In a developing country like India, the development of rural economy through effective and proper management of common property resources (CPRs) such as forests has increasingly become an integral part of sustainable development policy in the past couple of decades.
Rural poverty in Tamil Nadu is concentrated among those with marginal landholdings and dependent on rainfed agriculture. Dry land areas contribute about one half of India's production of coarse grain, cereals, pulses, oilseeds and cotton.
