ii) All cattle enumeration should be completed and approved by the DFO by 30th September; * (iii) Cattle should be marked; (iv) Cattle counting should be checked - 25% by * RO, 5% by ACF; (v) DFO will issue a grazing permit on which the serial number of the grazer will be mentioned; (vi) A herds man has to appointed to look after * 50 cattle in the forest. Cattle with no herd's man will not be allowed in the * forests. A serially numbered grazing badge should be given to every grazer; (vii) 14  Every herds man must carry the badge and the permit with him at all times in the forest; (viii) Cattle without a heads man will be sent to the "Kanji House"; (ix) A record of grazing incidence actually permitted must be maintained separately for each block showing the number of Cow units admitted for grazing; (x) Cattle should be vaccinated for Rinder pests; (xi) The DFO can make other rules for having effective control on grazing. (d) Problems - There is losses of dozens of animals due to hailstorms or infectious diseases in the project area within a span of 2-3 days. Shortage of drinking water for their livestock and for humans has been observed in the project area. During their stay in the region facilities for shelter is extremely limited. 15  * Chapter III * EXPERIENCE FROM IWDP SIWALIK HILLS-II 0 In Shiwalik Hills -II project the experience of working with tribal community was encouraging for the department. Mainly Gujars, Tharus and Bhotias were * found either in settled forn or as transhumant. In order to benefit the tribals, 0 tribal sub-plans were prepared to achieve the following objectives - * 1. To mitigate anticipated adverse impacts on environment. * 2. To support the marketing of milk and setting up milk co-operatives. 3. To improve the water availability in dry season for livestock and human * consumption. * 4. To improve animal health and support breed improvement. 0 5. To organize them to boost up their traditional skills like fiber handicraft, mat making, fisheries etc. to use it as a part of their economic development * After a careful implementation of the plans prepared by village institution, * GAREMA, following achievements were realized - * 1. Conservation of forest for future and sustainable utilization of forest * resources- fodder, fuel and water. 0 2. Proper management of fodder through use of mangers and 'chaff - cutters'. 3. On- going efforts to include them in different developmental programmes. * 4. Productive land with proximity to market or on the milk route was provided 0 to them. 5. Veterinary services were provided for breed and health-improvement of * livestock. * 6. Established linkages with milk co-operatives and market forces 7. Support for improved water availability in the dry season for livestock was * provided. * 8. Proper management of fodder through awareness programmes was achieved. 9. Veterinary services were provided. 10. Empowerment of women through the formation of Self Help Groups. * 11. Specific activities promoted under the tribal sub plan for the Tharu tribe of * the Hills-2 Project area are as follows:- * (1) Fiber Handicraft * As the Tharu women are traditionally crafts women, they were motivated and trained in different handicraft items to involve them in commercial marketing. The supply of raw material ensured through the formnation of grass 0 * 1 6 S a  banks. Their products were exposed to the market through the stalls in big fairs like Pantnagar Kisan Fair, Trade Fair, Pragati Maidan, New Dehli etc. Finally they made a federation to boost up their activities and opened a local shop in Sitarganj area as a sale point as well as a point where the concerned institutions can reach them easily for orders and supply. At present the 27 Tharu SHGs are having around 3.50 lac rupees in their account which is increasing fast. One such Tharu lady of village Lauka got the opportunity to represent the Tharu skill of fiber handicraft in a conference on Global Perspective on Indigenous People's Forestry Linking Commerce, communities and Conservation held at Vancouver, Canada in June 2002. (2) Fishery The Tharu skill and long time experience in fish culture was utilized as an additional income generation activity in the village ponds which were made to conserve the water for dry seasons. They added ducks to these ponds themselves. Now they are earning around Rs. 50,000 per year per pond from this activity. (3) Institutional Strengthening The village institution- GAREMA of 17 Tharu villages of the IWDP Hills-2 has emerged as a very strong institution not only for the Project Works but as a strong social institution also. They are now discussing collectively the problems of the village as a whole, taking decisions and implementing them. They are now better mixing with the other communities for the development through the collective efforts. These 17 Tharu villages are having around 12 lac rupees in their Revolving Fund at their disposal. In addition to the investments made in accordance with the plans additional programs were undertaken like (i) Natural Breeding Centers; (ii) Para Veterinarians support; (iii) Silage Demonstration; (iv)Nitrogen treatment of crop residue; (v) vaccination campaign; (vi) Live-stock shows; (vii) Castration; and (ix) Water holes/Chari 17  * Chapter IV * Strategy and Action Plan The main objective of the proposed project is to increase the productivity and * income of the rural inhabitants in the project area through sustainable a management of natural resources. Since agriculture and related activities are the main source of livelihood for the proposed target area, land based activities and livestock will play a significant role in achieving the project objectives. The * project will reduce the emphasis on traditional crops and will increase a prominence on high value crops and value addition through grading, packaging, processing