Environmental research

Location:Safarod- Ramsar(36.888115-50.664825) Project Background The so-called Caspian broadleaf deciduous forests consist of a narrow green belt with an area of approximately 1.9 million hectares. It is estimated that it was 3.4 million hectares 45 years ago. In Spring of 2003 a GEF SGP project started with Hamyaran Local Development Resource Center in collaboration with independent facilitators, a project addressing the development needs of a select number of village communities situated within a forest covered watershed south of the Caspian Sea (named Safarud) whose livelihood needs had been adversely affected by a protective regiment imposed by the Iranian Forest, Range and Watershed Organization (FRWO) since 1982 only allowing logging under national plans. While imposing bans on lumbering and grazing in the forest by individuals, age-long lifestyles and living patterns were disrupted, and a number of forest villages were deserted. The remaining families continue to face severe economic hardship. The yield of these forests has been reduced from 300 tons/ha. to 100-110 tons/hectare during the last four decades. Hamyaran, as an advocate of participatory planning and community empowerment for poverty alleviation, has viewed participatory monitoring as a preliminary step in development planning in environmentally sensitive areas inhabited by local communities. Such participatory activity not only builds capacity for the local communities it also provides the opportunity for organizing representative bodies and space for dialogue with stakeholder government officials. Trust is thus built between those who feel aggressed by authority and government officials who are entrusted with the responsibility of protecting national environmental resources. The first phase of the project was terminated in Winter 2006, whereby participatory monitoring of the watershed was planned and carried out with the active involvement of all key government and non-government stakeholders. During the second phase, GEF/SGP (the primary donor of phase one) provided timely support for a community-based waste management project designed by the village communities and is presently underway in the target villages. Systemizing participatory forest management of the Safarud Watershed Promotion of village biogas production to further minimize forest aggression Economic empowerment of the villagers through environmentally sensitive projects: oestablishment of a micro-credit fund oparticipatory design of community-based forest tourism project By June 2011, project team has implemented the following activities, Stakeholders meetings were held where all beneficiaries including provincial Forest, Rangeland and Watershed Organization (FRWO) and Natural Resources Office (NRO) experts, local governor, North Forest s technical committee, local community representatives, Hamyaran Ghada members and projects focal person discussed their views on participatory monitoring model. Participatory Monitoring Forms were sent to university and governmental experts to get technical comments and revise the forms. Two out of ten participatory monitoring forms were revised based on experts comments. As an example monitoring plots which used to be 100m x 100m and vary annually changed to fixed 300m x 400m plots. Participatory GIS maps of custom territories of six villages were prepared through participatory mapping with villagers (which needs to be submitted). One of revised Participatory Monitoring Form was filled by NRO experts in 163 plots (300m x 400m) in total area of 1960 hectare and other forms were filled through interviews with villagers of six project villages. Safaroud Cooperative performance was evaluated and corresponding comments were released to executive board. (inappropriate regulations which stops cooperative to participate in tenders, villagers are not actively involved in decision making process, villagers cannot be elected in managing board due to education limitations, ) Alternative Livelihood potentials were assessed and forest conservation threats and challenges were identified. (High cost of agriculture facilities, low skill and capacity of villagers, inappropriate regulations which stops villagers having an active role in the cooperative, )

Iran