Dr. Monika Singh

Project

Impacts of changes in forest health on the cultural and social values associated with forests

Themes

Sustainable forest management, livelihood, gender, First Nations, indigenous communities, access rights

Interests

Indigenous people, aboriginal forestry, sustainable forest management; Gender Issues; community development; poverty and livelihood; Natural Resource Management

You can read more about my current work in: Branchlines, the newsletter of Faculty of Forestry,http://www.forestry.ubc.ca/Portals/0/docs/BranchLines_Sept08.pdf

UBC in your community, http://www.governmentrelations.ubc.ca/__shared/assets/Sunshine6590.pdf

Title

The people – forest relationship: A cultural inquiry into sustainable forest management and land-use behaviour of indigenous communities

Abstract

My study looks at changing relationship of people and forests in two countries, a developed country (Canada) and a developing country (India) with a background of the land ethic theory and cultural identity. It will offer a suite of aboriginal socio-cultural indicators that could be used for inclusion of aboriginal peoples’ needs and perspectives in local policies for sustainability and forest conservation. Using aboriginal perspectives in modern forest management planning processes and policies will help bridging the gap between traditional indigenous wisdom and modern-day science. The research will only focus on First Nations in Canada and Tribal communities in India. Loss in the forest land base affects people around the world, and more intensely those who are dependent on forests for their livelihood. Forest-dependent people, including First Nations, have often felt alienated from forestlands due to policies and laws that have overlooked their needs. There is a need to reverse this process as the process of managing forests determines the extent of its maintenance. There exist global differences in forest management practices, and examples of community-based forest management are often seen to promote forest health, while taking care of people’s needs. This research looks at the similarities and differences of forest management in a developed country (Canada) and a developing country (India), focusing on livelihood needs of the forest-dependent communities that lead to sustainable and ethical forest management, with the backdrop of the current economic pressures. Livelihood needs include economic, social, cultural and spiritual needs of communities.

Research Experience

2007-2009: Common knowledge, values and perceptions of sustainable forest management held by First Nations communities in British Columbia 2007- Partner under the Poverty and Environment Network (PEN) Program of CIFOR (Center for International Forestry Research), Indonesia, in collaboration with Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB), Norway, and International Foundation of Science (IFS), Stockholm, for research as part of a global analysis on environmental and poverty linkages.

2006 Consultant, CIFOR, Indonesia:
Facilitating the design and implementation of a monitoring tool to aid the understanding of forest-poverty linkages in Jharkhand, India. Piloting research project to collect baseline information and to test the value of the monitoring tool in assessing the impact of forests on livelihoods of the poor, supported by Profor/World Bank.

2005 Volunteer, Gundungurra Tribal Council, Katoomba, Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia
Comparative analysis of various management plans; Helping in improvement for the agreement of Blue Mountains National Park co-management plan between the Gundungurra Tribal Council and the New South Wales government, Australia.

1995-1997 Research Fellow, University of Edinburgh, UK
Research Project on “Joint Forest Management (JFM) Agreements in India” in collaboration with Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Dehradun, Uttar Pradesh, India. The objective of the study was to find how local people could be motivated to protect, afforest and develop degraded forestlands. It aimed to provide information on the process of implementation of the JFM policy and the factors, which were likely to lead to successful JFM agreements. Was located at Rupan village, Surat District, Gujarat. Undertook field visits to interior areas in three other states, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa.

Professional Experience

2002-2004 Oxfam GB (Registered in India as Oxfam (India) Trust), Program Officer, Livelihoods, North India Office
Program officer for livelihoods, and trade and market access. The program looks at going beyond subsistence livelihood, focusing on sustainable development of poor communities in Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh with a rights-based approach. (Initial job responsibility was for a project, Sustainable Adivasi Integrated Development Program, Madhya Pradesh, based on livelihood issues of the indigenous population of the state, focusing on natural resources). Program focuses on rural and tribal livelihoods, medicinal plants, agriculture, Non-timber Forest Produce, water, self-help groups etc.
Key responsibilities:
– Program development and program management on livelihoods, trade and market access
– Lead on trade and market access for the North India office
– Partnership management with grassroots NGOs and other allies; partner appraisals, regular monitoring and evaluation of partners and allies, as per program
– Grant management including internal budgets, partner grants, financial monitoring
– Liasoning and networking with government, academic institutes and other agencies working on similar issues for pro-poor policy advocacy
– Capacity building of partner NGOs and grassroots level initiatives/institutions, as per requirement
– Implement Oxfam GB’s gender and diversity policies
– Mainstream gender in the programs and support partners to mainstream gender in their programs

