The woods are lovely
The conservation of forests and Natural Ecosystems Bill, sponsored by the ministry of environment and forests, seeks to weed out an obsolete …
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 …
Back to basics
Integrating indigenous knowledge in joint forest management projects is an essential prerequisite for the success of such programmes, but years …
NGT directs Madhya Pradesh to frame guidelines for public consultations for forestland transfer to FDC
Also asks MoEF to issue directives to states on engaging communities in forest development activities of forest development corporations
Forest dwellers intensify protest
21 years on, profit sharing under joint forest management remains unclear in Maharashtra
Industries eye forest land for plantations
Wood-based firms want to convert forest areas to their own use for raw material. In doing so, they ignore the fate of millions of rural poor, who …
Precious time is being wasted in formulating a forest convention
Ola Ullsten , former prime minister of Sweden and co-chairperson of the World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development, spoke to Amit …
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 …
10 villages to get forest benefits
Maharashtra to finally give JFM villages their due, but the share is bigger, say activists
10 Maharashtra villages to finally get Rs 74.5 lakh as benefits under joint forest management scheme
Detailed accounts of revenue earned from each village forest should be made public, says activist
Seeking Solutions
POLICY THAT WORKS FOR FORESTS AND PEOPLE·James Mayers and Stephen Bass·International Institute for Environment and development (IIED)…
Trouble in Dewas
Deforestation, corruption or politics? The killing of four tribals in Madhya Pradesh's Dewas district leaves many questions unanswered
Time to act
The Madhya Pradesh government has recently sent a letter to the Prime Minister seeking changes in the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. The …
Seeking Reliance
The Andhra Pradesh government is giving forests that sustain tribal communities to the Reliance group of industries for plantations. That, too, …
Forestland benefits
Under the Lok Vaniki scheme, a farmer can extract benefits from his land by selling its produce, including timber
At loggerheads
While the state government is keen to introduce JFM, villagers say there is no need for that since they have been carrying out all protection …
Message in a baton
The decades after Independence saw rampant destruction of trees. This was followed by years of drought. It was then that the villagers realised …
Case for CFM
COMMUNITY FOREST MANAGEMENT — A CASEBOOK FROM INDIA·Joe Human and Manoj Pattanaik·Oxfam Publishing, Oxford·176pp·…
Spreading root
OLD ROOTS, NEW SHOOTS: A STUDY OF JOINT FOREST MANAGEMENT IN ANDHRA PRADESH·C S Rangachari and S D Mukherji·Winrock International …
Gaps galore
BRANCHING OUT: JOINT FOREST MANAGEMENT IN INDIA Nalini Sundar et al • Oxford University Press • New Delhi • 2001 • 289pp
Nepal's poor carry it off
As the Himalayan country's forestry scheme for the poor reaps rich dividends, its government entrusts more degraded areas to the underprivileged. …
Inter-ministerial panel for FRA: A giant step backwards, say experts
Forest experts raise concern over the Union environment ministry assuming central role in matters originally meant for the tribal ministry