Shifting under a colonial past

A Myanmarese shifting cultivation technique, once perverted by British colonisers to maximise teak exploitation, is still valued for its benefits

Forest tales

The tribal world view that humans can regenerate forests, but not create them, may resolve problems and failures which stalk forest management …

A village betrayed

The people of Salehpur get a raw deal from the forest department of Haryana in return for the services rendered by them

The past catches up with the present

A custom of community forest protection, started in 1832 by the Raja of Alwar, is making a comeback

Saving forests for Posterity

Community-based systems in Orissa ore effectively managing local forest resources, but they need support to overcome the conflicts and …

All bark, all bite

Local communities in Nepal and some Central American nations have become invaluable participants in managing their forests

There's more to trees than timber

New thinking on forestry management calls for reducing the emphasis on sustainable timber production and concentrating instead on the protection …

Deep in the Woods

When it comes to management of forests in the US, the timber industry and environmentalists have traditionally been at loggerheads. Whoever wins, …

Lone crusader

At personal risk, an unlettered farmer vows to stick to his forest protection programme

Sulia takes charge

Participatory management brings forests back

Forests for people

Newly democratic Bhutan pushes community forestry to tackle rural poverty  

Blueprints for change

Protectors of the forest

Saara adivasis in Orissa have undertaken measures to conserve forest wealth

Greening a state

Himachal Pradesh chief minister has broken all bureaucratic shackles and initiated eco-friendly programmes in the state

Return of the woods

Two decades of toil have given back to Seed village in Udaipur a forest that villagers felt had been destroyed forever

Changing colours

After blindly destroying much of their forest cover, people in Anantapur district attempt to reclaim their barren lands

People's participation in resource management

When the old gods died

From a wooded upland Jhabua became an example of extreme ecological degradation. The story of its recovery is remarkable

Managing the woods

Sustainable forest management is a concept hostage to many global players

A tale of two interpretations

Aparna Pallavi recounts struggles of residents of a tiny village in the Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra to get ownership of forest resources

Betrayed

Nepal's forest bureaucracy prepares for the funeral of the much-hailed community forest management programme

Divine protection

Kumaon villagers discover that gods are the best forest guards

Back to basics

Integrating indigenous knowledge in joint forest management projects is an essential prerequisite for the success of such programmes, but years …

No consensus

The UN Forum on Forest's fourth meet ended half a day ahead of schedule, raising doubts on the convention's ability to frame an agenda. Clifford …

Forest fires - a trailblazer

Controlled burning of woodlands can be an effective tool for enriching the land and ecology. Dipanjan Ghosh looks at the possibilities