The Dasapalla Block of Nayagarh district in Odisha, India is bestowed with a good forest cover in a hilly terrain. The forests are generally of mixed Sal (Shorea robusta) type of dry deciduous nature, with an average Shannon–Weiner Index of 3.54, Simpson’s Index of 0.06, and Evenness Index of 0.79 (sample sites).
The floral & faunal diversity of the Dasapalla forests is remarkable. Besides elephants, leopards, and many common wildlife as well as plants, also found here are some threatened species like Cycas nayagarhensis and the Hill Myna, etc. The local people are mostly tribal (Kandha tribe) who are simple, innocent, and quite mainstreamed. They love their forests, and with support of NIRMAN many of the local villages have been protecting & conserving their customary forest resources too since 2019.
The present project is focused on the 27 local village communities 4 Gram Panchayats of the Dasapalla Block where NIRMAN is working to promote sustainable livelihoods and conservation of natural resources. The Forest Rights Act, 2006 provides for rights to the forest protecting communities, and as such 9 of these 27 villages have so far received the Community Forest Resource (CFR) right while claims of 18 are under process at the government level.
The total area of forests under community protection in these 27 villages is approx. 5500 hectares. Estimated @8 tons of carbon sequestered per hectare per year on an average the carbon sequestration potential of these forests of 5500 hectares is 44000 tons C per year.
The forest protecting villagers are poor small or marginal farmers with critical dependency on forests. Forest protection & conservation means a self-imposed restriction for them on indiscriminate cutting of trees, which they have happily accepted despite increasing vulnerability to their dwindling income. The present project intends to ensure a substantial additional income to these communities through a viable carbon credit agreement that would essentially honor their customary & legal rights, privileges, and responsibilities and would positively contribute to their good practices in conservation by helping them further systematize the forest management, get a proper technical evaluation of their forest resources, and also boost their enthusiasm to continue the conservation initiative. This would be particularly influential for the village youth who want a new perspective on forest protection & conservation, with financial outcomes. The money to be realized by selling the carbon credits is to be utilized by the respective communities partly for individual support and partly for community development purposes. The financial outcome is expected to specially motivate the village women who have been playing a pivotal role in the forest protection effort.