Forest Rights

Caste discrimination and Dalit Rights over natural resources is one of the most complicated issues that the country is today faced with. As such this is not a new question; however the current format is a relatively newer one. There are specific reasons and compulsion for raising this question at this juncture of history as the betrayal of the betrayed continues for centuries unknown till today. Raising this issue would unfold the conspiracy of the upper caste rulers of this country to which they may be obliged to answer. This paper investigates the overall idea of caste in relationship with natural resources, human resources and human wisdom!

Forest land tenures in India has remained diverse, plural with multiple legal and customary regimes and reflects a continuum of rights while manifesting state, community and individual ownership. Forest tenure arrangements and practices have undergone major changes starting from the initiation of notification as Reserve or Protected Forest under the Indian Forest Act 1927, community participation in forest conservation under JFM approach, PESA, and recently settlement of Individual/ community rights and community forest resources under the Forest Rights Act. This paper provides an overview of forest tenure, drawing from global discourses and analyze the historical as well as recent transitions around forest governance, in the context of forest tenures in India. While doing so, it also discusses implications on sustainable forest management and make specific recommendations.

This paper explores the three decade long struggle over land and forest resources that continue till now in the hinterland of Jharkhand. The focus of the paper is on the regions of Latehar and Palamau that has witnessed sanguinary battles between the Adivasis and the private armies of the landlords named Sunlight Sena. Fashioned after the notorious Ranvir Sena, this private army was raised to bulldoze all forms of resistance by the Adivasi population and their attempts to reclaim the land that was concentrated in the hands of a few Zamindars. Till the late 1990s the land owned by some of the local landlords ran into thousands of acres (the highest being 6000 acres owned by Jagjit Singh Mahuar) and the private armies were raised to safeguard these huge land holdings. The paper along with exploring the stories from that violent past also looks into the present day coercive attempts of the government to acquire land for mega mining projects. The state that did not intervene in the massive land holding or the violence unleashed by the landlords, is currently waging a war to acquire the lands reclaimed by the Adivasis. The paper seeks to explore these continuous violent battles in the past three decades against the feudal forces and the state.

The Baiga Chak, an upland region in Dindori district of eastern Madhya Pradesh, is a prime location for the implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006. Not only is 86% of the population Adivasi (Scheduled Tribe),2 but an overwhelming majority of them are Baiga, one of 75 particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) among India’s several hundred Scheduled Tribes (STs) (Ministry of Tribal Affairs 2017). More over, Baiga Chak3 is entirely made up of 52 forest villages established, as elsewhere,since the colonial period, to create a permanent supply of labour for forestry operations (Prasad 1994), and wherein the forest department continues to play a key role in administration. This makes three community provisions in the FRA—community forest resource (CFR) rights, habitat rights (HRs) for PVTGs, and the conversion of forest villages into revenue villages—particularly relevant to this area.

The Forest Rights Act represented a historic step forward
for forest management in India, and it is often hailed as
such. However, it did not emerge from struggles for the
control over forests alone, but was a product of an
ongoing intersection between political conflict, features
of Indian capitalism, and the conceptions of
“environment” and “development” in India’s political
discourse. In that sense, it is not only an “environmental”
legislation, but an economic and social one, and one that
belongs to a particular political conjuncture,
representing both its limitations, and more importantly,
its liberatory possibilities. This paper looks at the FRA in
this context and explores how it grew out of this kind of
politics, being marked both by the constraints of this
period, and by the spaces it created for genuinely new
conceptions and processes of development.

Translating the potential of the Forest Rights Act into reality is a challenge even in regions “meant for” Adivasis, such as the Baiga Chak in eastern Madhya Pradesh, given the weak capacity for collective action, tangled relationship with the forest department, changing
youth aspirations, and people’s conception of the environment at
variance with some provisions of the act.

