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Background:
The Project proposal submitted by The Managing Director, Tripura
Forest Development & Plantation Corporation
Limited,
(TFDPC Ltd), A Government of Tripura Undertaking, Abhoynagar,
Agartala on behalf of Government of Tripura titled “Sustainable
and Multi purpose forestry to settle the Tribal shifting
cultivators of Tripura State in India by providing viable
economic activities” [PD 111/05 Rev.1(F) – Pre Project] to
the International Tropical Timber Organization through the
Ministry of Environment & Forest, Government of India was
approved for funding by the International Tropical Timber
Council to the tune of US$48,114
(US Dollars Forty Eight Thousand One Hundred and Fourteen
only) at 41st Session of ITTC held at Yokohama, Japan
from 6-11 November, 2006.
The
funds were placed at the disposal of MD TFDPC by the ITTO in the
month of June, 2007. The field work and the work assigned to the
consultant were taken up simultaneously.
The
pre-project is intended to assess the nature and seriousness of
the problem of shifting cultivation in the Tripura State,
Identify priority areas for undertaking remedial measures,
primarily land rehabilitation measures ( in the form of raising
and managing rubber plantations, either as pure or in mixture
with hardwood species and rattan, through community
participation, for their multiple products), supplemented by
activities (such as NWFP development, bio-diversity
conservation, eco-tourism, income generating activities for
women etc) to support sustainable forestry in surrounding areas,
conduct studies to gather relevant information on social,
economic, demographic or cultural situation of the forest
dwelling tribal communities, consult with, and sensitize, the
stakeholders about the importance of rationalizing shifting
cultivation, explore planners and decision makers to similar
initiatives elsewhere in Asia and to prepare a full-fledged
project proposal for submission to ITTO
The
policy makers and other senior government officials have no
overseas exposure as yet in Tripura on livelihood of forest
dwelling communities through sustainable forest management.
While the pre-project was being conceived, it was decided to
look into the experience gained by China and such other
countries and derive from their experiences to provide inputs
for the pre-project report.
In
view of this, the State Government approved the visit of a
delegation consisting of Shri Jitendra Chaudhury Hon’ble
Minister of Forests and Tribal Welfare and Dr VK Bahuguna
Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Managing
Director, Tripura Forest Development and Plantation Corporation
Ltd and Project Director of ITTO Pre-Project to visit China from
7th July 2007 to 19th July 2007 to study
the Sustainable Forest Management Practices and the livelihood
packages of smaller communities (tribal and indigenous
minorities are known by this name in China) and people living in
and around forest areas. There was a proposal to include a
Deputy Inspector General of Forests in the Ministry of
Environment and Forests, Government of India in the delegation
to have a pan Indian approach to the issues studied. It will
help to provide better understanding for such type of models so
that this can be replicated across the country at the national
level. However, the DIG, Forest Mr. Bipin Behari could not make
it due to his family affairs in the end and the delegation was
restricted to two officers from Tripura.
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