In the western Himalayas, 10 hectares of forest and 30 hectares of alpine pastures have been under the protection of the Chhitkul village community for over five decades. This village is situated in the Sangla taluka of Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh. The nearest town from Chhitkul is Shimla, and state transport buses ply to the village.

Lying in the western Himalayan region, the landscape is typically mountainous with temperate forests and alpine meadows. The very diverse plant community here includes species like bhojpatra or birch and kail. Some of the significant fauna of the region includes brown bear, musk deer, Himalayan yellow-throated marten, Western tragopan and Himalayan monal.

Legally, this community-protected area is also a part of Rakchham Chhitkul Wildlife Sanctuary. This sanctuary along with Govind Pashu Vihar Sanctuary in the neighbouring hill state of Uttaranchal and forms a viable habitat for the snow leopard.

Rajputs and lohars (the latter are scheduled castes) are the main communities residing in the village. The total human population is about 600. Their main occupation is agriculture and service. The cattle population is 300 and sheep/goats are 1500 in number. The villagers depend on the forest for fuelwood and biomass extraction (60 per cent of the requirement of the 90 households is met from the forest. Medicinal plants that are extracted from the forest form an additional source of income for the villagers. 90 cattle and 500 sheep graze in the forest for six months a year and in the alpine pastures for a few weeks.

For regulating the extraction of medicinal plants, a committee is appointed by the villagers before the extraction of medicinal plants, to ascertain the regeneration since the last auction, the amount available for extraction and the minimum bidding amount. The same committee is also made responsible to monitor the extraction process. The money from the auction of medicinal plants is then used for village development works. The status after the declaration of the sanctuary in 1999 is not known.

Some of rules followed by the maith include:

The community has successfully managed to regulate its consumption within the framework of rules laid down by the maith. The success of this protection is largely due to the careful and flexible management strategies following customary rules and regulations. Some of the benefits of protection are availability of fuelwood, local empowerment, a greater equity among the village members and equal opportunity to all castes. In addition, the village generates revenue from the sale of the forest produce, which has been used for village development.

In 1999, the area was declared as a wildlife sanctuary. Although the Wildlife Act does not permit most of the activities carried out by the villagers, all rights of the 90 households to fuelwood, fodder, grazing, timber, medicinal plants and biomass have been allowed. However, subsequent to declaration of the sanctuary, timber allotment for house construction has been stopped. This has led to a hostile relationship of the local community with the wildlife authorities.