Impact of Participatory Forestry Program on Sustainable Rural Livelihoods: Lessons From an Indian Province

This paper examines how rural livelihoods are improved owing to the impact of policy interventions through community-driven forest management in West Bengal, India. As an instance of comparative analysis of a gender-sensitive forestry program, this study employs the 'sustainable rural livelihoods' framework to assess any enhancement of livelihood opportunities across various socioeconomic groups in forest fringe areas. In general, robust livelihoods sustainability is found for a pro-poor section of rural households that participated in the forestry program. Amongst participants, however, especially the feminine units attain more favorable livelihoods outcome. Conversely, the program's eschewed households are behind sustainable livelihoods. It is therefore early need to expand the participatory forestry program for sustaining poor households' livelihood security in forest fringe areas of rural India. Copyright 2012, Oxford University Press.