The Schedule Tribe and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (FRA) was passed by the Indian Government to recognize rights of forest dwelling tribal communities. The Act aims to positively impact the livelihood of the forest dependent tribals, but due to the lack of clear understanding and irregular implementation this goals was not fully achieved. The present study was conducted in Tripura, where FRA was implemented to achieve sustainable land utilization and to strengthen the socioeconomic status of the tribals. This study attempts to throw light on the relevance and progress of implementation of FRA in Tripura along with initiatives and benefit schemes of the government agencies to provide sustainable livelihood option through convergence with FRA. The assessment of impact in terms of livelihood improvement and socioeconomic conditions was based on primary survey of 300 FRA beneficiary households in two tribal dominated districts, Gomati and Dhalai. There are indications of positive outcomes regarding, socioeconomic status, change in mindset towards sustainable farming, and impact on income but there are issue with decentralization of governance, implementation of land rights and benefit schemes, and sustainability in farming practices. There is no empirical study conducted on the implementation and impact of FRA in Tripura and therefore such field oriented, policy study would be useful for further implementation and research in regions where forest and tribals are co-existing.

This paper recounts the historical evolution of the FVs in Assam, its impact on the traditional peasant economy of the state and the growing conflict between the FD and the forest dwellers. It critiques the approach of the state toward conservation and the forest dwelling communities in Assam as well as certain provisions of the FRA in addressing the specific nature of the relationship between the two.

The ethno-botanical knowledge of the Kani people related to a plant identified as ‘arogyapacha’ was utilised to develop, transfer, produce and internationally market ‘Jeevani’ as an anti-fatigue, adaptogenic and immuno-enhancing formula by the Tropical Botanical Garden Research Institute, India. Showcased and acclaimed internationally as a model benefit-sharing arrangement, various issues have been posed upon deeper analysis relevant to benefits accrued in the context of indigenous peoples with regards to genetic resources associated to traditional knowledge. This model is also placed in the specific context of the non-implementation of the laws on land rights in Kerala and absence of even such a law in Tamil Nadu, and the violations of rights of Kanis to forests as stipulated in the forest laws and the denial of the rights to self-governance under the Constitution to Scheduled Tribes by these two states. The new national legal regimes in compliance with Convention on Biodiversity and TRIPS, rather than recognising the rights of Adivasis or Indigenous Peoples, further infringes their rights accorded in the limited international laws related to territorial rights, rights to resources and self-governance/self-determination.

The Forest Rights Act, 2006 has the potential to democratise forest governance by recognising community forest resource rights over an estimated 85.6 million acres of India’s forests, thereby empowering over 200 million forest dwellers in over 1,70,000 villages. However, till date, only 3% of this potential area has been realised.

This paper offers a critical assessment of REDD+ in Nigeria through a political ecology perspective. Focusing on questions of property rights and resource access, it maps the discursive articulations and contestations through which carbon rights are being determined. It also shows how these articulations and contestations are linked to land and forest rights, and how they shape everyday access to the forest. Evidence from the Nigerian case suggests that factors that complicate rights and undermine access to resources for forest communities under REDD+ are immanent to the contested terrain constituted in part by REDD+ proposals, proponents' discourses and practices geared towards securing the forest for REDD+. Efforts to secure property rights and guarantee the permanence of REDD+ forests align with economic, ecological and ideological aspirations of state and non-state actors to produce a regime of militarised protectionism. I demonstrate how, in addition to its material and symbolic facilitation of the emergent carbon forestry economy, militarised protectionism as a regime of exclusion also constitutes collateral political economies of 'more-than-carbon' forest resources (such as timber and non-timber forest products) which perpetuate capital accumulation by the elites. It is this kind of exclusion–accumulation dialectic legitimised by carbon forestry claims that this paper describes as carbonised exclusion. The paper thus furthers debates on the political ecology of REDD+ and other carbon forestry projects, while productively engaging technocentric literature on REDD+ and property rights.

Most of the North East enjoys unbridled authority over forests unlike the rest of the country, free from state control under the debilitating impact
of the colonial-era Indian Forest Act, 1927. Therefore, the Forest Rights Act, 2006 is perceived as irrelevant. But, the sweeping expansion of how “forest” is defined in law by the Supreme Court and its proposed  incorporation into the Indian Forest Act threatens the customary forest  rights of these peoples.

