The duration of the Project is 10 years, starting from 2017-18 to 2026-27 in consideration of capabilities of stakeholders and time required to conduct activities in sustainable manners. 10 years comprises of (i) Preparation Period, (ii) Implementation Period, and (iii) Phase-out Period.
Preparation period is crucial for successful implementation of the project. The 1st step would be institutional arrangement by way of setting up Project Management Unit(PMU), Division Management Unit(DMU), and Field Management Unit(FMU) followed by deployment of contractual staff at PMU/DMU/ FMU as well as procurement of partner NGOs to be deployed at each FMU, and Project Management Consultant at PMU level respectively. Preparation of Operation Manual and other guidelines, orientation and selection of target Vana Sarakshya Samities(VSS), mobilization of VSSs, and formulation of Micro Plan would be conducted.
In implementation period, activities envisaged for all components will be carried out. VSSs are to be selected in 4batches and target Self Help Groups (SHG) would be selected by each VSS. Sustainable forest management, sustainable biodiversity management, livelihood improvement, and capacity development activities is being carried out.
In phase-out period, phase-out activities such as asset inventory, phase-out training for VSS/EDC/SHGs, revisiting of Micro Plan will be undertaken, which is crucial for the project sustainability.
Based on the lessons learnt from OFSDP-I, and improvement and innovation envisaged during formulation of the OFSDP-II, following strategic approaches would be adopted in order to achieve the Project objectives: