Bamboo rising

Nobody in Loyendi village keeps track of time. But for its 150-odd residents, December 7, 2012, is a day to remember. “It is our independence day,” says village elder Petra Kanhara. On this day, the village in Odisha’s Kandhamal district got community right over 20 mountains full of forests under the Forest Rights Act (FRA).

FRA guidelines to help forest dwellers freely trade in minor forest produce

The Union tribal affairs ministry has issued a set of guidelines aimed at ensuring better implementation of Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006 which gives forest dwellers and tribal people the right to collect and trade in minor forest produce (MFP) like tendu leaves and bamboo. The new guidelines state that forest dwellers no longer need to get transit passes for carrying MFP, including bamboo, outside the forest. The movement of all MFPs should be exempted from the purview of transit rules of state governments, state the guidelines issued on July 12.

Losers again

Proposed amendments to the forest Act will further weaken the position of forest dwellers

Half-way to autonomy

The tiny 16-house village of Kuppaner in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district is bustling with activity. A few days ago, its gram sabha started felling bamboo in areas where it has community forest rights (CFR). Kuppaner is among the 400 villages in the district that have been granted CFR under the Forest Rights Act.

How government is subverting forest rights act

Two tribal villages in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra—Mendha Lekha and Marda— savoured victory when they won community rights over their forest resources in August last year. The rights conferred under the Forest Rights Act of 2006 include the right to collect and sell minor forest produce (MFP). These include tendu leaves used in beedis, and bamboo that have high commercial value and were under the forest department’s control. Winning the right to manage these resources meant economic liberation to the two villages.

Super Market

• India has 16,000 recorded plant species. About 3,000 of these yield minor forest produce (MFP). • Nearly 500 million people living in and around forests in India depend on MFP for sustenance and as a supplement to their income

Price tag for tendu, bamboo

HOW much does a bundle of tendu leaf cost? The question has left the government scratching its head as it prepares to introduce minimum support price (MSP) for minor forest produce (MFP).

‘State has tendu trade right’

AN EXPERT committee, formed by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, has recommended that trade control of tendu leaves, critical for forest dwellers’ income, should vest in the state. The panel, headed by agriculture economist T Haque, was set up to ensure ownership rights of forest dwellers over minor forest produce (MFP) and fix their minimum support price (MSP) in tribal areas.

High-risk trade

Around July every year, Laxman Nag, a resident of Kolang village on the outskirts of Kanger National Park in Chhattisgarh, sees crows in his dreams. He sees the birds attacking silk cocoons to pick the larvae inside and wakes up in a sweat. Cocoons in the wild are his main source of income and the season for collecting them are August and September. “If crows ruin the cocoons, my income halves,” said Nag who earns around Rs 10,000 from about 5,000 cocoons he collects each season.

Forest fires singe Nagzira sanctuary

about half of Nagzira wildlife sanctuary in Maharashtra’s Gondia district was destroyed in forest fires allegedly started by tendu  leaf contractors in March and April. Conservationists working in the area accused the contractors of working hand-in-glove with forest officials. Most top officials were on leave at the time of the fire, they said.