Local communities' access to forest resources of Hilkot watershed, Mansehra (Pakistan)
Local communities' access to forest resources of Hilkot watershed, Mansehra (Pakistan)
Anwar Ali and Hakim Shah
ABSTRACT
This study analyzes the local communities' access to forest resources of Hilkot watershed, a small area of 1600 ha with a total population of 7500, located in Mansehra district of N.W.F.P. The total forest area is 710 ha (44% of the total area) which consists of Guzara and Reserved forests. Guzara forests comprising 378 ha, are private forests held individually or jointly by the local people and managed by the forest department. Reserved forests comprising 332 ha are owned and managed by the Forest department. The deeply dissected land tenure system and the ongoing conflicts between the government and forest users have led to the drastic degradation of the resources. Though forest legislation limits the rights of local people in the forests but still majority (72%) of them have access to forest resources in the area. They fulfill all their requirements from these forests but contribute nothing to the protection and development of the forest resources. The existing forest legislation and forest management have totally failed to achieve their objectives. It is feared that if nothing is done to check this process, these forests will soon disappear. The study suggests the introduction of participatory forest management system for sustainable development of the resource and improvement of the rural livelihood of the area.
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June 2004
Vol. 54, Iss. 2
