Site Suitability Analysis for JFM Plantation Sites using Geo-Spatial Techniques

Abstract

The Joint Forest Management (JFM) programme is an institutional innovation that has much potential in any country confronting the disempowerment of indigenous communities and environmental degradation. The implementation of JFM in different states of India initiated in the year 1992. This plantation strategy succeeded as well as failed depending on the existing conditions of that area. Out of the several factors contributing to the failure the most significant was the site selection. This factor can be rectified using the advanced Remote Sensing-Geographical Information System (RS-GIS) approach. The present study was undertaken for identifying suitable areas for JFM plantation in the Nandod taluka of Narmada district. The weighted overlay analysis of different themes like landuse, slope, settlement/etc. in GIS mode has aided in giving the precise number of villages in this taluka which are found highly, moderately and least suitable for implementation of JFM strategy, thereby providing a useful input to the forest planners.