‘Forests can’t survive without communities’
Nepal’s Forest Act of 1993, which allows communities to manage their forests, is admired and emulated by governments and movements across …
Bamboo rising
Five years after it was implemented, the Forest Rights Act finally takes root. Communities across the country rush to claim rights over forests …
Ten years of FRA: only 3 per cent of forest dwellers’ rights recognised
Collective rights to undo historic injustice meted out to indigenous people remain completely ignored by the states, says Citizens’ report
The Forest Rights Act and self-help transformed this remote Odisha tribal village; here is how
Residents of Loyendia have regenerated forests and made a new dirt road within a decade of getting community forest resource rights
Estimating the potential of community forest rights: What makes implementation challenging
Given the complexity of land and forest settlement in India and the poor quality of land records and maps available, generating an estimate is …
Forest Rights Act: From rights on paper to rights in practice
Local civil society organisations play a vital role in helping forest-dwelling communities assert and exercise their collective rights
It is legal, yet harvesting bamboo out of reach for these communities
Though bamboo can now be legally harvested, local communities are protesting as they face administrative hurdles
Forest rights in Jharkhand: Too early to rejoice
Forest rights recognised in Jharkhand for the first time in 2 years, but do not give management rights
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
New boundaries: How village limits are demarcated for community forest rights
Forest Rights Act recognises community forest resource rights over an area that is traditionally used by the local communities. This is …
Letting go of the colonial hangover should be the goal of the new forest policy
Forest department in India needs to reverse its role from being the owner and regulator of forests to becoming a facilitator in community-managed …
In 10 states, compensatory afforestation violating forest rights and conservation laws
All the 52 compensatory afforestation plantations in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha were taken up on community forest lands
New CFR guidelines: Experts say regulations can undo India’s progress on forest governance
Rules show governmental unwillingness to embrace tribal diversity and culture, they say
Hunger strike for FRA implementation continues in Chhattisgarh; state yet to respond
Government has given land under the Individual Forest Rights titles, which is way less than what people originally occupied
Forest dwellers in Himachal’s Kangra district soon to get rights under FRA
The district’s forest dwellers have filed 81 individual and 43 community rights claims so far
Balancing rights and responsibilities: community-based forest governance in Maharashtra
A small village in eastern Maharashtra sets an example of managing community forest resource in a sustainable way
Route by root
Built by the Khasi and Jaintia tribes, Meghalaya's living root bridges are a testimony to their intimate relationship with nature
Gujarat government backtracks on granting CFR rights to Maldharis
Despite granting 47 Community Forest Rights in 2015, the government, through a notification dated September 27, has asked for surveying the land, …
Despite having forest rights titles, two Kalahandi villages denied transit permit
The forest department has been misusing the transit permit, which is essential to sell kendu leaf, a lucrative Minor Forest Produce
Cannot evict tribals from tiger reserves without their consent: NCST
Earlier, NTCA rejected forest rights under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 in tiger reserves
First time ever, communities' compensation demand for forest diversion finds approval
The communities in Maharashtra affected by diversion of forests due to a transmission project may get the compensation they have demanded
Planting problems
Forest development corporations fell rich forests to raise plantations, undermining people's rights and biodiversity. It's time India introduced …
Kerala’s Kadars continue fight for assertion of their community forest rights
Their Gram Sabhas have passed resolutions under the Forest Rights Act as work has progressed on the Anakkayam Small Hydro Power Project
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
Gujarat's Narmada district takes a step forward in forest governance
Five years after 20 villages in the district got their Community Forest Rights titles, their Gram Sabhas have developed a draft of their …