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An "Important Common Forest" in India is a specific term which refers to forests governed by local communities in a way compatible with sustainable development, and can be of various types. Such forests are typically called village forests or panchayat forests, reflecting the fact that the administration and resource utilization of the forest occurs at the village and panchayat (an elected rural body) levels. Hamlets, villages and communities of villages may actually administer such a forest.〔Sinha, Himadri, (Forest and People: Understanding the Institutional Governance, Social Identity, and People's Participation in Indian Forest Management ), Presented at "Politics of the Commons: Articulating Development and Strengthening Local Practices", Chiang Mai, Thailand, July 11–14, 2003〕 Such community forests are usually administered by a locally elected body, usually called the ''Forest Protection Committee'', ''Village Forest Committee'' or the ''Village Forest Institution''. Such committees are known as ''Van Panchayat''s in the Kumaon Division of Uttarakhand, ''Forest Co-operative Societies'' in Himachal Pradesh and ''Van Samrakshan Samiti''s in Andhra Pradesh. Legislation pertaining to communal forests vary from state to state, but typically the state government retains some administrative control over matters like staff appointment, and penalization of offenders. Such forests typically conform to the IUCN Category VI Protected Areas, but protection may be enforced by the local communities or the government depending on local legislation. Maharashtra is the state with the most forest land while Haryana has the least. ==History of communal forests== Many village communities in India have traditionally used forests on a sustainable basis. However, the British Rule in India introduced several legislations in the 19th century curtailing the rights of local people from using forest resources. These included the Forest Act, 1865 and Forest Policy, 1894. While some of the legislation was enacted in a bid to enact restrictions on forest usage for the purpose of sustenance, it was also motivated partly because such legislation provided a legal basis for the British Raj to acquire valuable forest resources like timber for crucial initiatives like the Indian Railways.The British completely changed the way Indian forests were before. Such abrupt curtailment of rights caused protests in forest-dwelling communities in India, especially in the heavily forested Kumaon region, and in what is present day Himachal Pradesh. The issues of such communities were addressed in the Indian Forest Act, 1927, which initiated the development of ''village forests'' for sustainable use by villagers dwelling in or on the fringes of the forest. The ''Van Panchayat Act'' of 1931 further expanded the idea of local administration and management of forests, even though the first Van Panchayats were formed as early as 1921.〔Pampa Mukherjee, (Community Forest Management in India: The Van Panchayats of Uttranchal ), XII World Forestry Congress, Quebec City, Canada, 2003〕 Following the independence of India in 1947, the Government of India instituted the National Forest Policy, 1952 which classified forested areas into: ''Protected forests areas'', ''National forests'', ''Village forests'' and ''Tree lands'Common Trees Between living places of People'' . Laws regarding village forests were based on the state legislature. Numerous state laws and acts regarding communal forests were enacted before 1990, including the ''UP Van Panchayat Rules'' in 1976, and the ''Orissa Village Forest Rules'' in 1985. However, such communal forest development and management came to the forefront only after the National Forest Policy, 1988. The National Forest Policy strongly suggested the idea of empowering and involving local communities in the protection and development of forests. A direct outcome of the National Forest Policy, 1988 was the Joint Forest Management Program (JFM or JFMP) instituted in 1990 by the Government of India. It was started on a pilot project basis in West Bengal as early as 1971, and again in the late 1980s with considerable success.〔(Guarding the green blanket ), The Hindu Sunday magazine, March 17, 2002〕 The JFPM calls for the existence of an elected ''village level organisation'' (VLO) which would actively administer and maintain the communal forest. Such an organization is sometimes an existing elected body, like the ''gram sabha'', or ''gram panchayat''. However, a new body is usually elected for administrative purposes, usually referred to as the ''Forest Protection Committee'' (FPC), but known as the ''Van Panchayat'' in the Kumaon region.〔Rekha Singhal, (Changing models of forest management in India ), Indian Institute of Forest Management〕 As of September, 2003 all 28 state governments had initiated the JFPM, and many had passed appropriate legislation as well. According to the 2002-03 Annual Report of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, there were 84,000 JFM committees which controlled 170,000 square kilometres of forest in India.〔Annual Report, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, 2002-03〕 The introduction of the protected area category ''community reserves'' under the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act of 2002 has introduced legislation for providing government protection to community held lands. While this does not pertain to communal forest sites, communally owned forests may be candidates for protection under such legislation. (See Conservation reserves and community reserves of India) 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Communal forests of India」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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