In principal, the dependencies of the local communities on the biodiversity of the Park (in form of herb collection, sheep grazing, etc.) will be reduced if they are provided with the alternative source of income. In practice, effecting a change in the villager's livelihoods is one of the most difficult things to do. It can not be done by merely offering them alternate income generation packages. Distribution of handlooms, bee-keeping boxes, tool kits, etc. without social or structural support, does not make much of a difference to the community in the GHNP ecozone (an area with 120 villages which had depended upon Park resources). However, the key to change is working with the Village Ecodevelopment Committees (VEDCs) and the smaller self-sustained user-groups, such as the Village Ecodevelopment Committees (VEDCs), and the Women's Saving and Credit Groups (WSCGs), which are described below.

In the villages of the GHNP ecozone, one mode of participatory management is being actualized through the Village Ecodevelopment Committees (VEDCs), which are mostly male dominated. Each of the 18 VEDCs had has more than 1,000 villagers as its members. However, for effective participation a smaller group size is more ideal. A homogenous group of about 20 members (such as women's self-determination groups, herb collectors groups, basket-makers groups, etc.) has been found to be best suited for involvement in participatory management. Ultimately these smaller groups can collaborate with each other and the larger VEDC.

The VEDCs are male dominated. Women, who constitute nearly half the total population in the ecozone and are the poorest, can play a very positive role in biodiversity conservation. Park officials are now collaborating with the local non-government organization SAHARA (Society for the Advancement of Hill Rural Areas) to organize the women of poor families into smaller Women's Savings and Credit Groups (WSCGs). groups.

SAHARA's strength lies in its female field staff for whom GHNP management provide intensive training (e.g., four sessions of four days over 3-4 months during 1999-2000). These field staffers then assist poor village women in forming the Women's Savings and Credit Groups (WSCGs). In these micro-credit programs group members save their own money and then extend credit to the group members for income generating activities or even support in emergencies (a form of self insurance). Fifty-one WSCGs comprising over 600 poor women have been organized in the ecozone of GHNP.

Park officials have also supported these groups by directing direct wage-oriented work, such as preparation of nurseries, plantation work, path repair, etc. to these women groups them on a priority basis. This in turn enhances the savings capacity of the women. Because the women are saving their own money, and as a rule no outside loans or assistance is coming to these groups, the group members are developing self-esteem as well as the responsibility and skills of investing their own savings. Members of these small groups know each others capabilities so the income-generating decisions can be very effective.

Thus, the WSCGs have been avoiding the "subsidy culture" by providing loans for "production activities." In addition, their repayment rate has been impressive, close to 100%; perhaps because it is their own money. The most important activities that these groups are currently engaged in include medicinal plant cultivation (in the Ecozone), vermicomposting, organic farming, and production of handicrafts. To an extent these activities are starting to provide some alternative income to replace their loss of herb collecting rights in GHNP.

In the long run, WSCGs are going to be sustainable and will contribute to the strength of the VEDCs from within. The program addresses the issues of sustainability and generates an inherent strength of empowerment in the hill society. This reduction of economic impact on the local people will result in a reduction of the human impact on the Park and, contribute to the conservation efforts the Park represents and the biodiversity it preserves.
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