5. SOCIAL FORESTRY
From End Of Poverty
This intervention is being executed through the following four activities in ASSIST:
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Jungle clearance:
The community land, which is a base for shelter belts plantation has not been in a proper condition to restore it. The first task would be to clear the jungle manually. It is estimated that a minimum of 30 man-days are required for one acre to the jungle clearance.
Levelling the land:
Once the jungle clearance is over to do the cultivation of casuarinas plantation, the land has to be levelled by using Tractors. This will enable us to cultivate more number of plants in the plain land and ensure the flow of water freely to the entire land. It is estimated that a minimum of 25 hours of tractor work are required for one acre to level the land evenly to get back to the cultivation of shelter belts through the promotion of casuarinas plantation.
Restoration of seepage ditches for water sources:
Seepage ditches (“Doruvu” in Telugu) which are a traditional ponds are famous in sandy soils along the coast but they are not being built properly with appropriate technology. These ponds (farm ponds) will be deepened manually to increase the storage capacity of water and likewise in the entire target acres farm ponds will be developed to increase water holding capacity. The digging of such ponds will be done at the rate of one per acre. It is estimated that a minimum of 2 man days are required for one acre to restore the pit in sandy soils whereas 20 man days are required for one acre of hard soil.
Procurement and planting of Casuarinas plants:
The Casuarinas Plants will be procured from the nursery. These plants are having stronger resistance from the environmental hazards. Procured Casuarinas plants will be planted in the pits already made during the preparation of land. It is estimated that a minimum of 3,000 plants are required for one acre. Any plants that do not survive due to dieback or other reasons will be replanted with new plants regularly. After initial maintenance this plantation will be handed over to the community to guard the planted species by community watching and monitoring. It is estimated that 60 man days are required for watering the plants in one acre for regularly 2 months.
The shelter beds are developed along the coastline, where as in the inlands if the soil is hard and not good for any crop cultivation and also if there is scarcity of water, timber and fodder varieties of seedlings are planted.
Constraints / Challenges:
ASSIST has experienced the following constraints / challenges to succeed in this intervention:
-Natural disasters with frequent cyclonic depressions and heavy rains turning into floods every year
-Local contribution of the fishermen families as a result of Tsunami, cyclones and unusual climatic conditions
-Conflicts may arise in fixing up equal wages for both women and men
-Constraints may be expected while selecting the families to provide wage employment
-Rains may interrupt the progress of the work
-Drought may have an influence on the productive use of the land
-Lack of proper fencing or protection from cattle that often trample the seedlings
