Editorial Policies

Approach Paper Land Reform: Access of Poor to Common Property, Forest Resources, and Agricultural Land Use

Approach Paper
on
Access of Poor to Common Property and Forest Resources and Agriculture Land Use Aspect (Issue of minimising conversion of agriculture land for non agriculture purposes)
Seva Mandir, Udaipur
(draft)

Access of Poor to Common Property and Forest Resources
Definition – "Common Property Resources (CPRs): Resources accessible to and collectively owned\held\managed by an identifiable community and on which no individual has exclusive property rights are called Common Property Resources. The element that is common to most of these definitions attributes primary importance to the nature of access in identification of CPRs. The conceptual
approaches vary over a wide range. At the one extreme, there is an approach treating all that is not private property as common property. The approach at the other extreme adopts a much more stringent view to distinguish between common property and “free rider” or “free or open access” resources. The latter category is characterised by absence of any rules for management of the resources. The proponents of this approach hold that “a resource becomes common property only when the group of people who have the right to its collective use is well defined, and the rules that govern their use of it are set out clearly and followed universally”. In their view, common property implies existence of an institutional arrangement for management of the resources" .
"Rural common property resources are broadly defined as resources to which all members of an identifiable community have inalienable use rights. In the Indiian context CPRs include community pastures, community forests, Govt Wastelands, common dumping and threshing grounds, watershed drainages, village ponds and rivers etc. The first three resources are particularly important because of their large area and their contribution to people's sustenance."

Need for the present initiative – The state committee on agrarian reforms formed under the leadership of the Honorable Rural Development Minister aims to give recommendations on the various aspects of the unfinished task on land reforms. One of the critical component of land reforms identified was on common property resources. At present the percentage of common property land resource in total geographical area of the country is 15 %. If we also include the forest lands in this definition of CPRs, then there is another 23.38 % of the country's geographical area which is being managed by the forest department and is serving as an important source of livelihood and ecological buffer for the population.

Why is it necessary to study them – The forward of NSSO study 452 says "Common property resources constitute all such resources which are meant for common use of the villagers. In the pre-British India, a very large part of the country’s natural resources was freely available to the rural population. These resources were largely under the control of the local communities. Gradually, with the extension of state control over these resources, resulting in decay of the community management system, CPRs available to the villagers declined substantially over the years. Nevertheless, it is widely held that CPRs still play an important role in the life and economy of the rural population. The beginning of the studies of the CPRs in India can be traced back to early 1980’s. Some of these studies covered fairly a large number of villages scattered over the vast area of the country but majority of those was of the nature of case studies."
The NSSO enquiry report no 452 was one the first attempts to provide comprehensive state- and national- level estimates of size, utilisation and contribution of CPRs. It also provided separate estimates for different agro-climatic zones of the country. However it still falls short of suggesting measures required to improve the administration of CPRs as well as to facilitate their development for the coming generations. Other attempts following it were attempts at usage of the data generated through it for extrapolating to various agro-climatic zones.
Another paper by Bhaskar Vira says that "dynamic internal and external processes are impacting on the context within which the commons are used and conceptualised in India. While the large rural sector continues to depend on such resources as a safety net, there are also new opportunities emerging due to the development of markets for products and services derived from sustainable commons management (carbon sequestration being just one such example). The paper argues that conflict over the management of such resources is likely to intensify, and that governance issues are likely to become increasingly complex. Focusing on single-use regimes in spatially-limited areas may no longer be viable, and the new context for resource use and management is likely to be one in which a multiplicity of stakeholders are forced to work together for the shared management of resources across a range of spatial scales. "

Thus given the above level of complications with past developments and crucially valuable nature for the rural poor, it is imperative that the legal framework for CPR management is revisited and reformed.

Agriculture Land Use Aspect – (Conversion of agricultural land for non agriculture purposes)
The issue of conversion of agriculture land for non-agriculture purposes is not new but in recent years it has become a much debated issue due to the fact that lot of agriculture land is being diverted for non-agriculture use due to which there is decrease in agriculture productivity which is one of the factors leading to food insecurity.
The purpose for which agriculture land is being transferred vary
• Infrastructure development like roads, housing colonies,
• Industrial purposes like special economic zones
• Allotment of land for bio-diesel plantations
• Due to increase in land prices also people are finding it more lucrative to dispose of their agricultural lands rather than sticking to their traditional profession, which is not benefiting them.