and encouraging organic farming. Further, to ensure sustainability of * the proposed activities, emphasis will be placed on reducing subsidies and a ensuring cost sharing by participants for capital investments and also the recurrent costs associated with maintenance of the assets. a As it is well established, the tribal/ nomadic group's strong self-identification is a distinct cultural group; they are vulnerable to being disadvantaged. Therefore, there is need to ensure that following objectives are achieved: * * To sensitize all project partners about their cultural uniqueness and they a are able to anticipate any possible adverse trends/ impacts due to which they neither suffer adverse effects during the development process nor face * economic subordination. a * There is informed participation of the indigenous people in the project activities and they identify their local preferences through direct * consultation process and incorporation of their indigenous knowledge. * * Development plans give due consideration to the options preferred by the a indigenous people. The indigenous people benefit from development investments and they * receive special attention to avail of culturally compatible social and * economic benefits with social opportunities. The opportunity of supporting tribal groups will be through a conscious effort in * preparing action plans that safeguards their interests and the provisions to ensure that nomadic populations within the project areas are not negatively impacted. Also they obtain a fair share of culturally compatible benefits through project * interventions. They are recognized as important partners and stakeholders in a various stages of the project cycle. * (a) Institutional Arrangement: The project will benefit both the settled tribes * and the transhumant population. The institutional arrangement to facilitate the a preparation, implementation and monitoring for these groups varies. Overall 18  project will be managed by the Watershed Management Directorate (WMD) under the leadership of the Chief Project Director, who would be responsible for implementation of the project. In addition to the existing technical and administrative staff, the WMD at Dehradun would appoint a Deputy Chief Project Director and a Coordinator for Environment and Social aspects of the project and a Communications Specialist. The responsibilities of the WMD would be overall management of the project, release of funds to the Project Directors and Divisional Project Directors on a timely basis, management of procurement of high value for the project, maintenance of project accounts, monitoring, organizing training of the project staff at various levels and implementing the communications strategy for the project. Below the CPD, the WMD has two Project Directors for Gharwal and Kumaon regions. Below the PD are Deputy Project Directors with a multi-disciplinary team of 4-5 people each. The multi-disciplinary teams (MDT) would include experts from horticulture, agriculture, animal husbandry, minor irrigation, forestry and a community mobilizer. In the case of the settled tribe the NGO will be required to provide on-going support, training and career development opportunities for the community mobilizers. They will facilitate the tribals to prepare Revenue Village Committee Proposals (RVC) and consolidate them in the GP watershed *Development Plan (GPWDP)which will be implemented by their respective Gram Panchayats (GP). However, for the transhumant population, the WMD will be solely responsible to carry out the project preparation and implementation through the consultative framework provided in the Operational Manual (OM) which includes the Environment and Social Management Framework (ESMF). (b) Action Plan Project: The Forest department reaction to protect interventions favoring nomads and tribes was little unsympathetic and rigid. However, with time there has been a shift in the attitude. The project interventions should be adequately phased out so that reciprocal obligations to natural resource base management are clearly understood between various stakeholders. It is a continuous learning process for the project and will help us to fine tune implementing successful strategies to reduce threat of degradation of natural resource base. The intervention strategy has triggered the need for creative intervention and lateral thinking among the project staff. (i) Orientation of staff- Experience from Hills II project indicates that steps have to be taken to strengthen the training and reorientation of staff working in the tribal and transhumant areas for mainstreaming their issues. Informal interactions and humility are central to the project staffs' interaction with the tribal. The project staff is initiating dialogue with what the tribal know, understand and learn from them, build on what they know. There is complete role reversal on account of new orientation and "handing over the stick" as a part of this management of change. There is a slow shift from regulatory mode to participatory mode. The 19  planning process has been geared up to ensure that relationships can be improved through participation, consultation and conflict management after careful understanding of the existing relationships among transhumant pastoral groups, settled stakeholders groups, Government staff and the vulnerable groups. Series of sensitization and orientation workshops between the field staff and watershed project implementation office to take forward the implementation of nomadic plan have been planned. The thrust will be towards developing skills of the project staff to carry out consultations with the stakeholders (ii) Interventions - As a broader guide line the negative & positive list of interventions may be prepared like one proposed below - - Positive List * Vet. Aid camps * Vet. Aid kits * Mobile