Huts of knowledge: These tribal women in Odisha teach their next generation about forests through ‘kutir’ meetings

Apart from sharing traditional knowledge, the women at these meetings also spread awareness on ownership rights

40,000 trees cut near Odisha’s Talabira village to make way for coal mine

Local residents, in charge of forest for half a century, not taken into confidence before tree felling

Claims under FRA being wrongfully rejected in Bengal

Claims that had been piling up since 2010 are now being rejected at the instance of the forest department

Chhattisgarh govt begins process to grant FRA to Abujmarh tribals

Government to grant habitat rights to Abujh Marias, a particularly vulnerable tribal group that reside in the forest, considered a bastion of Naxalism

Information recharge: Meet Devansh Mehta of CGnet Swara

Devansh Mehta believes that people can be sensitised through incentives, be it as small as mobile top-ups

All about the first-ever global assessment on biodiversity

Down To Earth followed the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services’ from when it was a draft to …

Now tribal affairs ministry FRA claim settlement number under cloud

Is there something fishy behind giving wrong data for over a decade and then disowning it?

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 …

Final National Forest Policy to be out soon

Most comments in the draft policy concern with the dilution of the Forest Rights Act and opening up forest land for private players 

How FRA helped India’s forest communities during COVID-19

Stories of hope have been reported from across the tribal areas of how communities survived due to FRA even as attempts have been made to dilute it

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

Chhattisgarh village under demolition for Hindalco mine, villagers claim foul play

At least 50 families have been relocated, claims official. A house was razed on June 2  

Civil society organisations should count on their huge social capital and invest it into future actions

Civil society organisations are often targets of political interference and manipulation, which can limit their ability to operate

Forest conservation & consent: How Gram Sabhas halted risky projects in the past

The new rules for the the Forest Conservation Act (FCA) gazetted June 28, have repealed and replaced the earlier 2003 Forest Conservation Rules …

How the Van Gujjars perceive the Wildlife Protection Amendment Act, 2021

Can amendments to the Wild Life (Protection) Act reduce injustices meted out forest dwellers in the name of fortress conservation

Villages inside forest near Guwahati struggle for basic amenities

Lack of health infrastructure and medical personnel in inaccessible areas is a perennial problem in Assam

Chhattisgarh High Court prevents PSU from evicting forest rights title holders

Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation had started mining in Sarguja district’s Pathrai village, where 50 Individual Forest Rights …

‘Attacks against land rights activists rising in India, Asia’

Special legislation and quick response systems needed to provide protection and support to these defenders, experts said at a meeting in Udaipur

FRA: Deadline gone, states yet to submit data on rejected claims to FSI

The Supreme Court had ordered states that had not given requisite data to the FSI by August 31

Wanted: Better governance models for India’s forests

While the Forest Rights Act empowered Gram Sabhas to manage and conserve forests, the Joint Forest Management mechanism could not succeed due to …

Gujarat land activists allege detention for demonstrating over rights

Protesters seek land rights under Forest Rights Act, roll back of decision to give land to corporations for farming

SC seeks reports on rejected forest rights claims from states

The apex court has been hearing a petition filed by retired forest officials and some conservation-related non-profits, who want the FRA to be …

Green clearances are being increasingly treated as a mere formality

In the garb of streamlining green clearances, the Union government has sidelined communities and diluted environmental regulations over the past …

Kathua incident reveals threats to pastoral nomads of Jammu & Kashmir

The gruesome Kathua rape was a reminder of the institutional denial of forest and land rights of Jammu and Kashmir's nomadic communities

Stop patronising the adivasis, Mr PM; they need dignity, not charity

The government needs to recognise that forest laws need to be flexible enough to accommodate and invite collective participations of local …