On the other hand it is also true that lot of forest land not fit for cultivation is being transferred for cultivation. There is a need to look into this critical issue of land use aspect and suggest measures to minimise this conversion.
Data for diversion of agriculture land for non-agriculture purposes.
• At present, a little over 46% of the country's area is cultivated. According to the ministry of agriculture, between 1990 and 2003 the net sown area declined by around 1.5%. While in percentage terms this may seem insignificant, in absolute terms it translates to more than 21 lakh hectares. On the other hand, between 1990 and 2004, land under non-agricultural use has gone up by 34 lakh hectares. All across the country, agricultural land is shrinking. According to official figures, Tamil Nadu lost more than 10 lakh hectares of agricultural land between 1991 and 2003.
• Mineral-rich Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh are losing agricultural land to mining and power projects. In Kerala, between 1997-98 and 2001-02, over 80,000 hectares of crop land were diverted for non-agricultural use. Even in the case of a small state like Himachal Pradesh, the net sown area has declined by 33,000 hectares between 1991 and 2001.
• This hunger for agricultural land continues unabated. Between 2002 and 2007, about 90,000 hectares of agricultural land across 25 mandals in and around Hyderabad have been diverted for real estate speculation and mega-projects. Another 63,000 hectares across 20 mandals of Ranga Reddy district have been lost over the past 10 years. These figures have been reported in a paper published in the August 4-10, 2007, issue of the Economic and Political Weekly by V R Reddy and B Suresh Reddy who estimated that a mind-boggling 5 lakh hectares of agricultural land have been lost in Andhra Pradesh in recent years.

The Approach/focus areas for the sub-group's functioning with relation to Access to CPRs - The sub-group proposes to build upon the previous experiences of various agencies both state and civil society regarding the management and governance of CPRs. It shall be dealt under two heads which shall broadly cover the aspects of De Jure (by legal definition) and De facto (actual ground reality).
De Jure - Since the government is largely the agency that has control over the CPRs therefore the information/data on the same shall be gathered with the active involvement of government agencies in the state and centre (Agriculture, MoEF etc.) as well as the statistical nodal agencies like the CSO/NSSO at the centre.
De Facto – Since this requires a close understanding of actual land use reality on the ground, therefore attempt would be made to involve grass root level organisations and research agencies as partners who can give their inputs in terms of issues being faced in the governance of commons.

Scope – The study aims to cover the areas which have CPRs as a major part of land classification. Since we consider that forest lands are also CPRs therefore a part of the study shall also focus on the same. The areas targeted for the study have been chosen on the basis of availability of CPRs as reported in report no. 452 titled Common Property Resources in India compiled by the NSS 54th Round . Importantly this study had excluded forests from the purview of data collection but as per our understanding, land classification only reflects the landuse pattern of the past and it might change with change in times and needs of the people. e.g Revenue Wastelands as well as pasturelands in Rajasthan tend to be used for grazing while the same purpose might be served by village forests/protected forests in good precipitation regions and hence they should be studied as CPRs as well.

Areas with substantial CPRs as defined by respective state governments.
S no State % of CPR land to Geo Area Agro-climatic Zone % of CPR land to Geo Area % of Forest Area % of Forest Cover
1 Rajasthan 32 Western Dry Region 38 9.26 3.9
2 Gujarat 27 Gujarat Coastal Plains and Hills 27 9.89 6.4
3 Madhya Pradesh 22 Central Plateau and Hills 20 34.84 29.6
Areas with CPRs as well as substantial forest areas
1 Orissa 11 Eastern Plateau and Hills 36.73 30.1
2 Chhattisgarh
3 Maharashtra 11 Western plateau and hills 20.75 15
4 Karnataka 10 20.19 16.9
Areas with good forest cover where criticality of the forests as commons is more
1 North-eastern states Eastern Himalayas >60% >60%
2 Uttaranchal Western Himalayan - -
3 Himachal Pradesh 63.6 22.5

This categorisation overlaps with the broad definition of agro-climatic zones, which have been used to analyse trends in the above-mentioned study. Major CPR regions tend to be the dry-land areas of the country while the rain-fed areas of central India and the western Himalayan regions tend to have largest areas under forest covers which serve as CPRs for the local population according to these agro climatic demarcations.
Information Requirements

Primary Sources
Objective Data – This can be collected through line departments as well as research agencies for knowing the present status quo with regards to the availability of land (Size of CPRs) classified as common lands under various categories as per state subjects. The sub classifications can also be explored for e.g wastelands, revenue wastelands etc.
Secondly - Use pattern of the land can be explored with the help of partners as in collection of produce/usufruct from the same for various livelihood practices like Livestock and Grazing, Fodder, Fuelwood and other forest produce.
Thirdly – Longitudinal Change in the status of CPRs due to various factors.