1997-2002 Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Lecturer, Department of Social Welfare Administration in Social Work
Key responsibilities:
– Teaching MA (Social Work) courses and short courses for senior bureaucrats and NGO staff
– Direct supervision of students for fieldwork, including networking and collaboration with different government and non-governmental organizations
– Coordinator for fieldwork. The fieldwork placements required to be conceptualized, contact with agencies established and student field placement started
– Research guide for student’s MA dissertation
– Coordinator, Research
– Project Coordinator for Navchetana, an on-going field action project of the department, on humanizing children’s institutions run by the Maharashtra government. Involved making changes in the institutions with clear withdrawal strategies ensuring sustainability
– Study tours and rural camps, conceptualizing, planning, coordination, student involvement, guiding, synthesizing learning
– Disaster management: Volunteered for TISS disaster relief teams –
1. Orissa Super cyclone disaster (1999) (As faculty team)
2. Gujarat earthquake (2001) (As faculty lead for a team)
– Member of the curriculum review committee of TISS
Others:
1. Organizing and conducting local and national level workshops and training programs held by the department (including training of government administrators)
2. Attended various conferences and presented papers
3. As coordinator fieldwork and faculty, TISS, helped NGOs associated with the department to network with other similar issue based organizations and donors as well as strategic planning
4. Policy advocacy for the garbage workers in Mumbai ensured protection rules and better working conditions

1995-1997 University of Edinburgh, UK, Research Fellow
Key responsibilities:
– Data collection (using PRA, focused group discussions, interview schedules and observations) – both social and environmental aspects. Exhaustive secondary data collection from District, State and National Archives
– Liasoning with existing NGOs, Forest Department, other Government Officials and villagers
– Responsible for integrating gender aspects while undertaking research
– International workshop for disseminating the preliminary findings of the study
– Dissemination workshop at village level to discuss the research study with villagers and Forest Department
– Resource person at various forums, invited by the Forest Department at the Taluka and State level
– Influenced Forest Department at different levels for people’s access over forest resources
– Encouraged Forest Department officials to interact differently with local population, especially women, dependent on the forest land
– Publications (Some mentioned under ‘Publications and significant contributions’)
– Wrote several unpublished articles

1993-1995 University Grants Commission (Govt of India), and Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi. JRF-NET scholar
Teaching, Research work, Liaison with Government departments and NGOs for research purposes. Introduced new teaching method that is still in use.

1991-1992 VIKSAT, Nehru Foundation for Development, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Programme Associate
VIKSAT is an Ahmedabad based NGO, working with the tribals in Sabarkantha district, North Gujarat. It was a liaison between government and the tribals for implementing development programs in forestry through Tree Grower’s Co-operative Societies.
Key responsibilities:
– Establishment and organization of Tree Growers Co-operative Societies (TGCS)
– Conducting gender sensitization programs among villagers
– Coordinating and liasoning with the local government and Forest Department in all matters relating to the JFM program especially relating to increasing rights and control over forest lands
– Preparation and compiling case studies and other related material
– Evaluation of organizations for National Environmental Awareness Campaign, Western zone, India
– Innovative activity: an exposure cum training for 20 villagers (men and women, Sabarkantha, Gujarat) on successful community action due to village unity (Udaipur, Rajasthan) resulted in excellent learnings of dealing with a common problem of natural resource degradation through a participatory exchange of information

Other assignments:
– Organisation: World Wildlife Fund – India (11/1996). Part of a team to make a workable management plan for the Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, with local communities’ participation.
– Organisation: SMILE, IGSSS, New Delhi (02/1994). Resource person for conducting sensitisation program through an exposure tour to Rajaji National Park, for various schools and colleges on National Parks and it’s dependent population.
– Participated for perspective building and experience sharing of Australian aboriginal culture and Indian tribal cultures between aboriginal groups, Coalmine Company and the local government to reach a common understanding for working together on native lands in Newcastle, Australia.

