Regional Centre for Development Cooperation (RCDC) started its journey in 1993 with the mandate to carve a definite niche in the development sector for empowering people for sustainable management of natural resources. RCDC works towards enabling the communities to manage their own natural resources efficiently and effectively for addressing poverty and improving the quality of life. RCDC has started working with the belief that proper management of natural resources can take care of most of the current development problems and the local communities are the best managers of these resources as they have the highest stake and time tested knowledge. Currently the organisation is working in areas of Policy and Action Research, Advocacy and Networking, and Field Demonstration Interventions relating to community based natural resource management and livelihood enhancement.
Vision
Rights recognized – resources owned – poverty is past.
Mission
To play a facilitative role in the struggle for rights of the poor and marginalized over resources, opportunities, institutions and processes.
Core competencies:
RCDC has competency in research & studies, and advocacy. A number of studies done by RCDC have been published by now. Some of the notable ones include Report on Biofuel Policy,
‘Fluoride Menace in Orissa’ (priced publication),Traditional Land & Water Management in Orissa, Report of a Market Survey on Gums & Resins, etc.. A lot of study findings are shared regularly through our periodicals.
RCDC’s expertise in policy research is now planned to be extended to laboratory research also through a small laboratory that is functioning for quality control of NTFP-based items of trade. RCDC has already taken some initiatives to monitor a major grey area, i.e. food quality, as the present government machinery has been quite ineffective & inadequate to address the related issues. Preliminary studies by RCDC have already identified contamination/adulteration in some branded products(like, turmeric powder).
As of advocacy, the organization has emerged as a strong advocacy body on natural resource management and environmental issues. RCDC’s contribution in effecting a pro-people NTFP policy and pro-people forest policy is well known. Recent efforts include suggested amendments in
Wildlife Protection Act,
Draft Climate Change Action Plan of Orissa, and
Green India Mission programme.
Bikash Rath of RCDC took a leading role in the National Convention of Right to Food Campaign held at Rourkela from 6-8 August’10 as a coordinator for the Convention workshop on Right to Forest Produce where he stressed on
‘Collection(of NTFPs) for Dignity’ asking the government to make specific effort through its R&D facilities for developing dignified, profitable, and alternative uses of those forest products(like mahua and kendu leaves) whose current end use are indignified, thereby affecting the dignity of their primary collectors too.
More details of RCDC’s programmatic approach are available under Programme interventions.
Target Groups & Stakeholders
The organization works for deprived, disadvantaged unorganized and socio-economically backward people and bring in different stakeholders like CBOs, CSOs, NGOs & Government Departments /Academies. The target beneficiaries include:
1. Tribal and forest dwelling communities
2. Marginal and small farmers
3. PRI Functionaries
4. Women and children belonging to poor families
5. Forest protecting communities, district and sub-district level networks of forest protecting communities, NGOs and CBOs.
