Gramin Vikas Parishad Key Issues and
Operational Areas, Major Activiities & Achivements
Operational Districts: Banka,Deoghar, Dumka, Pakur, Jamtara,Bhagalpur
Operational States: BIHAR, JHARKHAND, BIHAR
AchieveMents: Gramin Vikas Parishad (GVP) is primarily working on community based sustainable livelihood and natural resource management issues in Degohar and Dumka districts of Jharkhand and Banka district of Bihar state, with particular focus on socio-economic disadvantaged communities. Environment and gender have been cross cutting themes of GVP interventions.
The organization is backed up by a committed team of social workers, professionals with good knowledge and understanding of local issues, led by Mr. J. B. Ram, ex-divisional forest officer of this region. Mr. Ram had been in Forest Department Services till 1985 and after retirement he established the organization to promote environmental protection and conservation activities in Bihar and Jharkhand. He had been member of National Standing Committee of CAPART for 7 years period, and associated with Ministry of Rural Development as Monitor and Evaluator of NGO activities & Integrated Wasteland Development Programmes of Govt. in the states Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal and Sikkim.
Major areas of organizational intervention includes social forestry, watershed and wasteland management, bio-diversity conservation and livelihood promotion by strengthening linkages and capacities of disadvantaged communities for optimum utilization of locally available resources. The organization is working for revival of traditional tribal culture and issues directly influencing the tribal people viz. traditional self governance, food security, self identity and opportunities for a dignified living.
To ensure active participation of the communities and enhance their programmatic abilities and decision making, the organization has initiated social mobilization through promotion of community based organization, awareness and education activities and capacity building which has culminated into practice of social fencing at some of the locations. To promote the access to and control over resources the organization has also laid stress on group mobilization efforts for women and other vulnerable sections of the society.
So far the organization has been able to encourage masses to promote plantation activities in more than 2000 Ha of private as well as community lands. With its incessant efforts to retain the vegetative coverage and soil and water conservation in community based approach the organization has also received two coveted national awards viz. Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Award in the year 1993 and Rajiv Gandhi Partibhumi Mitra Award in the year 1994-96.