Why in News?
Declining area and quality of community property resources highlight the need for their conservation in mission mode.
What are Common Property Resources?
- Common Property Resources - CPRs are community-owned lands consisting of local natural resources like forests, pastures, and water bodies.
- Types of CPRs
- Land Resources - Panchayat lands, Government revenue lands, Village common lands, Village thrashing lands
- Forest Resources-Unclassified Forest lands, woodlands and wastelands
- Water Resources - River banks, Tanks and Natural lakes, Groundwater, Wetland and mangrove areas
- Ownership – Government land under the ownership of local bodies or Community.
- Collective Usage – It is accessible to all community members for grazing, collecting fodder, fuelwood, and other minor forest products.
- Common Property Land Resources in total geographical area - 15 %.
What are the significances of CPR?
- Economic Security - For landless and marginal farmers, CPRs are a lifeline, providing resources to support their livestock, upon which they heavily rely for income.
- Food Security – They provide uncultivated food to the community, bio resources to the local people.
- Tribal Livelihood Security - Tribals, particularly vulnerable tribal groups and other traditional forest dwellers rely on forests and common resources for their livelihoods.
- Ecological Benefit – They hold significant bio diversity by supporting wild animals, birds and flora.
- Knowledge Management – They act as preserver of traditional knowledge on natural resources.
- Livestock Management – 40 to 70 % of the green fodder consumed by animals in the country comes from CPR such as non-cultivated land, pastures, public land, barren land, fallow land and forests.
India currently faces a 35-40 % deficit in dry and green fodder.
- Resource for Households - CPRs offer materials like fuelwood and medicinal plants, reducing household expenses and promoting well-being.
What are the threats faced by CPR?
- Encroachment –Privatization of CPR lands by allotting to housing and other non-agricultural uses or by formalizing illegal encroachments.
- Population Growth - Rapid population growth increases the demand for resources, often leading to unsustainable exploitation.
- Degradation – Changes in the character of the CPR due to over unsustainable use , natural disasters and climate change.
- Invasive Species - Invasive shrubs such as Lantana camara hinder fodder production in CPR lands.
- Legal and Management Issues - Ambiguities in legal frameworks and management practices often hinder the effective conservation and use of CPRs.
- Development Activities – CPR lands are often diverted for development needs like roads, bridges and industrial establishments.
- Cultural Changes - Shifts in cultural practices and values can impact how communities manage and use common resources
What can be done to conserve CPR?
- A mission mode approach can be implemented for the conservation and management of CPR.
- Grant villagers right to use, manage and protect the resources under the Community Forest Resource Rights.
- Strengthen the Public Land Protection Cell (PLPC) to protect and free the land from encroachment.
- Eradicate invasive species from CPR lands to restore its effective usage.
- Create an ecological register to document the available resources, trees, plants, uncultivated food, forest produce, herbs, birds and other wildlife.
- Empower gram sabhas to reclaim community forest resource rights for forest land and approach the District PLPC to take appropriate action on the encroached areas.
- Use of schemes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme for the protection and development of CPR lands.
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