Dussehri's entrepreneurs
Village women emerge as successful entrepreneurs thanks to NEED an organisation with a difference
Betrayed
Nepal's forest bureaucracy prepares for the funeral of the much-hailed community forest management programme
International Women’s Day: Self-help groups are institutions with bargaining power today; now it is time for the next step
Self-help groups bring about socio-economic empowerment of women by providing access to income-generating opportunities. Focus should now be on …
In hope of benefit-sharing
In India, there has been a cautious move towards handing over control of natural resources to local communities
Climate change and water: First victims
Research is needed to understand the social dimensions of the affected because it has the potential to shift the trajectory of the climate change …
Community forest management is the future
It has been 10 years since the Joint Forest Management (jfm) was officially started in India. Ajit Banerjee, who first experimented with the …
Chronicle of a journey foretold
Water trains aren't a strange sight anymore. Not the least in the parched areas of Gujarat. But while many villages await their erratic supply, …
A fighting chance
One man's dedication transformed the degraded, deforested land of his village
Reaping the benefits
CFM brings social and economic prosperity to several village communities
Heading Downhill
Thailand policymakers' volte-face on community forestry bill jolts devolution process
A lesson for India
Despite disputes over commercialisation of forest produce, experts believe the movement will not be derailed. Meanwhile, India can take a lesson …
A troubled frontier
A government circular aimed at ending commercialisation of forests in the terai affects the hills, too. In the process, it threatens to derail …
Chronicling CFM
Community forestry, as it is practiced today, is a result of the government's willingness to learn from its past mistakes. Also, traditional …
People in development
THE ART OF FACILITATING PARTICIPATION·Shirley A White·Sage Publications, New Delhi·1999·Rs 250·367pp
Charting a new course
A unique drinking water project meets a long-standing demand
Community forest management THE NEPALESE EXPERIENCE
Nepal government decided to hand over certain forest areas to rural communities.
Chhattisgarh’s Godhan Nyay: How it aims to revive rural economy, organic farming
A significant number of beneficiaries of the scheme are women and from backward community. Balod, Dhamtari, Durg, Raipur and Rajnadgaon districts …
Inside slum lanes, a Delhi group helps quell hunger
The intiative, led by students and teachers of Delhi University along with lawyers and activists, feeds 800 slum dwellers a day
Ramsar is not a strong, strict and rigid convention
India has listed 16 wetlands under the Ramsar sites, but with no policies, knowledge or interest shown by the authorities, proper management is …
A decentralised system will lead to sustainable water use
S Vishwanath, a Bangalore-based engineer and planner, started the Rainwater Club to help people manage rainwater efficiently. He spoke to Binayak …
Health care should be cheaper and more accessible
N H ANTIA Director of the Foundation for Research in Community Health, Pune, Maharashtra is striving to promote the concept of better health care …
Who is protected?
The Lok Sabha passed Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Bill with complete amendments on August 9, 2001, twenty months after it …
A bushful of medicine
Seabuckthorn, a plant with numerous medicinal properties, grows wild in India. Rural communities are the losers
Landless poor march to Delhi. Then what?
Water is wealth
Excerpts from the Statement of Shared Concern by the participants of the CSE conference on Potential of Water Harvesting: Traditions, Policies …