India:
Different plantation species, same problems
I recently had the opportunity of travelling
to the Indian province of West Bengal and to visit the Dhoteria,
Bagora and Mayung “Forest Villages” in the districts of Darjeeling,
Kurseong and Kalimpong.
To the outsider, the mountain area of
the Outer Himalayas appears to be covered by dense forests, mostly
composed of very large trees. However, local people know that
these are not forests, but old and new plantations of mostly two
species: the Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) and Teak (Tectona
grandis).
Those plantations where initiated during
British colonial rule in India under the so-called “Taungya system”,
first implemented by the British in Burma and later extended to
other colonies. The apparently “technical” name of this system
served to hide its huge social and environmental impacts. People
were moved –through “voluntary” or forced mechanisms- to the areas
to be planted and were settled in so-called Forest Villages. Their
first task would be to cut down the native forest and to set fire
to the non commercially valuable vegetation. The second task would
be to plant the selected species, -initially teak and later Cryptomeria.
After that, the foresters would “allow” villagers to sow their
own crops between the rows of planted trees, which in fact resulted
in free weeding of the plantation. Once the canopy closed and
crops would no longer be able to grow for lack of sunshine, the
Forest Village would simply be moved to a new area where exactly
the same process would begin again.
The independence of India did not bring
about changes in Forestry Department thinking and action, which
mostly continued the colonial policy of domination over nature
and people. Ample evidence of this was provided by local people
interviewed during the trip to the region.
In Dhotera Forest Village a man said
that he had spent almost his entire life in the area. He said
that “the Corporation cut the forest and planted. They used to
be mixed plantations of hardwood species, but then they discovered
that Cryptomeria grew faster and only this species was planted.”
He added that “in the past villagers benefited more from both
forests and plantations. They could find and sell fruits and other
things. Forest fruits are very nutritious. However, the Forestry
Department destroyed the forest in 1974, so people copied the
government and destroyed forest too arguing that ‘if you can cut,
then we can cut too’. Now things are even worse because this has
been defined as a ‘wildlife area’, so we have no rights and they
are trying to evict us as intruders.”
Another person said that in his area
there were originally many species of trees and animals such as
deer, bear and tiger. He said that “then they planted teak and
now you don’t see even cattle. The roots of these trees can’t
hold the soil or stand against wind, so they cannot give the protection
provided by forests.”
A young man mentioned that many plantations
are a fraud, because the Forestry Department “receives the money,
plants trees only along visible borders and the unspent money
goes into the foresters’ pockets.”
An old lady said that she had arrived
here 50 years ago and had seen the forest disappear. She explained
that “at that time the forest was very diverse and provided plenty
of things: mushrooms, fruit, vegetables, different things to eat.
Now only the stumps of those trees exist.”
Similar evidence was provided by villagers
from Bagora Forest Village. One man explained that “the forest
was full of medicinal plants, but now we have to use government
medicine because we can’t find those plants anymore. Wild animals
are now eating our crops because of food scarcity in plantations.
The water has become foul and can’t be drunk from springs. The
same springs that used to be pure now bring diseases.” He remembered
that when they were paid to cut the forest they did it on bare
feet, adding that “now we have boots, but there’s nothing in the
forest. Cryptomerias give us nothing but problems. Now we even
have to prove that we have lived in this area to avoid eviction.”
Another villager described what he said
was the oldest teak plantation in India (planted in 1864). He
said that the soil used to be much more fertile, with plenty of
forest humus, but that “after they cleared the forest the humus
disappeared.” He emphasized that “there’s no need to have these
plantations anymore. They are not good for people or animals.
Teak has made people poor. We can’t take cattle to the plantation.
The plantation affects wildlife so it makes people poorer. There
is no undergrowth and therefore no food or medicinal plants.”
A young man said that “a village was
wiped out by a landslide.” According to villagers, teak trees
not only do not hold the soil, but they enhance erosion due to
the size of the water drops that are formed on the surface of
their large leaves. Those bigger than normal water drops then
hit on the soil from the trees’ high crowns -with no undergrowth
to protect it- thus resulting in erosion and landslides from the
hillsides.
Another person said that the people
from this village had been brought here by the British in the
1940s. When the British left, the independent Indian government
took over, but “has done nothing to help us. The land got fragmented
and now we don’t have sufficient land and we can’t get it from
the government. Now there is a road and a school, but our main
source of livelihood has been taken away from us. The Forestry
Department has mapped the area, but is only mapping a small portion
of forest villages. The rest is defined as encroachment.”
An old person added that “in 1942-43
the area was heavily forested.” The Forestry Department brought
them here and gave them land, timber for building, separate land
for households and for grazing. “We carried out all types of work:
clearfelling, charcoal production, tree planting.” The power of
Forestry Department officials was such, that “if they came, we
had to give them free milk, chicken and eggs.” Such power of forestry
officials is still present, though in a different manner: “We
are not allowed to take anything out from the cryptomeria plantations,
because anything we do there is considered illegal.”
The issue of employment is deeply felt
by the villagers. One of them stressed that “there is no employment,
because the forest is strictly conserved and plantations provide
us with nothing. There is nothing to eat, no land for grazing
and no firewood; not even dry sticks.” According to villagers,
the Forestry Department has increased harassment here in what
they defined as an “outright violation of human rights.”
Similar evidence was provided by the
inhabitants of Mayung Forest Village, who also mentioned the occurrence
of “plenty of landslides in plantations.” Regarding employment,
they said that plantations provide almost no jobs. At the best,
they can work some 15 days ... a year! As a result, people are
migrating.
However, they also showed us a change
that has taken place in one part of their area: a mixed plantation
established in 1998. This plantation was the result of a meeting
held between villagers and the local Forestry Department Officer,
where the latter committed to no more monocultures.
In spite of the fact that this is perceived
as a positive step, the election of the species for the mixed
plantation was done by the Forestry Department with no consultation
with villagers, who would have elected more beneficial species.
In this plantation there is now some undergrowth for fodder, fruit
and medicinal plants, mushrooms. There is now also more wildlife
such as deer, wild boar, pheasants. They are happy with this,
which compares favourably with monoculture teak and cryptomeria
plantations (“which are terrible”) but “it could have been much
better if we had been consulted.” They are now intercropping (cardamon,
broom-grass).
In sum, the evidence provided by local
people in the areas visited again proves that monoculture tree
plantations –regardless of the chosen tree species- are socially
harmful and environmentally destructive and should never substitute
forests. It is now necessary to begin the process of bringing
back the forest both through management of existing plantations
and through planting with a mix of local species. But it is also
necessary to learn from the Mayung Forest Village experience and
to involve local populations in the selection of the plantation
species to ensure that the future forests will be socially and
environmentally beneficial.
By Ricardo Carrere, e-mail: rcarrere@wrm.org.uy.
Information gathered during a field trip organized by the National
Forum of Forest People and Forest Workers (North Bengal Regional
Committee) and NESPON.
