Simply Put: Forest Act revision

Simply Put: ‘Crypto’ forests

Draft National Forest Policy cleared; Cabinet to take decision

Experts say the focus of the draft will be on water conservation

MoEFCC’s actual expenditure reduced by nearly 20% of budget estimates: Parliamentary report

The committee noted a drastic reduction under the National Coastal Mission 2023-24

India among top 10 countries gaining forest area in the world: FAO

Half of people employed in forestry in the world are in India  

Telangana’s new forest conflict panels bring Centre-state land rights relation under scanner

FRA empowers Gram Sabhas and the committees headed by the sub collectors and the district collectors to determine and recognise the forest rights …

COVID-19 has aggravated challenges to manage forests: UN Report

New UN report calls for greater sustainability and a greener, more inclusive economy to tackle the threats of COVID-19, climate change and …

Missing the woods: The story of India’s vanishing forests in 20 cards

Some 25.87 million hectares of forest is missing from the latest assessment of India’s green cover. Here are some cards that tell the story

Lack of indigenous people’s participation big barrier to mainstreaming of biodiversity: FAO

Some 15 per cent of global forests are managed as community resources by indigenous peoples and local communities

Centre uses SC order to turn forest land into revenue land

11-year-old order for relocating three Maharashtra villages used for conversion in 18 states

Forest Survey Report 2021: 11 states have lost forest cover; 21 have lost good forests

India’s forest cover has increased by just 1,540 sq km in two years, mostly due to plantation and agroforestry

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

Wildlife Week: Improved fielding can help overcome sour relations at Pilibhit Tiger Reserve

Human-wildlife conflict has led to strained relationships between villagers and forest staff

India’s ‘missing’ forests: DTE analysis exposes big gap in latest national forest survey estimates

According to a DTE analysis, there are states where over 30-50 per cent of the land classified as forests is ‘missing’ from the …

Draft amendment to Forest Conservation Act may dilute protection to forests

The proposed draft, accessed by Down to Earth, may grant exemptions to railways, roads, tree plantations, oil exploration, wildlife …

IFR review: Madhya Pradesh’s Van Mitra portal a tool to re-reject forest right claims, RTI data shows

Official machinery rejects claims without the knowledge of the Gram Sabha or the Forest Rights Committee

Empower communities to restore forests: Study

Crucial forest-restoration areas in low-income countries — home to 12 per cent of their total population — can have an impact on …

Summer bushfires: How are the plant and animal survivors 6 months on? We mapped their recovery

Australia roared into 2020 as a land on fire. The human and property loss was staggering, but the damage to nature was equally hard to fathom

Nearly 3 bln animals perished in Australian bushfires: WWF study

An estimated 143 million mammals, 180 million birds, 51 million frogs and 2.5 billion reptiles affected

Two incidents that made me ask: Whither forestry extension?

Extension programmes in forest institutions are meant to benefit stakeholders, mainly farmers, villagers and rural communities

Chhattisgarh revokes: Forest dept no longer nodal agency for community rights

Chhattisgarh government reinstates the role of the forest department to coordinate claims that are to be filed by communities, …

Tree-planting campaigns can reduce, not improve biodiversity, shows study

Tree plantations can contradict the real purpose of planting trees, according to the study

Nearly 213 ha in protected areas diverted between April and July

Standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife approved 21 projects for diversion, deferred 7 for later

Nearly 500 ha forest land in protected areas diverted in 2019

Standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife gave nod to carry out 68 projects in protected areas 

India continues to lose forest land to non-forestry projects

Central environment ministry reports diversion of 11,467 hectares forest land in 2019 (up to first week of November)