NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

NORTH EASTERN REGIONAL CENTRE

NIRD LANE, NH-37
JAWAHARNAGAR, KHANAPARA
GUWAHATI - 781 022

COURSE ON COMMUNITY BASED NATURAL

RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
(October 29-November 02, 2007)

BACKGROUND

Natural Resources like land, forest, water and air function as the essential life support
systems of human and their developmental activities. Indigenous people used to manage
these resources to meet their requirement with traditional knowledge, experience and
skill. With modern technology, industrialization and globalisation policy linked with
increased human population and unquenchable crest for economic development cause
rampant extraction and over exploitation of natural resources knowingly or without
knowledge. As a result, vast amount of the precious natural resources that sustains the
living beings on the planet earth and the Human civilization at large are continuously
getting degraded and depleted.

One of the key challenges that the country faces, relate to the nexus of environmental
degradation with poverty in its many dimensions, and economic growth. These
challenges are intrinsically connected with the state of natural resources, such as land,
water, air, and their flora and fauna. In recent past, though considerable attention are
given to natural resource and environmental issues in rural development at the national
and state level by launching a number of schemes and programmes, the
information/concept remained restricted within the administrative and planning level.
Many of the projects implementing agencies of different Govt programmmes are not
aware of the integrated linkages of livelihood issues and natural resources. Thus a few
sporadic and peace meal approaches are proved to be inadequate to face the challenge of
Environmental Conservation in the context of gradual increasing pressure arising from
the day to day demand to fulfill the basic needs and economic development.

Community-based natural resources management is processes whereby local people and

communities organize themselves and play a vital role in identifying their resources and
their development priorities, and facilitate in implementing natural resources
management activities. It evolved from the participatory development paradigm, which
sees people as both the means and end of the development process. The community-
based approach rests on the premise that people who actually use a given resource, and
who gain first-hand knowledge of such resource from their daily interaction with the
natural environment, are in the best position to protect and manage it. CBNRM thus
asserts the principle of local community control and initiative while recognizing the
importance of institutional and policy contexts in influencing its performance in
harnessing local resources and using them productively, equitably and sustainable
manner to meet community needs. Thus for effective implementation of different projects
and programme the role of trained manpower / professionals in the field of NRM cannot
be over ruled.

PROGRAMME OBJECTIVES:

 To enable the participant to appreciate about the involvement of local

people in natural resources management process
 To appraise about the NRM system in India specially in the East and
North East and its inherent strength and deficiencies
 To strengthen local capacity, knowledge, skills and aptitudes in natural
resources management.
 To explain sustainable NR management strategies best identified,
communicated and promoted?

PROGRAMME CONTENTS:

 Rural Livelihood Development and Natural Resources Management Linkages

 Rural development and Natural resources Conservation -Legal and Policy
Environment
 Government initiatives in watershed for integrated NRM
 Participatory Water resources management and development in rural areas
 Technological and management intervention in integrated Drought prone area
management (Integrated land resources management)
 JFM and Community Forestry –the success of participatory NRM
 Organic farming – a potential technological intervention for sustainable
livelihood and nature conservation
 Potential and prospects of Biofuel development by community organisations
 Management of NTFPs,Bamboo and Medicinal Plants-areas for income
generation activities
 Intellectual Property Rights, Biodiversity conservation and Livelihood
linkages
 Community Monitoring Approaches of Ecological sustainability of NR
 Sustainability of Community based organization/institution in the Panchayati-
raj system (conflicting issues)
 Economic intervention in NRM programs (micro finance and micro enterprise
development) to enhance livelihoods.
 Sensitisation on social and gender issues of NRM
 Capacity building and networking in CBNRM
 Sustainable NRM Strategies

PARTICIPANTS PROFILE:
State and District level officers and functionaries from RD, Panchayat, Forest,
Agriculture, PHE, Faculty member of SIRD and Senior executives of NGOs/CBOs from
Eastern and North Eastern States.

FIELD VISIT:

A field visit programme will be organized to expose the participants to the best practices
in CBNRM. Based on the field visit, the participants will prepare group reports and
present them to the participants and the course team.

COURSE DIRECTOR(s) : Dr. T.K. Giri and Dr. N. Upadhyay

COURSE FEE : The course is residential. There is no course fee.

DURATION : Five days (October 29-November 02, 2007)

BOARD & LODGING :

Free board and lodging will be provided to all participants in the Institute’s Guest House.

TRAVEL :

The to and fro travelling expenditure of the participants including local conveyance
will have to be borne by the nominating authorities.

VENUE:
STATE INSTITUTE OF PANCHAYATS & RURAL DEVELOPMENT
DISTRICT: NADIA
KALYANI- 741 235
WEST BENGAL

NOMINATIONS :

Nominations in the prescribed format should reach the address given in the
nomination format on or before 30th September 2007.
NOMINATION FORMAT

Title of the Course: Course on “Community

Based Natural Resources Management” (October 29-November 02, 2007)

Last date of receiving nominations: 30th September 2007

Nomination form duly filled in to be returned to:

Sri G. S. Chatterjee, IAS
Director,
State Institute of Panchayats & Rural Development
District: Nadia;
Kalyani, 741 235
West Bengal, India
Telephone No. 033-258282571/25828161/25827876[O]
FAX No 033-25829640,25828257[Fax]
Email: wbsiprd@vsnl.net

1. Name of the participant:

2. Designation & present assignment :

3. Department/Organization :

4. Address for communication:

With telephone No and email.

Tel.: (O) (R) Fax:

Email:
5. Age :

6. Educational Qualification :

Date : Signature of the sponsor

Place : with office seal