A 5-year United Nations Development Program (UNDP) initiative called “Social Mobilization around Natural Resource Management for Poverty Alleviation” is being implemented in 11 districts of Orissa, Rajasthan, and Jharkhand. Run in cooperation with the Government of India, the UNDP funds, trains, equips, and supports 5000 women’s groups to promote decentralized management of natural resources on which the poor depend for their livelihood.

The project is aimed at strengthening partnerships between women’s groups, civil society, non-government organizations, and local government to facilitate greater cross learning, sharing knowledge and information, increasing access to resources and technical capacities, and wider dissemination of tested social mobilization methods. The project will also facilitate dialogue between women’s groups, NGOs, and policy makers to influence relevant policies and programs.

Implemented through 17 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), UNDP has already released Rs. 3.62 crore (USD 78,000) to various implementing agencies and being monitored by the Ministry of Rural Development.