Parwara village Van Panchayat: Institutional change

Resource System
Terrestrial land and associated watershed
Resource Units
Grass, forest products

The main appropriated resources are grass, used mainly for cattle grazing and compost, and forest tress, used mostly for fuel wood and construction timber. Almost all of the total resource units appropriated in the Parwara Van Panchayat (VP) forest are officially regulated by the Parwara Van Panchayat Committee (VPC), timber and resin are regulated by the state Forest Department. The Nainital District Magistrate, and the Van Panchayat Inspector, who is employed by the state Revenue Department, directly oversees the activities of the VPC. The Parwara VPC has been in place since 1931, and has since been considered a successful regulator of the system; however, the stability of this system faces increasing threats of overuse and degradation due to: increasing population/right holders/illicit use, increasing global market pressures, and increasing state government presence in the system - which has led to a severe decrease in power for the VPC and local users.

This case is part of the original CPR database.