Overview

Centre for People’s Forestry is a Professional NGO present in Central India. It was registered as a public trust in 2002. It is a non-profit, non-political and secular organisation, working for the development of forest dependent and dwelling communities especially the deprived and marginalised sections irrespective of religion, race, caste or creed.

Centre for People’s Forestry was established in the year 2002 to develop and ground sustainable forest management mechanisms for enhancing livelihood security of the marginalised sections among the forest dwellers/dependents. The sustainable forest management envisioned in the National Forest Policy framed in 1988 demands effective participation of communities and NGOs in forest management. While the concerned government officials, both at national and state levels, were trying to translate the policy pronouncements to field realities, there was also a need to build capacities of the people of these communities who were to be benefited through various interventions foreseen by the policy. Thus the pro-people National Forest Policy necessitated the establishment of an organisation to coordinate various stakeholders involved in materialising the benefits of the policy. It is this need that led to the formation of CPF with a mandate to identifying and attending to the specific needs of the communities and NGOs who would subsequently subject various stakeholders realise the entitlements due to them. Whilst placing the communities who depend on forest for their livelihood affront as the primary stakeholders in all its interventions, CPF has been one of facilitators and catalysts all along. It has also been a platform for regular interaction for communities, NGOs, government officials and other stakeholders to debate and arrive at meaningful footings/conclusions on issues that have not been given adequate attention.

   Approach

CPF works in collaboration with the state and national governments, especially with the Forest Department and the Ministry of Environment and Forest. Eventually, CPF believes that sustainable development in general, and sustainable forest management in particular, is possible only through alliances of committed CBOs, NGOs, academicians, researchers, concerned individuals and government officials. CPF also teams up with bilateral, multilateral and other aid agencies that extend support through government/non-governmental organisations and the corporate sector to the realisation of its projects and objectives.