BJP-led NDA has won 38 out of 48 reserved seats for Scheduled Tribes across the country, of which a majority is from forest-rich areas
Let people-centric natural resource governance be the new regime’s agenda
Who's right for the forest anyway?
Why has no Indian political party come out with a road map on afforestation?
Tribal communities suffer when evicted in the name of conservation
The tribal communities are paying a brutal price for governments' agenda to boost safari, create protected areas and attract tourism
The Indian Forest Act’s proposed amendment is dangerous and fanciful
Like other policies in the recent past, this one also shows the complete unwillingness of the forest bureaucracy in accepting a different role
'Progressive' Maharashtra governor must step in to save tribal land, rights
Communities expect Ch Vidyasagar Rao to stop massive diversion of their lands to sundry government projects
The rediscovery of wild food plants
While India is slowly rediscovering such plants, the forests must be co-managed by tribal communities in order to preserve them for posterity
'Village forests have been pitted against community rights'
The proposed amendment of IFA is an attempt to keep power in the hands of the forest bureaucracy by playing up village forests against community forest rights currently exercised by gram sabhas
Reforms in India’s forest sector stuck in reverse gear
The proposed amendment to the IFA reveals the mindset of policymakers regarding the forest sector has not changed
The logic of mass tree plantations
Such plantations can succeed in India only if farmers are given proper incentive and protection to grow them
The new Forest Act debate is essential
Let both forests and communities win
Propagate and protect halophytes
It is high time that India’s governments make serious efforts to identify, propagate and protect these plants which establish mangroves, provide nutrition and even mitigate climate change
Why India’s celebrating World Water Day and Forest Day is a farce
Instead of salvaging these highly essential resources, our country is busy butchering them
Building institutional foundations for community forest management
Forest commons can play a critical role in facilitating the resilience of India’s response to climate change
Vishweshwar D Saklani (1922-2019): The calm tree man of India
A freedom fighter, conservationist and a scientist who truly heard the voice of trees, Mr Saklani is a role model for future generations
America’s urban timber movement
Instead of turning trees in urban areas into mulch or sending them to the sawmill, US cities are harvesting them locally, lessening their carbon footprint
Achieving targeted sequestration from green cover seems impossible
India cannot achieve this Paris Agreement target without political commitment at both central and state government levels
Amended Tamil Nadu forest Act must be cautiously exercised
While forests under private ownership have already been destroyed with cash crops, if the provisions of the Act are further relaxed the state’s green cover will face serious threats
Water in forests: Finding the blue in the greens
It is time we rediscover forests as a ‘water commons’ to aid India’s fight against climate change
New awakenings in the trans-Himalaya
With threats to common properties multiplying and people’s traditional access to living systems being denied, the Forest Rights Act is making its way into the lives of people in the trans-Himalayan valley of Spiti
How alien invasive plant species threaten Western Ghats
Forest fires and man-eating tigers make for easy headlines but what about invading flora in a forest?
Tamil Nadu’s innovative methods of seed plantation
The state has been trying out a number of novel and unique ways to plant seeds of various tree species and ensure that they survive and make waste and barren areas greener
Will Jair Bolsonaro destroy the Amazon and its Indians?
It remains to be seen whether Brazil’s President-Elect will act on his pre-poll statements vis-à-vis Amazonia and its natives. Nevertheless, Brazil’s indigenous people must brace up for a long fight ahead
Van Gujjars: A repeat of historical injustice
The Uttarakhand High Court’s August 16 order on the removal of Van Gujjar families from the Jim Corbett National Park shows the deep-seated bias against forest-dependent people within India
