COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION

DR. D. DEBNATH
Associate Professor

Indian Institute of Forest Management,

Nehru Nagar, Post Box 357, Bhopal, M.P.
 COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION

 A process whereby a group of people have transcended

their differences to meet on equal terms in order to
facilitate a participatory decision-making process.
 In other words it can be viewed as a process which begins
a dialogue amongst members of the community to
determine who, what, and how issues are decided, and
also to provide an avenue for everyone to participate in
decisions that affect their lives.
:
COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION
 It leads collective action, that is only possible
by institution building
 Organizing the development results in
mobilization
 It strengthens participation of rural poor in
local decision-making,
 It improves their access to social and
production services and efficiency in the use
of locally available financial resources,
 Enhances opportunities for asset-building by
the poorest of the poor.
 Contd…

It helps in cornerstone of participatory

approaches in rural development and poverty
alleviation programmes as it helps in
strengthening good relationship between people.
The process is therefore important factor for
poverty alleviation utilizing the available natural
resources.
 Govt.of India Forest Policy

Forest Department Resolution Village

Organizational
Development Formation JFM committee
•Motivation
•Confidence •Social
Building Institutional Process Structure
•Amicable •Set-up norms •Panchayat
situation •Regularity of meeting •SHG
•Job responsibility •Account maintenance •Gender
•Decentralization
•Watershed •Devolution
Treatment •Traditional
•Plantation Livelihood system Occupation
•Employment • Protection •Knowledge
Generation •Collection •Cultural
•Sharing Mechanism •Cultivation practices
•Capacity building •Processing •Belief
•Entrepreneurship •Value addition system
•Marketing channel •Marketing •Innovation
 Participatory
Equity Empowerment Monitoring &
Evaluation

Sustainability
 Factors

 Leadership
 Institutionalization process
 Watershed treatment and ecosystem management
 Improved understanding on the scope of resource
utilization
 Livelihood strategies
 New opportunities for commercialization
 Multiple enterprise development
 Enhancement of participatory democracy
 Equity and benefits sharing
 Empowerment and devolution
Bero Case

 This is the case of the self-initiated forest management in

Jharkhand.
 A charismatic traditional leader played an important role in
mobilizing the community.
(A) Process:
 The villagers sensitized themselves in a crisis situation.
 Protection management started by rotation & traditional
system and clear boundary demarcation. Women also
joined in vigilance.
 Traditional culture system helped them to take the guidance
of the leader.
 Conflict resolution mechanism developed by themselves.
 Institutional process for setting-up social rules and norms.
(B ACTIVITIES:
• Villagers took initiative in plantation of fruit trees.Never planted
exotic trees.
• Free grazing prohibited . Grazing allowed in some areas and initiated
stall-feeding.
• The villagers contributed labours in developmental activities such
construction of water harvesting structures, village road connectivity
irrigation and nursery raising.
•Collective fuel-wood and fodder collection and equitably sharing.
• Excepting old and children individual collection was not allowed.
•Traditional hunting festival was stopped and protection of sacred
groves initiated.
• Fines and social boycotting were practiced as punitive action.
• Inventorizaion and values of the tree products were communicated.
• Prioritization of the needs and forest products were motivated.
• Inclination brought among the villagers towards marketing.
•Skill development in lac production and capacity building in managing
the village committee.
© OUTCOME:
(i) Awareness development and motivation for
collectivity
(ii) Improvement of Protection and bio-diversity
conservation
(iii) Natural regeneration by coppice protection
(iv) Application of indigenous knowledge system
(v) Infrastructure building for water harvesting
(vi) Livelihood generation
(vii)Development of volunteerism
(viii)Sense of equity in benefits sharing
 VELLORE CASE

•THIS CASE STUDY WAS DOCUMENTED IN

VELLORE FOREST DIVISION WHERE TAMILNADU
AFFORESTATION PROJECT FUNDED BY JBIC WAS
IMPLEMENTED.
•ONCE THERE WAS CHRONIC DEFICIENCY OF
WATER DUE TO INSUFFICIENT RAIN FALL.
•IN THE PROJECT, FOREST AREA WAS DIVIDED
INTO THREE ZONES FOR WATERSHED
DEVELOPMENT.
IN THE LOWER ZONE THE CONSERVATION AND
CULTIVATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS FOR ALTERNATIVE
ECONOMIC SOURCES WERE DONE.
PROCESS: (I) INITIATIVES:
• Dr. P. Arjunan a traditional Siddha Practitioner commenced the
projects after consultation with the Forest Department.
• Later FRLHT Bangalore supported awareness development of
people for conservation of medicinal plants.
• In 1998 - 2000 under DANIDA project the extension of the project
took place by FRLHT selecting one village in each division.
• Medicinal plant was developed in the village Arecotton Kuidisal
with the financial and technical support of FRLHT.
• Two SHGs were formed today’s medicinal plants’ plots.
(II) WATERSHED TREATMENT:
• They commenced watershed development and
simultaneously employment generation from the fund of
VFCs.
• Watershed treatment included constructions of catch water
pits, semicircular bunds around planted seedlings, dry packed
check dams, cement check dams, percolation ponds etc.
• Extensive soil and moisture conservation were undertaken.
(III) AWARENESS RAISING:
• Slow and study process for the awareness and motivation
took place.
• Free Siddha Medical Camps and Medicinal Plots training
programmes were conducted.
• Target groups were women SHG members.

(IV) INSTITUTIONALIZATION
• Some medicine men and local school teacher joined
together.
• Villages started identification species and location of natural
availability.
• Raised demonstration plots and decentralize nurseries.
ACTIVITIES:

(I) SOCIAL FENCING:

• Grazing control by stall feeding.
• Cow dung accumulated for organic manure and biogas plants.
(II) NGOs ACTIVITIES
• Local NGOs started developing the capacity of women SHG to
product vermi compose etc.
(III) LIVELIHOOD GENERATION
• Forest Department trained the women in alternative economic
sources.
• Local NGOs developed skill.
(IV) MARKETING:
• Tie-up has been arranged with local dealers and M/s EID
Parrys, Chennai.
OUTCOMES:
i. Women’s participation.
ii. Participation
iii. Multi-stakeholder
iv. Benefits to the rural poor
v. Social justice
vi. Watershed development.
 Chracteristics Bero case Vellore Case
Leadership Traditional leadership Forest department and
local leadership

Institutional process Setting up the norms Rules are set up the

or rules amongst JFM Resolution and the
themselves innovative rules
Watershed treatment Present there Micro-watershed
and ecosystem development
management

Improved understanding on Plantation of natural Multi-stake holder

the scope of resource fruit trees and approach.Water
utilization coppice regeneartion conservation and
plantaion of NTFPs and
medicinal plants

Recognition of livelihood Prominent Bio-diversity

strategies conservation towards
livelihood generation
New opportunities for Initiative taken Marketing of medicinal
commercialization plants an important
activity

Multiple enterprise Initiative taken Result came

development

Enhancement of Fuller Was emphasized

participatory
democracy

Empowerment and Fully Encouraged and

devolution decentralization
thrusted
Equity and benefits Very much Through SHG
sharing prominent
Thank you
……….