Research Article
A Hidden Pitfall for REDD: Analysis of Power Relation in Participatory Forest Management on Whether It Is an Obstacle or a Reliever on REDD Pathway
Box 3
Unstructured interview with one of key persons from Kikore who is a member of village standing committees.
“What REDD+ project people are doing is not constructive at all! Before the project we had established | effective system for protecting forests under Community Based Forest Management (CBFM). It is well | know that village government has authority as a manager and owner of VLFRs on behalf of the | community. It is the one which is responsible to ensure forests are well managed based on the village | forest management plan document. Surprisingly, REDD+ pilot project came and re-establish new | institution which is joint team of forest guards that is over the village government and directly | answerable to them. You can imagine how awkward it is; a group of individuals from different villages | mealy selected randomly are given power to collect fines from forest defaulters without consultation | of village government leaders of the particular forest area. Nobody knows at village what is happening | on the forest because at village office nowadays there has been no either a report of patrols | performance, offences or that of defaulters and action taken over them. Because forest patrols are | done at forest landscape wide not village based; there have been cases where fine for a crime done at | a certain village is collected at another village. This is a kind of overthrowing the village government | from its legal authority”. |
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