Afforestation in the Kumaon
Nestled in the lap of the mighty Himalayas is Uttarakhand, a landscape of snow-capped mountains and flowing waterfalls. Here we have a unique opportunity to work with mountain community adaptation using high altitude afforestation. Van Panchayats or community forest bodies present us with collectives who can help us plant native Himalayan species as well as create linkages for non-timber forest products (NTFPs) from the region. Unlike traditional Gram Panchayats (Village Councils), Van Panchayats have exclusive rights over the management of forest resources within their jurisdiction, allowing local communities to participate in decision-making and benefit from the economic value of their forests. We leverage this network to plant and create product linkages at scale.
Uttarakhand, India
Project Location: Uttarakhand, India
Methodology: Afforestation, Reforestation, Revegetation (ARR)
Standard: Verified Carbon Standard
Plantation Area: 4,000 HA
Current Plantation: 4 million trees
Mountain people who urgently must adapt to the changing climate need sustainable models for livelihood diversification and disaster resilience. By integrating carbon finance into these value chains, we have enabled communities to cultivate native species for ecosystem restorations as well as offering economic benefits to these collectives in the form of artisanal consumer product linkages.
More than 3000 women form a part of these collectives. From planting to working in the product processing units, these women take leadership in all disciplines and aspects. The program has a mountain products portfolio which is run and maintained solely by the amazing women of Kumaon. The collective runs a brand called ‘Thed Pahari’ now, which sells products such as essential oils, cosmetic, food and other products into urban markets using digital sales channels.
Uttarakhand is seeing a difficult time with regards to change in seasonal patterns, changes which have thrown the region into a spiral of socio-economic stresses. The program works extensively with market linkages for mountain products, which allows for significant economic activity within these regions. Also, the planting is managed and implemented by the local community members, a number which runs into thousands, which results in direct economic benefit in the form of service payments for nursery management, planting, maintenance and monitoring. Additionally, there is a direct bearing of this program on reversing rural migration by enabling localized economic activities, as well as on social security for the aging.
The program is a clear case of landscape adaptation. The bringing back of native species in a predominantly pine ecosystem, is crucial for disaster resilience from the perspective of reducing landslides and flash floods. The project focusses on indigenous people, indigenous knowledge for the forest rebuilding and conservation, while using modern technologies for forest product development. This leads to a harmonized co-existence between people and forests, a crucial element to climate action.
The Himalayas are home to a large number of endemic species. Forest cover loss and resulting landslides have resulted in displacement of the precious wildlife in the region. The project has a landscape-based approach and will contribute in enabling restoration of crucial wildlife habitats and corridors. The conservation element of the project under the collective action plans adopted by the ‘Van Panchayats’, this ecosystem is anticipated to aid regeneration around the areas beyond the planted areas, which will lead to significant forest cover increase in the future.
‘The Banj Collective’ program enables community action through convergence. Convergence of public resources into the program is crucial for the program’s success. The local government is heavily engaged and involved in the promotion of the program, which leads to increased van panchayat participation in the program. A very elaborate FPIC process led us to having a one of kind multi-tiered institutional mechanisms to the program including governments for local policy level interventions, academia for indigenous knowledge management, civil society organizations for training and promoting of forest supply chains, grower federations who organize the planting and product collection drives and lastly the local village councils. A partnership for one common goal–resurrect the Himalayas.
Community Member and Farmer
Kumaon, Uttarakhand, India
