ANNOUNCEMENTS
About 275 million tribals in India are directly dependent on forests for their livelihood and subsistence.1 The existing studies reflect India’s policies in the forestry sector for the first forty years of Independence supported the Industries and subjugated the interests of forest dwelling communities. These policies have led to widespread impact on both natural resources and the communities. The greatest burden of depleting natural resources has been on women. There are two common narratives (relevant to this study) which define the discussion on NTFPs today :Firstly, men and women value NTFP products differently and women’s dependence on income from forests is more vis-à-vis men; and secondly, women face various challenges because of which their benefit share is reduced from the NTFP value chains. The legal safeguards such as PESA 1996, and FRA,2006 gave forest ownership rights to communities and Gram Sabhas but these have proved to be insufficient to increase the incomes from NTFPs and offer solutions faced by communities in trade and commercialization of NTFPs. To overcome these challenges, Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana (PMVDY) is a recent policy launched2 by Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India to improvise Non-Timber forest product3(NTFP) Value Chains and transform tribal livelihoods by enhancing employment and income both.
This study draws on existing literature to explore the gendered elements of forest-based enterprises with nucleus of the study being women’s role in NTFPs utilization. The study, by assessing ten different value chains4 across different geographies in India, attempts to identify factors preventing women’s full participation and realization of benefits from value chains. Further, through the lens of PMVDY, study evaluates the responsiveness of the scheme to overcome challenges faced by women and the outcomes it has been able to generate in a limited span of 6 months since its implementation through a case study from Manipur.
Keywords– NTFP, PMVDY, Women, Value Chain
