Community Forest Resource

In the Dharni block of the Amravati district, famously known as the Melghat region, SPS initiated the Community Forest Resource (CFR) Management Programme in September 2020 under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006. The primary objective of CFR rights, as outlined in the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers Act, is to acknowledge the right to "protect, regenerate, conserve & manage" community forest resources. Serving as a catalyst, SPS has empowered communities to recognize these rights, leading to upliftment and the establishment of alternative livelihoods. This, in turn, fosters economic and environmental sustainability within these village communities.

Within the framework of the CFR Project, three villages (Sososkheda, Rangubeli and Chethar) have been actively engaged in this initiative over the past three years. We have worked closely with 1,569 people directly benefiting 341 households, covering 812 hectares of forest land. We have leveraged INR 14,0,00,000 from MGNREGA to help them plant trees, build water structures, and develop grasslands on 165 hectares of land. These activities have restored the forest ecosystem and also generated alternative sources of livelihood, overall increasing the household incomes of the community villagers. We have also tapped into the potential of Non-Timber Forest Produce (NTFP), earning INR 52,50,232 from its sale. Along with incomes from the CFR pilot project, we have also facilitated access to 12 different social protection schemes, generating INR 3,590,000 for the community villagers. Currently, we are working with 20 villages altogether within the Dharni Block in the CFR Management Program.