The Project will be of Four year period consists of development of Nursery in the first year, Nursery will be developed in 15 acres in 3 places in Bhadra River Belt in a designated Temporary land of Government reserved forest with water resource, the Planting period is for 2 months i.e. in the month of May /June, & next three years will be maintenance period with the help of Forest Department & Local Community Centre.

Local Community Centre (LCC) shall be created in all villages with the help of Project Coordinators (PC), appointed by the trust for this purpose, PC will be from the local areas and will be responsible for creating LCC and village areas will plant 300000 plants which are useful for human, birds & animals. The plants chosen for planting will have long life, with high resistance power & last longer in varied climatic condition know to environment experts & agriculturists.

Project Coordinators are appointed on salary basis by the trust to provide the much needed help and assistance at the village level to promote plantation efforts on a massive scale in their territory by mobilizing the local community to provide spirit and energy. This is basis for making the programme a massive movement.

Therefore it is necessary to understand the certain characteristics responsibilities of the Project Coordinators who are employed.

1. A total of 30 PC will be appointed in the project areas.
2. They will be provided necessary training in forestry & to make them effective extension agents training will be given on technical skill & professional competency consistent with the need.
3. To formulate pragmatic training courses during lean season on plan formulation, implementation and monitoring vital issues of concern.
4. The PC is positioned in the village for the exclusive purpose of establishing rapport with the village community for achieving the overall objective of the social forestry programme. It is very essential for the PC to make the presence felt in his area of operation and extend on the spot technical services and physical assistance to the villagers.
5. To address elicit information on various issues and characteristics and answer certain qualitative questions to the village community.
6. The PC is entrusted with the responsibility of nursery care, distribution of seedlings, protection and such other related jobs.
7. To propagate plants known to the local community for their medicinal properties.
8. To conduct workshops for farmers and school-children to give live demonstrations on the importance of biodiversity conservation.
9. PC is sought to achieve the overall objective “to INFORM, to INSTRUCT, to INSPIRE” for their total commitment in their respective Village area.

Types of Plantation

It is estimated that there are four thousand species of flowering plants known from the Western Ghats and 650 tree species; Maximum of all fruit bearing trees and useful trees for mankind will be covered in this project, these include, Albizzia Sp., Neem, Pongamia, Jackfruit (Artocarpus integrefolia), Mangium (Acacia mangium), Pipal Tree (Ficus religiosa), Fig (Ficus Sp.), Tamarind (Tamarindus indica), Cashew (Anacardium occidentale), Fire-of-the-Forest (Butea monosperma), Soapnut, Sesbania, Raintree, etc. Planting eucalyptus is strongly discouraged, for it tends to destroy the local bio-diversity.

The other economically important species. Trees that yield timber and fuelwood include Dalbergia spp., Dipterocarpus spp. and Hopea spp.

Non-wood forest species provide:

• Fibre (e.g., bamboo, rattan)
  · Food

-Edible fruits (e.g., Artocarpus hirsutus, Garcinia indica)
-Edible nuts (e.g., Sterculia guttata, Terminalia bellerica)
-Spices and condiments (e.g., Garcinia gummi-gutta, Piper nigrum)

• Extractive products

-Gums, resins and oleoresins (e.g., Canarium stictum, Vateria indica)
-Tans and dyes (e.g. Garcinia morella, Terminalia spp.)
-Essential oils (e.g., Cymbopogon spp., Mesua ferrea)

· Medicines (e.g., Dioscorea spp., Rauwolfia serpentina)

 

Monitoring Mechanism

A total of 30 plot watcher shall be engaged by the Local Community Centre (LCC) to look after their own establishment, protection, maintenance and harvest of the forest plantation, this community thus play an important role in progress of the social forestry work.

In India most of the social forestry programme has failed or not succeed because of failure of monitoring mechanism in village community level, & non-involvement of the local community to monitor and safe guard the Afforestation programme.

Responsibilities of the Local Community Centre (LCC)

1. To bring together the like-minded villagers to form a 5-member community as their working member for implementing social forestry programme.
2. To engage and supervise local labor for planting and watering of the plant on five year programming.
3. To give full cooperation to PC in contributing towards the responsibility of nursery care, distribution of seedlings, protection and such other related jobs.
4. To give full cooperation to PC in supporting various cultural activities initiated by the Trust for educating about afforestation programme in the village.
5. To keep watch on thefts, Pilferages, illicit fellings & to create social control on one hand & regulatory measures on the other to curb this menace.
6. To supervise, prevent & regulated in the village the menace of stray cattle & unrestricted grazing of animals in the afforestation area.

Facts & Objectives

Human existence is not possible without greenery and forest, Regular cutting down these forest will lead to extinctions of animals, birds, flora & fauna, this project enhances  to develop greenery & Afforestation with involvement of local village community- thereby creating ecological harmony among the village community.

• The scheme promotes greenery in all villages involving govt land, dry land, river belts, sub-channel region, village connecting road, sub-road, reserve forestland etc.
• As today society has grown large enough to destroy the forest which threatens human existence in the village, this imbalance in ecology is very well seen through the naked eyes by way of soil erosion, climatic change, decreasing water belt, migrating birds & animal behavior etc.
• As the eco-balance has upset the time schedule of seasons, which in turn has changed & upset the agricultural patterns & the lifestyle of village community, which has resulted in rural migration towards city, thereby disturbing urban growth & lifestyles.
• It is important today to seriously work to control this imbalance.As the new generation farmers are finding it difficult to survive in village due to this imbalance it has become life-surviving question in rural areas. This has also created unemployment in village and creating rural urban divide
• Due to cutting down of main forests, which the farmers are unaware & helpless, Example of this is excess & heavy rainfall in ghats, which leads to floods in plains & no rainfall other areas.
• Today the water belt in rural areas has come down drastically, in past 15 years due to cutting down of rich forests surrounding village, which are valuable resource to keep water level. Farmers have to go below 500 feet to get water source.
• The main objective of this scheme is “Create forest -Not desert” to promote planting of useful trees & to safe guard the environmental imbalance & to contribute to protect this tree by educating the present & future generation about the benefits of nature & its fruitfulness.
• Creating forest will develop minute water channel, increase water bed thereby providing source to joining river, water flow can be seen entire year. Temperature & climatic changes can be controlled with dense forest.
• The produce of the forest such as fruits & nuts can be consumed for good health & body resistance, birds & animal’s population will also increase which will promote flora & fauna.
• Migration of animals will be stopped as they have their own territory for existence & survival.