Common Lands
Seva Mandir has been working for three decades on a community-based approach to managing commons which is centered on the principles of inclusiveness, participation and transparency.
Seva Mandir has been working for three decades on a community-based approach to managing commons which is centered on the principles of inclusiveness, participation and transparency.
Seva Mandir works in a region which is highly vulnerable to climate change. Our work area is located in the Aravalli hills. This hilly region receives an average annual rainfall of 630 mm which is not evenly distributed throughout the year, and it experiences drought every three to five years. This is a high water-stress zone with the supply of water from rainfall not meeting demands for agriculture, household consumption and other uses.
60% of the land in the region is common land, in the form of forest, revenue wasteland and pastures, which are not privately owned. With the increased human-induced pressure on the environment over decades, and now the threat of climate change, the commons is under serious threat. This leads to deforestation, encroachment and conflict, with the result that land and water sources have been degraded and social fragmentation deepened. 67% of the land is undergoing rapid degradation and desertification. Since 95% of the people in rural areas are dependent on land and water for their livelihood, this constitutes an imminent threat to their livelihood security.
Between 80 and 100% of people in the region’s rural areas, in particular the poor, are directly dependent on common lands such as forest, pastures and wastelands (ie non-productive land) for their livelihood and cultural practices. They depend on these commons on a daily basis for fodder to feed their livestock, firewood for fuel, and other non-timber forest products (NTFP) for their own consumption and to supplement their meagre income. The lands have immense value economically and socially among locals, and therefore they are often highly contested by different groups and individuals in the community: 30-80% of grazing lands and around 5% of forestland has been encroached. As a result, these valuable natural resources are often exploited for immediate gain without considering the long-term benefits of good land management.