Tree plantation for restoration of degraded lands and greening of India: A case study of the tree growers' cooperatives

Abstract

India has over 100 m ha (million hectares)of village common lands. De jure, these lands are owned by the state but defacto, they are used in common by villagers. Most of the village commons are degraded and denuded and are almost non-governmental organizations. Tree Growers' Co-operative Societies (TGCS), as an organisational innovation of relatively recent origin, have proved to be more cost-effective than other forms of organisations engaged in greening the village common in India. This paper attempts to assess the financial viabilty of tree plantations carried out by three selected TGCS and to distil lessons of their experience useful for policy purposes. The study revealed that plantations founded by the sample TGCS were financially viable and that the plantations had transformed the dissolate village commons into green wealth. The authors conclude that th TGCS have a high potential as an instrument for promoting the afforestation of India's degraded village common lands and thereb...