Qualitative or Subjective Data – This data is more concerned with the usage pattern and various issues faced by the communities in the management and governance of CPRs. With the change in population and needs of the people, the challenge is that of maintaining these CPRs as ecological buffers that provide environmental services while at the same time serving as livelihood source for the poor and the marginalized. We would like to study and document through case studies and viewpoints from various stakeholders including the government and civil society as well as local communities.
Similarly the forest governance has seen various crests and troughs based on how subsequent governments priorities. We would like to focus upon how this can be improved upon to meet up with the various priorities. Conservation and livelihood priorities need to be matched and at the same time maximising use of forests wealth for advancement and growth needs to be encouraged. Mapping of such experiences and aspirations through consultations would be done. Issues faced in their development and improving access would be documented so that a roadmap for optimal landuse can be prepared. If need be specific context based case studies can also be considered that can help for improvement of forest wealth. These can be both institutional arrangements as well as those in the law like rights and concessions etc.
Also effort would be to clearly identify gaps between policies and practice in terms of legal framework for administration and distribution of resources and actual ground reality. This would help in recommending changes for improved access.
With relation to the forests, one major point of reference would be to review the impact and repercussions of the tribal rights bill recently cleared and about to be implemented. We would need to seek opinions from government as well as the community and civil society members in terms of their views on landuse and forests as common lands.

Secondary Sources – Would try and aggregate the existing body of knowledge on the work done on CPRs both inside the country as well as through collaboration with other knowledge centres abroad. For the same we would like to develop associate with natural resource based research organisations like IDS, ICIMOD etc and use their analysis for generating recommendations for the committee.



The Approach/focus areas for the sub-group's functioning with relation to Land Use Aspect –
Various legislations and standing orders of the government with respect to conversion of agriculture land to non-agriculture purposes shall be studied and compared. For the same consultation with government departments (primarily land resources), Academicians, NGOs, Industry etc shall be done. The consultations shall be an integral part of the dialogues conducted for CPRs. For the same methodology shall be the same as mentioned below.

Methodology –
1. As mentioned above we would try to identify partners who can provide us with quantitative and qualitative information. The data requirements would be circulated amongst these partners for their respective regions so that they can be pooled to extrapolate for the agro-climatic regions and state as a whole.
2. Partners once selected would be engaged in consultations for chalking our common issues and points of importance on which information and experiences need to be pooled.
3. Partners would send their information and case studies in prescribed format, which might then be pre-selected for sharing during second round of consultations and finalisation.
4. Three Regional consultations for the regions as mentioned earlier on.
5. Periodic Video conferencing and final partner's meet to finalise upon best practices and recommendations to the State Agrarian Committee.

 

Gazette Notification

 

Perspective on the Issue of CPRs

PERSPECTIVE PAPER ON THE CPR STUDY

The Sub-committee constituted on agrarian reforms and unfinished task of land reforms is considering the following perspectives regarding CPRs and would like to address some important questions on which the committee would like to gather information during the visit. We would like you to consider these and suggest additional perspectives - questions which will help the committee to finalize the perspectives. Here we are trying to enlist the various perspectives/lens that can be used to capture the state and future of the CPRs in the country.

