| Which
value does the forest
have for you? |
| The
forest is priceless to
us. It keeps giving. We
do not accept anything
from anyone else. The
forest gives us grazing
land for our animals,
fuel wood, building
material, biomass and
more. |
| |
| What
do you think is the best
way to protect and
manage the forest? |
It
should happen on the
local level. The
villagers here have made
several rules to avoid
exploitation of the
forest. Examples on the
rules are: not being
allowed to
enter the
forest with an axe, not
to extract more from
the forest than what you
can carry on your head
and prohibit all mining.
These rules were made on
village meetings, called
Gram Sabha, the first
one was held in 2002.
Every villager and some
forest guards were
present. Then we also
had elections on who
would be a member in the Gram
Sabha. |
 |
|
Photo: Caroline B
Ellingsen |
| Should
everyone have the right
to use the forest? |
| No. The
forest is God’s
property. |
| |
| …then
who should decide how
people can use the
forest? |
|
It should be given equal
rights to all the villagers,
not just the government.
Only villagers can
protect the forest,
since they live here.
Villagers should
not use it beyond their
needs. |
| |
