Institutions for sustainable livelihoods in the forest fringes : towards integration

The sustainability of coexistence in a socioecological system can be addressed only if linkages between its natural, man-made and societal dimensions are made clear. As the previous chapters revealed, a failure to acknowledge these inextricable linkages mitigates the effectiveness and threatens the viability of any adaptive strategies or interventions. The concluding chapter therefore traces the interlinkages between various elements of socioecological systems and livelihood initiatives in the forest fringes in order to highlight the scope and feasibility of integrated policies in selected contexts. We analyse two livelihood options that involve adding value to goods and services from forest ecotones in rural Karnataka – non-timber forest products and ecotourism. Following the trajectories of these enterprises with empirical studies, we illustrate their forward and backward linkages with their proximate socioecological systems. It is argued that these enterprises can contribute to rural well-being only if they are built on integrated management and policies. Integrated policies, in turn, point towards the need for grass-roots institutions to facilitate, monitor and regulate these enterprises as also to initiate policy changes. The governance options could be either in empowering locally crafted institutions for natural resource management or in building capacities of existing empowered local institutions in governance. We discuss the efficacy of both these options in the two selected enterprises to conclude that relative benefits exist in informing and networking existing institutions for integrating sectoral policies, particularly in the context of communities in the forest peripheries