Policy
1. Policy Analysis
ATREE's policy analysis is based on the review of existing polices and new information
generated by its programs. In management of forest resources, ATREE's policy work is
focused on the extraction of non-timber forest products. In the Western Ghats, a
major initiative has been the analysis of policies concerning harvest levels of
non-timber forest products, functioning of marketing co-operatives, and development
of models for management of non-timber forest products that incorporate principles
of adaptive management in which monitoring and local communities play a key role.
In the Eastern Himalayas, ATREE, in collaboration with other local organizations
has collected and analyzed field level information on the implementation of the
Joint Forest Management Programme (JFM) in North Bengal.
In the conservation planning arena, ATREE's efforts are focused on the analysis of policy
constraints on systematic conservation planning that takes into account the spatial
distribution of biodiversity, threats to biodiversity, or the involvement of various
stakeholders in conservation.
ATREE is also contributing to the development of a National Biodiversity
Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP)
by preparing papers on policy related to community-based conservation
and on customary laws and practices.
2. Policy Impact
ATREE has influenced government policies at the federal and at the state level. At the
federal level, based on the work on the distribution of biodiversity, India's Department
of Science and Technology has sponsored a program to map biodiversity and identify gaps
in the coverage of protected areas. At the state level, ATREE has worked with the Forest
Department on management and conservation of non-timber forest resources in the Karnataka,
and is involved in conservation planning in the Eastern Himalayan states. It is developing
conservation plans in both the Western Ghats and the Eastern Himalayan states, the two
hotspots of biodiversity in India. ATREE has been frequently called upon to assist the
forest departments in assessment and surveys of biodiversity and in development of
social and economic profiles in forest villages.
3. Policy Dialogues
ATREE organizes workshops and conferences to exchange ideas and facilitate formal and
informal discussions among major organizations about policies related to conservation.
In July 2000, ATREE organized a workshop on conservation of forest genetic resources.
The objective of the workshop was to address the growing danger of species loss, and
to discuss strategies for conserving forest genetic resources. The workshop was sponsored
by the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), Rome, and ATREE, and
was attended by 50 participants from academia, and from government and non-government
organizations. The participants deliberated on several key issues relating to the design
of effective conservation strategies such as the balance between ecosystem and
species-population level approaches to conserve forest genetic resources; the
balance between ex situ and in situ conservation; improvements needed to enhance
the policy framework for conservation of forest genetic resources, and ways of
integrating conservation of forest genetic resources with conservation of biodiversity.
The output of workshop is a book which is the first volume on forest genetics resources
to be published in India.
ATREE has also organized and sponsored several meetings to discuss issues in ecology,
natural history, human dynamics, property rights, conservation, and management in Karnataka
and particularly in the Biligiri Ranganswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary. These meeting held
along with partner organizations and the Karnataka State Forest Department have sought to
increase the dialogue and interaction between the researchers on one hand and the forest
managers, planners and policy makers of the forest department on the other. The research
results on forest use and biodiversity conservation that has been conducted over the past
several years in the Western Ghats have been shared, its policy implications discussed and
recommendation made for future research and action required for biodiversity conservation.
Other workshops on livelihoods and wildlife conservation, described
in the outreach section have facilitated
discussions on policies on a wide range of issues concerned with
the rights of indigenous peoples and conservation of biological
resources.
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