Economy (Livelihoods) - Helping out people dependant on produce from land as CPRs because of their needs like fodder, fuel, livestock grazing, NTFPs etc. Also Improving their status to improve the health of the watersheds and thereby the farming systems.
Equity - Given the criticality of the commons in the lives of the tribal and marginalized communities, improving the status of CPRs and encouraging participation of the communities in the management of a common resource can lead to bringing in a feeling of Equity amongst the community members.
Ecological - A certain degree of prudence in Land-use is called for in order to ensure the sustainability of the ecosystem of the area. Ecology has its own inherent value and should be ensured at all costs to preserve the biodiversity of plant and animal life. Human interests should not be allowed to harm the rights of other forms of life to survive and grow. This also means that a certain % of area (33% in plains) and (66 % in the mountainous regions) should be earmarked for the ecology.
Institutional - CPRs have been traditionally seen as the shared resources and therefore the community management systems have been established in some places. In other places development of CPRs has led to strengthening of the community and increase in community cohesion.
Pro-poor - Favoring the People dependant on Land but without adequate holdings. People left out during the settlements can be benefited through apportionment of the same.
Common lands have been the mainstay of the poor, particularly of tribals in their efforts to make both ends meet. Due to the rapidly increasing human and cattle population, already depleted common lands are further strained in meeting local needs of fuel wood, timber and fodder. Unhindered and unregulated grazing beyond carrying capacity of commons affects its productivity and severally damages its regenerative capacity. Trespassing on cultivable common lands in the middle worsens the situation. This severely affects the livelihood of poor households and their ability to cope with the stress caused by droughts that regularly occur in this area. Poor households depend on the common lands for their supplies of subsistence goods like thatching material fuel wood, timber, fodder etc. Rich households can get such goods either from their own lands or from the market. The deteriorating commons, therefore affect poor households more than the rich households in the village. Well-off households, therefore, have no stake in protecting the commons and do not raise their voice against trespassers. Indeed, they are often themselves trespassers. With increasing commercialization of agriculture, marginalization of small farmers, and agricultural labour in the marketplace, the commons appear to be the last place from where the poor will fight the battle for their survival. The size and quality of commons is, therefore, crucial to their well-being and livelihood. Depleting the commons also greatly strains social fabric of the village.

Development of commons needs to be given priority for improving livelihoods of the poor households as also to improve their access to subsistence goods. The community would feel a greater stake in protecting common lands if such lands are developed and made productive. Depleted commons can hardly enthuse the community to protect and manage these lands. Investment in the development and management of the commons would have a positive impact on socially and economically deprived households. We should consider various aspects of common lands such as access, production, conservation, management and institutional control, community participation, and protection de novo as a wider issue of natural resource management for sustainable development.1

Questions that we are trying to answer through this study


Are the CPRs getting degraded? (Quantity and Quality-wise) – The CPRs (in all forms) are loosing out to private interests. Some of them are being converted and diverted whereas others are being damaged through anti-ecological activities like encroachments and shifting cultivation.
What steps need to be taken to check this degradation and apportionment?


The Pressure on CPRs is increasing? – Due to rise in population (both human and livestock), the per capita availability of CPRs and biomass available from the same is drastically going down and is leading to impoverishment of the marginalized that depend upon the same. This has led to decline in the overall production pie of Agriculture and Animal husbandry leading to endangered food security.
How can we develop/improve the productivity and production of biomass from the CPRs thereby bringing about poverty alleviation?


Ecological crisis? Rapid decline of government controlled CPRs like land and water has led to confinement of plant and animal biodiversity to select pockets endangering sustainability of food chain and food webs.
How can we ensure balancing human and animal needs preventing man-animal conflicts?


Legislative? Complex and conflicting interests of Central and State governments and also amongst the various sectoral interests like Urban Development, Residential purposes, Agriculture, Mining etc. leads to deadlocks (as seen in the pre-tribal bill scenario) .
Is there are means to converge the optimizing and prioritization issues under a land use regime or policy through legislative reforms?


Ownership and access? Governance and ownership by different line departments has led to mismanagement and cumbersome development plans.
Is there a way to redefine ownership and governance norms and regulations to make room for people's participation in upkeep of their CPRs.


Way ahead for Law Making - The reason why this subject has received insignificant attention is that whereas environmentalists perceive forest and CPR laws as relating to 'environmental' (deforestation and afforestation' problems, economists conceive such laws only in relation to resource management problems. Both perceptions leave out the people who dwell in forests.


6. Lack of Affirmative action at the end of the community? An indifferent attitude at the end of the community is the root cause behind decline and degradation of CPRs. Over the years, the traditional institutional setup at the village could preserve and nurture CPRs. However after state taking control of all the common land resources, the governance of CPRs was completely shifted to the government. People lost the stake (in fact there were the primary stakeholders) in protecting CPRs and got completely alienated from it. Hence to establish an appropriate institutional setup is the most important task towards protecting and managing CPRs.