Formation Of District Facilitation Unit

To implement the project activities effectively in the 180 target villages throughout Sikkim, a district facilitation unit (DFU) will be formed in each district. The DFU will consist of Forest Department officials at the district level, project management consultants, and community organisers hired by the Project. Under the current Forest Department structure, Divisional Forest Officers (DFOs) and Assistant Conservators of Forests (ACFs) will be those responsible for management and operation of the DFUs. The DFUs will be the implementation unit of project activities at the village level. They will be guided by and report to the PMU. The core duties of the DFUs are elaborated in Attachment 8; Detailed Organization Structure, Organization Chart for Implementation.

The Community Organizers will be hired by the PMU for the project period. For the purpose of hiring community organizers, PMU shall select for Lead NGO organizations for each of the four districts, These Lead NGO organizations would then be responsible for providing Community organizers or replacing them as the need may be. Community Organizers must be in place before the Project activities commence in the target villages. The Community Organizers will act as facilitators among JFMC, EDC, and PSS members, between the villagers and the frontline Forest Department Staff, and between the target villages and the DFU offices. The Community Organizers should have an academic background in rural development with at least three years of field experience related to rural development. Two Community Organizers, one male and one female, will form a team. One team will be expected to look after three clusters. As 45 clusters are expected to be established throughout Sikkim, 15 teams or 30 Community Organizers will need to be recruited. The Community Organizers will report to the head of their respective DFU through their NGO organizations, and act as a link between DFU, DFOs, RSU and the communities.