(Efforts to enhance capacity, encompassing training sessions, workshops, and exposure visits, are being conducted to tackle challenges arising from inadequate knowledge, skills, and awareness.)
Community Mobilization and Gender Sensitization
Community mobilization and gender sensitization play a crucial role in the preparatory process of the Project, as they are essential for its success. To involve and motivate people in selected villages, particularly women and youths, the Project mobilizes these groups and conducts gender sensitization workshops at the village level. These workshops challenge stereotypical gender roles and promote inclusive participation in Project activities.
Capacity Building and Training
Training sessions take place at the district and block levels with resource persons from the Forest Department and other training institutes. These sessions cover a wide range of topics, including seed stand management, nursery management, range management, forest protection, community mobilization, institutional development, and fire protection—all designed with a climate change perspective.
A key focus of these capacity-building initiatives is to educate communities, including women, about their forest-related rights, duties, entitlements, and obligations. Training also prepares them for active participation in the development and implementation of participatory and inclusive forest management plans (Forest Working Plans).
All VPIC members, including forest owners and other community stakeholders, as well as range officials, receive training on the FWP planning process, basic forest management, and group administration. The training also includes topics such as VPIC formation, governance, record-keeping, soil and water conservation techniques, range management, human-wildlife conflict resolution, spring management, fire protection, self-monitoring and evaluation, climate change impact assessment on rural livelihoods, adaptation strategies, and maintenance fund management.
VEC members undergo training in livelihood promotion, SHG formation, micro-finance, internal lending, financial inclusion, asset management, and market linkages. They also learn how to align their activities with state and central livelihood support schemes.
Traditional Institution members receive orientation on the Project components to ensure their cooperation in integrating state and centrally sponsored schemes.
Training of Community Facilitators
Community facilitators are trained in VPIC and user-group (SHG) formation, community mobilization, conflict resolution, and forest management tools, along with project monitoring and reporting using GPS. Whenever possible, women are selected as facilitators. These women facilitators play a critical role in re-establishing groups, strengthening cohesion, ensuring women occupy leadership positions in executive committees, and providing leadership training.
Additionally, specific trainings and community consultations with women aim to:
Increase their awareness of forest-related entitlements and obligations.
Clarify rules governing women’s participation in forest-related decision-making and their access to and benefits from forest resources.
Forest custodians, forest owners, and promoters of forest-based enterprises receive training in enterprise development, financial management, market development, and financial planning.
Exposure Visits and Cross-Learning
To promote knowledge exchange and best practices in project management, exposure visits are organized at state, national, and international levels. These visits enable participants to share experiences and learn from successful initiatives.
Strengthening Project Management Units (PMUs) and Implementing Agencies
Project management units at various levels, along with implementing agencies, are strengthened through hardware and software upgrades, professional staffing, and technology enhancement. These improvements boost efficiency and effectiveness in carrying out their respective roles and responsibilities.
Social and Environmental Framework
The Project follows JICA guidelines for managing social and environmental risks. Significant adverse impacts, such as land acquisition or resettlement requiring Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) clearance, are not anticipated. The Project implements an Environmental and Social Management System to ensure compliance with these guidelines.
