Forest Rights Act
Women spearhead claim to community forest rights
In the absence of individual land rights, community forest rights empower tribal women in Gujarat and Odisha, amplifying their voices in village-level decision-making and reaffirming their role in protection and management of their natural resources.
Field trainers help Odisha villagers claim forest rights
With the help of trained field trainers, forest-dependent villagers of Keonjhar in Odisha are now increasingly able to file their claim for their rights under the Forest Rights Act.
Forest Rights Act: Perils of slow implementation
Introduced in 2006 to recognise the land rights of forest dwellers, the Forest Rights Act is not implemented as should be. However, small success stories prove how beneficial it can be.
Women shed ‘forest encroachers’ tag, turn land owners
Dubbed as encroachers in the forest land they tilled, the women of a village in Odisha claim their land rights and get their name recorded on the property document.
Kadar tribes face repeated displacement for hydel power projects
For more than a century, Kerala’s forest-dwelling tribes have been repeatedly evicted for power projects. Faced with another displacement, the tribes refuse to give up their rights
Farmers of Palghar protest against farm laws
In solidarity with protesting farmers in Delhi, men and women farmers of Maharashtra staged road blockades, demanding withdrawal of farm laws, and placed a charter of demands
Lacking access to bamboo, Basor artisans struggle for livelihood
Coordinated efforts are needed to make raw material available for the Basor community, to help sustain their traditional bamboo weaving skills and forest-based livelihood
Nand Gawalis struggle to sustain pastoralist lifestyle
Traditional pastoral communities find upkeep of indigenous cattle and migratory lifestyle unsustainable because of shrinking common grazing lands, restricted access to forests and water shortage
Sariska’s herders fear livelihood loss with eviction
Nomadic pastoralists being evicted from Sariska Tiger Reserve to conserve tigers introduced from Ranthambore fear loss of livelihoods, and life in relocation settlements with poor amenities
Is resettling millions of forest dwellers feasible?
A recent Supreme Court order that will likely lead to the largest ever eviction of forest dwellers in India needs to be seen as a wake-up call for state governments to quickly remedy the situation
How useful will farmer support be?
It will not be easy to optimally deploy the basic income support announced by the government for small and marginal farmers. The scheme has large exclusions in the landless and the women as well
Participation key to empowering Juang tribes
Treating Juang tribes of Odisha as participants in the development process rather than as recipients of development largesse will help bringing them into the national mainstream
Chhattisgarh makes headway on tribal rights
Chhattisgarh has taken encouraging steps to recognize and implement rights of forest communities but more effort is required needed at the village level to boost livelihood opportunities for indigenous people
Soligas in tiger reserve win battle over forest rights
After the jungles they inhabit were declared a wildlife sanctuary, the Soliga tribe in southern Karnataka has made history by winning a legal battle over their traditional rights to forestland and produce