This book includes 20 case studies of World Heritage sites from around the world and relevant background articles. The case studies explore and document, from a human rights perspective, indigenous peoples’ experiences with World Heritage sites and with the processes of the World Heritage Convention. They also identify recurring concerns and systemic shortcomings in the implementation of the Convention, as well as opportunities the Convention may provide for indigenous peoples and the defense and promotion of their human rights. The section on Western Ghats of India: A Natural Heritage Enclosure? examines the dubious manner in which the Western Ghats was declared a World Heritage Site without concern to the people, forests and laws.

On March 17, 2022, the Madras high court banned cattle-grazing inside tiger reserves, sanctuaries and national parks throughout Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu has been slow to accord community and individual rights under the FRA, and the court has now taken away gram sabhas’ authority to regulate cattle-grazing. Thus, there is effectively a near-total ban on grazing in all forests across Tamil Nadu – even as the forest department continues to collect fees for grant of grazing permits

The health of tribal communities is exposed to severe risks emanating from inadequate health infrastructure and nutrition. In particular, the tribal communities of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh are vulnerable due to several socioeconomic and institutional factors. The Ministry of tribal affairs reported that only 32% of tribal children eat healthy food. The study assesses the health risk of children in tribal schools of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, identifies their socioeconomic and infrastructural threats, and suggests interventions to mitigate the health risk of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). The analysis is based on a primary survey of 200 students of different tribal schools of Govindpur, Khirkhiree, and Netarhat, supplemented by the secondary data sources. The field survey mainly focused on the health checkup of 157 tribal children and direct interaction with the stakeholders, carried out in June-July 2019. The findings revealed that more than 40.5 and 32.1% of the children in the areas of Govindpur and Khirkhiree were found to be underweight respectively, while 38% of the female children suffered from the dermal infections in Netarhat region. Poor implementation of the MidDay Meal(MDM) scheme was found to be a significant driver posing a high risk to the health and wellness of the tribal children. Other drivers of poor health and wellness are unhygienic environment and conditions (such as open defecation), economic constraints, lack of first aid provisions at school, inaccessibility to portable water, and lack of basic infrastructural facilities (in terms of doctor availability and absence of care during sickness). The paper highlights the need to improve ground level implementation and monitoring mechanisms of several nutritional schemes for tribal children. Training and utilizing local manpower and resources can be incorporated in the targeted policy intervention to strengthen and equip the healthcare Centers. Contribution by voluntary organizations would enhance the resilience of Tribal healthcare.

The progressive subjugation, appropriation, enclosure and policing of the forests in India since the colonial period has left millions of forest peoples in a precarious struggle for survival and waging a continuous battle for their rights. The exclusionary development and conservation thrust left in its wake, devastated forests and forest peoples. What began as the final uprooting of forest peoples from the forests in 2002, ironically triggered a nationwide struggle that forged a unique law in 2006 on tenurial rights and forest governance, with communities in control over both environment and development. However, in the decade since then, despite having made remarkable strides, with the threat of losing their vicious hold over the forest and lives of forest peoples, the state and particularly the forest bureaucracy, elite environmentalists, and the corporates continue to confront the forest peoples and the law relentlessly. This narrative details the making of the law, and the simultaneous strengthening of the law and its subversion in law and practice, a clear reflection of the ongoing power struggle as it unfolds. (See http://www.lead-journal.org/abstracts/17073.htm)

The Schedule Tribe and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers
(Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (FRA) was
implemented in India in 2008, to undo the “historical injustice”
meted out to the tribals of the country. The Act ensures Tenurial
and livelihood security by recognising Individual forest Rights
and Community Forest Rights. The Act was implemented in
Tripura with the focus on Individual Forest Rights for habitation
and self-cultivation, to achieve sustainable socio-economic
development of the tribals. The state government converged
many development schemes and two bi-lateral projects with
FRA implementation to achieve its goals. This study objectively
looks into the various schemes of the State departments and the
two bilateral project aided by Japanese international cooperation
Agency and the Indo-German Development
Cooperation. The study highlights the various benefit schemes
that include assistance for rubber plantation, tea plantation,
horticulture plantation, housing, etc and how they have aided in
land development of the Individual Forest Rights. Apart from
providing assistance for land development schemes for
Agroforestry, value addition centres and enterprise development
for NTFP, assistance for formation of Self Help groups,
development of nurseries and plantations, capacity building
programmes run for the IFR holders are also discussed. All these
initiatives in convergence with FRA have set up the foundation
for future development of the tribals who have been long
excluded from the socio-economic processed of the country.

