Measurung Soil and Water Conservation Benefits Under Joint Forest Management (JFM): an Application of the Hedonic Pricing Method / S. Murali Gopal and N. Raveendaran

major Joint Forest Management project being implemented in TamilNadu is the TamilNadu Alforestation Project (TAP). The scheme envisages ecological restoration of Forests with fullest participation of people through JFM. In this context the present study made an attempt to assess the impact of soil and water conservation measures taken by JFM in Periakallipatti village of Bhavanisagar union. Vilamundi Reserve forest is situated on northern part of the village on the southern banks of river Bhavani. Reserve forest is under administrative control of Erode forest Jegion and Sathiyamangalam forest division of TamilNadu State. The farmers were selected randomly and interviewed with the help of structured interview schedule. To study the impact of soil and water conservation measures, the Hedonic Pricing Model was used. The land quality characteristics i.e., depth of the soil, drainage capacity, soil quality, water table, humus content of the soil all had positive and significant influence on the value of the land. Among these variables. soil depth, soil wetness, per cent of cropland and soil quality were significant at one per cent level indicating their higher influence on the land value. These results give empirical support for soil and water conservation measures. Hence, one of the recommendations affirmed by this study is that investment on soil and water conservation measures is in right direction and considerable attention has to be devoted to analyze the consequences of soil and water characteristics. JFM is undeniably the most important step taken since independence for improving management and governance of forests in India.