vet. Services. * Tarpaulins/Polythene sheets/Swiss tents. * Medical check up camps * Fodder kits * Medicines for tribal/ nomads * Awareness campaigns * Fodder plantations and raising of pastures, fodder grasses. - Negative List * Any thing which is not accepted by the tribal & transhumance community. * Any thing against their cultural heritage and ethnic identity as given in previous para. * Anything that encroaches upon their traditional rights in the forest areas as given in previous para. (iii) Animal Husbandry - The basic strategy will be to focus on their animal healthcare, providing them mobile veterinary healthcare facilities, distribution of veterinary minikit, feed concentrates, organizing health camps at their places of stay, medicine for animal healthcare etc. In short, so far Bhotias are concerned, the main focus area will be animal health care and animal related activities. De- worming and other suitable basic medical support has resulted in near zero mortality of animals in previous Projects. The project therefore has to carefully focus on a strategy of strengthening the availability of medical facilities for the animals/ cattle of tribal/ nomads through the provision of mobile veterinary services, providing emergency medicine kits and training them to use the kits and other similar appropriate measures. 20  (iv) Other intervention - The project interventions have to be aimed at attempting to revitalize common-property regimes for the settled tribe and other measures for transhumant population. The project had also explored the possibility of providing better shelter for the nomads during their stay in the area. In areas where nomads are visiting on a regular basis, the tents will be provided through the department at the earliest. Interestingly, when the nomads arrived in the area and their priorities were ascertained, top priority they asked for support to protect tender off-springs of their animal flock rather than for themselves. Small tarpaulin sheets may be provided by department for protection of new born animal off-springs. The project has also to augment fodder and biomass resources for the cattle in the area with careful monitoring that the interface between the permanent residents and the nomads is of a mutually beneficial nature and not exploitative. The plantations under the schemes of pasture development and silvipasture will generate the employment for these tribal as well will be helpful in reducing the grazing pressure on adjacent forest areas. Planting of Moras alba (Mulberry) trees might be an important intervention to raise income level of the settled tribal as well as other landless families on the project area through sericulture. The tribal of Uttaranchal (e.g. Jaunsari's in district Dehradun and Bhotias in district Chamoli and Pithoragarh) have a very good traditional knowledge of medicinal plants growing in their areas. This traditional knowledge is transferred from one generation to another. Most of these tribals, still today, believe in curing their ailments by using the medicinal plants. So, cultivation of medicinal plants in tribal dominated villages might be an important intervention to augment the income level of settled tribal. Specific interventions are as follows - * Proper grazing management, * Tribal/nomads capacity building * Shelter facilities * Augmentation of water availability * Fodder management and fodder treatment * Mini-fodder kits * Promotion of medicinal plants (c) Implementation Schedule - The implementation schedule for the preparation and implementation of GPWDP for the settled tribe will be according to the OM. In the case of the transhumant population the implementation will continue through out their migratory period with scope to modify the agreed plans. Given below is the proposed schedule: 21  Activity First Year Second Year Third Year Responsibility Identifying the October to MDT specific January locations and the target group Awareness November MDT about the project and consultation with the target group Need December to MDT and the assessment February target group Preparation of March Target group Plan and MDT Agreements March Target group reached with the and MDT target group Approval of April PD Plan Procurement of May to August WMD goods Distribution of October to October to MDT goods February February Training of the October to October to October to MDT people February February February Veterinary October to October to MDT services February February (d) Budget - The proposed budget is approximately Rs 200 million which is approximately 6.5% of the total project cost. In the case of the settled tribe, the fund management will be the responsibility of the respective Gram panchayat and in the case of the transhumant it will be managed by the WMD. The following table provides detailed information. 22  INDICATIVE PROJECT OUTLAY FOR TRIBAL SUB-PLAN SI. No. Activities Executing body Proposed outlay Remark in million Rs. * ______ For Settled Tribe (Jaunsaries) . Activities to be Activities as per GPWDP GP 175.00 carried out as per * Operational Manual. * For Transhumant (Bhotias). * 1 Vet. Aid camps Watershed department * 2 Vet. Aid kits * 3 Mobile vet. Services - 4 Shelter/Polythene - Activities to be l sheets/Tarpaulins carried out as per 5 Medical check up camps - tribal sub-plan 6 Fodder kits __25.00 by watershed * 7 Medicines for tribals - department 8 Awareness campaigns - * 9 IGA (Poultry, Gottery - * etc.) 10 Raising of pastures, - * _ _ fodder grasses _ ________ 11 Fodder plantations - Total 200.00 . 0 . .0 S~~~~~~~~~~~~2  Major Route of Transhumants g > ~~~~Uttarkashi R4, <l tR f 9 8 ) ~~Chaml ) Dehradun 24 7 h ithoragairh r \ 47 < , 6 Bi~~~~eshwXr 1 l / AaWwa P auri,i tofw~~~~~~~~~~~ . C ha at) 'i ,.tv si K (_6t 3 . ~~~~~~~Important Towns s t x, +W _ ;~~~~~~~ :6Nf ~~Distnct Boundary ~~~~~~~~~~~-00_ Gui_ har