Management Planning

What is the Legal Basis for CFR Management?

  • - Under Section 3(1)(i) of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), Gram Sabhas have the right to protect, regenerate, and manage their Community Forest Resource (CFR) areas.
  • - Rule 4(1)(g) requires Gram Sabhas to form a Community Forest Resource Management Committee (CFRMC) to prepare a management plan for the CFR area.
  • - This plan is integrated into the Forest Department’s broader management framework.

What Are the Objectives of CFR Management?

Under Section 5 of the FRA, Gram Sabhas are empowered to
  • 1. Conserve wildlife, forests, and biodiversity.
  • 2. Protect catchments, water bodies, and sensitive environmental areas.
  • 3. Safeguard cultural and natural heritage of forest-dwelling communities.

Rule 4(1)(g) emphasizes that CFR management must be sustainable and equitable, aligning with the Act’s goal to enhance forest-dwelling communities’ livelihoods.

Taken together, the goals in the CFR Management planning include livelihood enhancement, sustainable resource use, biodiversity conservation, while ensuring democratic process, taking into consideration aspects of equity and justice.

How Do We support CFR Management Planning?

  • - ATREE and TISS collaborated with the Maharashtra Government to release CFR management planning guidelines in 2017, later revised based on feedback and experience.
  • - Management plans must be made in local languages and suited to local contexts while maintaining these overarching goals. This ensures community-led resource management and conservation is practical and inclusive.
  • - We facilitate and train CFR management committees, community members, community mobilizers, trainers, and CSOs, in initiating community-led CFR Management Plans
  • - We provide need-based facilitation to over 15 gram sabhas in Bastar (Chhattisgarh) as they embark on implementing their CFR management plans

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