Teaching Experience

Lecturer, Department of Social Welfare Administration in Social Work, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. 1997-2002: Taught Masters (Social Work) full time courses and short courses for senior bureaucrats and NGO staff, including direct supervision of students for fieldwork.

Conference Presentations

“Gender stereotyping in forest management” at the International workshop on ‘Joint Forest management agreements’ by University of Edinburgh, at IIC, New Delhi, May 1997.

“Gender in Forest Management” at the National Network Meeting organized by the Indian Forest Department, Tamil Nadu, India, January 2002.

“Gender mainstreaming and Glass ceiling phenomenon in the Indian Forest Department” at the International symposium on ‘Gender – from costs to benefits’ at Kiel University, Germany, October 2002.

“People-forest relationship: As study on indigenous forest management system, India” at the XII World Forestry Congress (under the aegis of FAO), held at Quebec city, Canada, September 2003.

“Joint Forest Management Agreements in India” at Montgomery at the Global workshop on Community based forest management, USA, September 2004

“Gender-mainstreaming in Community based forest management” at Montgomery at the Global workshop on Community based forest management, USA, September 2004

“Interweaving socio-cultural aspects in Community based forest management” at Lake Tahoe, at the Global workshop on Community based forest management, USA, September 2004.

‘Involving indigenous groups in forest science and forestry: an empirical study in tribal India’ at IUFRO World Congress, Brisbane, Australia. August 2005

‘Mainstreaming gender in forestry sector” at IUFRO World Congress, Brisbane, Australia. August 2005

“Gender mainstreaming and Glass ceiling phenomenon in the Indian Forest Department” at the IUFRO workshop on “Gender Research in Forestry with special focus on Africa, Asia, Australia and Latin America ”. Umea, Sweden. 21 June 2006.

“Engendering forestry: Implications for Community Forest Management” at International Community Forestry Workshop organised by Canadian Environmental Network, Toronto. Septmeber 2007.

“Call to Action” Presentation for Community Forest Management Workshop participants at University of Toronto Faculty of Forestry’s conference – A Global Vision of Forestry in the 21st Century. October 2007.

“‘Indigenous values and perceptions of sustainable forest management: a gendered approach to Criteria and Indicators’ ” paper presentation at the IUFRO International conference on Gender and Forestry. Dehradun, India. November 2008. October 2007.

“Call to Action” Presentation for Community Forest Management Workshop participants at University of Toronto Faculty of Forestry’s conference – A Global Vision of Forestry in the 21st Century. October 2007.

“Call to Action” Presentation for Community Forest Management Workshop participants at University of Toronto Faculty of Forestry’s conference – A Global Vision of Forestry in the 21st Century. October 2007.

Commitee Membership

• Member, National Network on Joint Forest Management (JFM). 1991- 2001
• Member, subgroup on gender and equity in the National Network on Joint Forest Management. 1992-1999
• Member, sub group on policy formulation for JFM in the National Network on Joint Forest Management. 1999-2001
• Life Member of Commonwealth Forestry Association, Oxford (India chapter)
• Member of the Governing Council, Commonwealth Forestry Association, Oxford, UK (2004-2007)
• Member, IUFRO Task Force on Traditional Forest Knowledge (2005-2010)
• Member, Socio-economic Working group, FORREX, Vancouve (2008 onwards)

