Community Pasture Development as an Approach to Common Property Resources Management in Rajasthan, India

Semiarid areas of the state of Rajasthan have community lands in almost every village. Most of them are grouped under wastelands and are usually covered with coarse grasses such as Dichanthium, Cenchrus and Lasiurus. Grass growth on these lands faces constraints such as extreme temperatures, steep slope, variable precipitation and scarcity of water in general. Land degradation has created tremendous pressure on increasing livestock, especially the goat population. As pasture management and enhancement of productivity of improved grasses were key factors to sustain livestock through common property resource management, BAIF Development Research Foundation, a rural development organization, implemented projects about 15 years ago. This silvipasture approach to common property resource (CPR) management was demonstrated in district Bhilwara with the support of Ministry of Rural Development. A total area of 2550 ha in 76 villages was brought under silvipasture by treating the land with principles of watershed treatment. Community lands developed in this manner have been managed by Gram Panchayats and Village Management Committees after the project implementation phase ended. The paper deals with post management experiences of silvipasture farms / grass lands