Gir National Park and Sanctuary

Environmental Review of Activities Undertaken for Village Ecodevelopment under IEP in Gir National Park & Sanctuary

S.No.	Project Activity	PA & Local Benefits	Impact	Mitigation Measures/ Recommendations
1	Development of fodder plots	Reduction in grazing pressure on PA Empowerment of local communities. Encouragement for local initiative	Conflict among stake holders	Develop plots through community participation
2	Development of water harvesting structures	Better water harvesting Increased ground water level	Long term changes in ground water recharging	Limit construction during dry season Careful selection of site
3	Other reciprocal commitments	Reduce dependence on PA Better amenities Better relation with forest department	Disproportionate contribution owing to occupational differences	Ensure participation of all stakeholders
4	Distribution of LPG in 12 ranges (more than 5000 connections)	Reduced dependency for fuel wood which is only second to fodder Reduction in loss of forest cover Improved health and environmental conditions for women More time for other productive work Does not encourage more number of cattle as would happen with biogas distribution	Decline in income from sale of wood Require initial high investment affecting economy Initial subsidy may promote practices of debts leading to long term economic problems Additional investments for more energy effective gadgets will further impact individual’s economy Disruption of social groups Initial inhibition to adopt a technological change because of potential dangers associated with LPG Requires change in traditional cooking practices May lead to reverting to fuelwood due to economically unviable alternative	Appointment of a team to demonstrate use of LPG Training for judicious use of resource Assured supply through establishment of outlets
5	Distribution of Stoves	Reduce firewood demand Reduction in drudgery of women More time for other productive work	Decrease in income from fuel wood sale Risk of accidents Acceptability for change from wood to stove may be limited	Operation and maintenance should be ensured Studies should be undertaken to quantify the reduction in fuelwood use brought about by alternative energy sources to assess the success of the project
6	Land leveling works (Junaugala, Sukhpur, Dhanej, Itali)	Increased productivity of land Increase in income Less dependence on PA for resource	No benefit to landless and non cultivators Widening of gap in socio-economic status within communities	Not in the PA Manual means will generate employment and reduce erosion of soil
7	Tube wells/Bore wells	Increased irrigation facility Increased drinking water facility Goodwill and trust building.	Social conflicts if siting of hand pump is not a collective decision. Excessive drawl of water may affect water table	PRA may be a good strategy for consensus on locating these structures Some regulation and tax or fee to be worked out to prevent excessive use
8	Cattle Camps	Creating awareness about animal husbandry Increase in milk yield Increase in income	Reduction in farmyard manure	Cover large target groups for better results
9	Immunization programme of cattle (Maldhari nesses, forest settlers and revenue villages)	Prevent spread of infectious diseases Improved cattle health Increased milk yield Increase in income	No benefit to families not holding cattle	Priority to be given to immunize cattle grazing in PA
10	Construction of parapet wall around wells (Thordi)	Good will gesture to seek support for PA value conservation Preventing wild animal and human death Reducing man-animal conflict	No benefits to landless & non cultivators	Priority to the wells within and those in immediate periphery of PA
11	Development of more effective and extensive support by strategy formulation for implementation of IEP, research and monitoring initiatives and awareness building	Effective project implementation Better understanding of PA profile Enriched database on PA More effective monitoring protocol Successful project implementation	Incorporation of all regional concerns and assuring compatibility with local understanding may be a major challenge	Consensus driven strategy formulation & subsequent revision Involve large target group in awareness building Good documentation of research outputs for timely dissemination of information
12	Eco kunj initiative (Under this scheme, wastelands or grazing lands have been transferred to EDC for management purpose only. The EDC funds would be used to develop mango orchards and pasture land)	Enterprising effort Yield from mango orchard will improve economy and social status Assured availability of fodder in future for village cows Some income from sale of product Success rate high with indigenous variety of mango (Kesar) Immediate economic gains from employment of landless labourers Reduced threats to PA from resource dependency/anthropogenic activities	Long term financial, social, institutional sustainability of EDC critical for the success of this scheme Long term implications of change in landuse to horticulture on ground water not known Distribution of benefits may lead to conflict among villagers Likely interference of local politics (Panchayat) with the purpose of Eco kunj Problem of possession of land	Studies for monitoring impacts of orchard development on hydrological cycle should be undertaken to assess impacts and take corrective measures Govt. resolution for land ownership Consensus based agreement on benefit sharing mechanism to be evolved before harvesting crop in few years
13	Relocation of some Maldhari ness (Panchalli and Poperdi ness)	Pressure partially reduced from their location from PA interior to periphery Opportunity to rehabilitate degraded areas in the core area Improvement in amenities, food security and goods & services of resettled Maldharis	Presence of ness still in PA may result in continuous cattle grazing within PA Availability of adequate and comparable forested areas for cattle grazing is uncertain and ability to successfully bring a shift to agriculture uncertain and may discourage resettlement	For reducing pressure of livestock of remaining Maldharis within PA consideration should be given to redirect funding towards stricter system of ‘tagging’ and monitoring combined with promotion of cut and carry and stall feeding within PA Long term approaches needed for resolving the problem Strategies to create the interest of Maldharis in IEP may encourage their involvement for sustainable livelihood alternatives
14	Community oriented activities	Community well being Greater support in conservation initiatives likely to come forth	Conflict, if there is a general lack of agreement in initial investments for creating assets Lack on gain sharing mechanism may affect the success of initiative	Ecodevelopment communities to organize community oriented activities and disperse gains in appropriate shares

Salient findings

The project became operational in December 1996 but the actual implementation could take place only in 1997 – 1998 financial year. Because of the availability of the Management Plan, the threats to biodiversity of the Gir ecosystem are well identified. The nature of threats to this ecosystem are in the form of recurrent drought, cyclones, forest fire, excessive grazing, encroachment, excessive traffic and weed infestation. High traffic and tourism, mining in peripherals zones, alignment of railway track through PA and narrow genetic base offer the greatest challenges for ecological security and biodiversity conservation in this PA.

Habitat improvement and management activities proposed under the IEP project are largely for arresting soil compaction, fragmentation of habitat, grazing in PA and visitor influence. These have impacts for long term PA benefits. Activities to promote conservation of soil and water, increase productivity of the grass lands, improve regeneration in peripheral areas and improve habitat status for rare and unique biological values are expected to contribute positively in protection and long term conservation. Much more however still needs to be accomplished for improved habitat management than what has been accomplished already. Major policy decisions of enlarging the National Park area by inclusion of sanctuaries need careful considerations in planning. The decision is more than a political and administrative consideration and will have to be also premised on ecological, social, cultural, religious rationale and the uniqueness of the Gir ecosystem.

The village ecodevelopment activities have yielded positive impacts. The more significant of these have been the successful trials with LPG distribution and the excitement and acceptability of the Ecokunj scheme. Despite this, village ecodevelopment activities are more biased towards land and cattle owners. There is very low potential in most activities to sustain the interest and motivation of the people in the landless and employed category. The social and institutional feasibility of some activities and their long term success depends on the ease and quickness with which economic returns come. The Ecokunj scheme will have to be steered towards achieving institutional sustainability as the dividends will take a few years to flow to the community. Similarly, lot of effort and continued support will be needed for ensuring a transition from use of fuelwood to LPG as an alternative amongst a still larger number of people.

Last Updated: February 7, 2013

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Gir National Park and Sanctuary