Awards, Grants and Scholarships

• Gold medal for standing first, Masters of Arts, Social Work, specialisation in Criminology and Correctional Administration, 1991
• Prestigious Junior Research Fellowship Award by the University Grants Commission, Government of India for higher studies, 1992
• Winrock International travel grant for paper presentation at International symposium on ‘Gender – from costs to benefits’, Kiel University, Germany. October 2002
• FAO travels grant for presentation at XII World Forestry Congress on ‘Forests, a source of life’, Quebec City, Canada. September 2003
• Ford Foundation and the USDA Forest Service travel grant for papers presentation at International workshop on “Strengthening the Movement at the Grassroots: Global Works for Community-based Forestry Practitioners”, organized by National Network of Forest Practitioners and Pinchot Institute, USA, September 2004
• Commonwealth Forestry Association travel grant to attend the 17th Commonwealth Forestry Conference on ‘Forestry’s contribution to poverty’, Colombo, Sri Lanka. February 28th to March, 2005
• CIFOR travel grant to attend the workshop on ‘Forest and Livelihoods: Methods to understand the role of forests in local livelihoods’, Brisbane, Australia, August 2005.
• SLU travel grant to attend the Seminar and workshop on Gender and Forestry. Umea, Sweden. June 2006.
• RCEN grant to participte in International Community Forestry workshop and University of Toronto’s Faculty of Forestry Congress – A Global Vison of Forestry in the 21st Century. September 30th to October 3rd, 2007.
• CIFOR travel grant to attend 4th Poverty and Environment Network workshop, organised by the Center for International Forest Research (CIFOR) and University of East Anglia (UEA), and the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). Barcelona, Spain. January 2008

Academic Qualifications

• Bachelor of Arts (Honours), Geography. Delhi University. 1986-89
• Masters of Arts, Social Work. Tata Institute of Social Sciences. 1989-91 (Gold Medalist)
• Currently enrolled in PhD program in Forestry with the Faculty of Forestry, Dept. of Forest Resources Management, University of British Colombia, Vancouver, Canada (since January 2007)

Skill Building Courses on:

• Environmental Impact Assessment; Geographical Information Systems; Statistics for research; Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS); and Communication Skills. TERI School of Advanced Studies, New Delhi, India. 2001-02
• Participatory Rural Appraisal, World Wildlife Fund – India, Rajasthan, India. November 1996.
• Basic Forestry Management and Forest Assessment techniques, Forest Research of India, Dehradun, Uttar Pradesh, India. May 1995.

Jeffery P, Mishra A and Singh M: Gender Stereotypes and Joint Forest Management. Centre for South Asian Studies, University of Edinburgh, 1998. (Edinburgh Papers in South Asian Studies No. 10)

Contributed in Jeffery, et al. (2000), A New Moral Economy for India’s Forests? Discourses of Community and Participation. Sage Publications, New Delhi

Contributed in Sundar, et al. (2001), Branching out: Joint Forest Management in India. Oxford University press, New Delhi

“Gender mainstreaming and Glass ceiling phenomenon in the Indian Forest Department”, Published as IUFRO conference proceedings on Gender and Forestry. Umea, Sweden.

“Engendering forestry: Implications for Community Forest Management”International Community Forestry Workshop organised by Canadian Environmental Network, Toronto. Septmeber 2007.

Diversifying opportunities for community forests: 2007 BCCFA Conference and Annual General Meeting, McBride, British Columbia, Canada,1st – 3rd June, 2007

Participated in Seminar on Gender and Forestry with special focus on Europe, Canada and United States of America. Umea, Sweden. 16-20 June 2006.

Chaired session on Indian and African experiences in forestry management at the Commonwealth Forestry Conference, Colombo, Sri Lanka. March, 2005

Rapporter for CFA’s side event on ‘Forestry and Civil Society’ at Commonwealth Forestry Conference, Colombo, Sri Lanka. March, 2005

Workshop on ‘Forest and Livelihoods: Methods to understand the role of forests in local livelihoods’, Brisbane, Australia, jointly hosted by Charles Darwin University, Australia, Center for International Forestry Research, Indonesia, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, and International Foundation of Science, Stockholm.15-18 August 2005.

Workshop for perspective building and developing understanding among aboriginal groups, Coalmine Company and the NSW Government, Newcastle. NSW, Australia. 22nd September 2005

Chaired session on “Research and development” and “Policy implications” at the International conference on Medicinal plants, New Delhi, March 2004.

Resource person on “Gender in JFM” for the delegation from the Nepal Forest Department on study tour organized by The Energy and Resources Institute (teri), New Delhi. 2001

International symposium on ‘Humanism and Urbanism’, Apendre en commune, Zurich, Switzerland and Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, New Delhi, India. June and December 1986.