Discussions on human wildlife conflict in India typically take place within a very narrow frame - viewing the problem as a result of human "encroachment" into wildlife territories, and hence one to be primarily addressed by 'compensating', relocating or 'protecting' local communities.  Most research focuses on protected areas and severely underestimates the scale of the problem.  This study, based on field surveys in Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand, throws up a very different picture, where conflict is a major problem, but one to which structures and practices of forest management in the country are a central contributor.  It also points to how more democratic and rights-respecting approach to forest management are an essential part of any solution.

It is argued that, in the absence of legislation, the outcome of decentralisation initiatives in forestry remains limited in terms of devolution of power and assigning authority to politically weak forest-dependent communities are concerned. In this context, the ongoing implementation process of the Forest Rights Act provides an opportunity to examine the institutional arrangements for devolution of power and authority, and measures the extent to which this Act offers space for democratic and inclusive forest governance by the local people. Based on micro-level field work in parts of West Bengal, India, the paper argues that understanding roles of institutions under 'democratic decentralisation' framework is not enough for meaningful democratic decentralisation, particularly for forest resources. If democratic decentralisation of natural resources is to succeed, a variety of factors embedded in the institutions, like actor, power and accountability, is to be recognised.

Decolonization of forest governance was finally ushered in by law almost a decade and a half ago. But democracy in the forests continues to be denied as the law itself got reduced to almost a state-sponsored welfare scheme, where some small bits of land for individual occupation and community access are granted, almost as a concession instead of outright demarcation of forests and their transfer to the Gram Sabhas for governance which is what the law is all about. The performance narrative too is embedded in this deceptive storyline obfuscating and confounding the law itself. Besides numerous implementation issues that require institutional reforms and actions, this distortion stems from three specific functions of the forest bureaucracy who are in effective control of the forests, namely forest diversion for non-forestry purposes, compensatory afforestation in lieu of this forest diversion and creation of inviolate areas. All these induce, if not require, State sanctioned and acquiesced trampling over the Forest Rights Act 2006. Dismantling these countervailing administrative functions opens up the politico-legal and administrative space for democracy in the forests where conservation and livelihood have the possibility to finally converge, and for the Forest Rights Act to finally begin to be implemented in its true intent.

* इस साल तीन स्तरीय पंचायती राज व्यवस्था के 30 साल पूरे हो गए हैं। साल 1992 में संविधान में संशोधन के साथ इस पंचायती राज व्यवस्था की शुरुआत हुई थी।
* इस 73वें संशोधन की वजह से आदिवासी क्षेत्रों (अनुसूचित क्षेत्रों) में पंचायती राज के विस्तार और वन अधिकारों के लिए कानून बने।
* अपनी टिप्पणी में सी आर बिजॉय लिखते हैं कि लोकतंत्र को बिना मजबूत किये सत्ता के विकेन्द्रीकरण की 30 वर्षों की यह कहानी आशा से निराशा की तरफ जाती है।

Plantations are replacing biodiverse forests under compensatory afforestation, an analysis of land diversion shows. CR Bijoy, IndiaSpend.com

By bypassing the Forest Rights Act in acquiring land for compensatory afforestation and by allowing plantations to replace biodiverse forests as a part of this afforestation, two laws meant to protect forests and the environment are actually threatening India's dwindling forests and already marginalised forest dwellers, an analysis of land diversion data since 2008 and amendments to forest laws show.

Talks about conservation policies and practices in India through examples, with a focus on legal spaces for democratising the model and making space for co-existence. This is a book chapter by Pathak Broome N, Desor S, Kothari A and Bose A for 'Democratising forest governance in India' book edited by Menon A and Lele S, 2014.