‘Someone should speak on behalf of environment’
Shibani Ghosh, the author of Indian Environmental Law: Key Concepts and Principles, speaks to Down To Earth on the role judiciary plays in …
Baiga Tribes Get Habitat Rights for the first time in Independent India
Ramesh Sharma, Convener, Ekta Parishad gives an insight about the indigenous primitive tribes of India. Out of 76 primitive tribes Baigas …
Madhya Pradesh's call to bamboo investors reignites debate over forest access
Agreements for planting bamboo over 36,000 sq km of forestland take away the rights of the community, say forest rights activists
Election boycott over mining
Residents protest iron mining in Maharashtra tehsil; authorities blame murder for boycott
Walk the village talk
After raising the political profile of village councils, government wants to downsize them
Protectors dubbed criminals
Tribals in Madhya Pradesh celebrate festival to reclaim forests; officials say they are encroaching land
It’s a hot potato for PepsiCo and farmers
The corporate giant claims that the farmers are cultivating their proprietary FC5 potatoes without permission
Chhattisgarh govt keeps poll promise, starts review of rejected FRA claims
The step is a reflection of how issues related to FRA have become politically relevant, say activists
Civil society criticises Centre’s Global Wildlife Programme, doubts minister’s claims
The Global Wildlife Programme has been launched in partnership with World Bank and United Nations Development Programme to curb illegal wildlife …
Forest paradox
To give forest dwellers their due rights, forest governance must go beyond the environment and include the communities at stake
Let’s talk
On February 24, Centre for Science and Environment raised the curtains for the Anil Agarwal Dialogues on green clearances. The two-day conclave …
Disowned 100,000
Taungyas have lived in Uttar Pradesh for decades but law does not recognise them. FRA gives hope
Indigenous civil engineers
Traditional earth diggers and masons, who mined the Bhatti area of the Aravallis for decades, dig in their heels as the Delhi administration …
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
State inaction
The traditional forest dweller has had very few entitlements down centuries. Guardian of the forest, he has been regarded as encroacher by the …
New awakenings in the trans-Himalaya
With threats to common properties multiplying and people’s traditional access to living systems being denied, the Forest Rights Act is …
Gadchiroli villages to move SC against Maharashtra forest body
Villagers are challenging the Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra Ltd’s 2016 decision under which, it felled 385 hectares of old-…
Hunger strike for FRA implementation continues in Chhattisgarh; state yet to respond
Government has given land under the Individual Forest Rights titles, which is way less than what people originally occupied
Odisha tribal department writes to collectors on FRA rejected claim review
The letter gives detailed instructions to district collectors about how to take up appeals and reviews of all rejected Individual Forest Right …
Indian Forest Act: What the proposed amendment entails
The government is all set to amend the colonial Indian Forest Act, and make it more biased against forest dwellers
These 2 Odisha villages wrangle over forest land, but maintain harmony
The people of Tilabadi and Mittukuli share their resources, welcome guests and celebrate festivals together despite claiming a chunk of land …
Govt committed to giving land titles to eligible forest dwellers: Javadekar
He also defended the Centre’s role in the case questioning the FRA’s validity
Forest dwellers in Himachal’s Kangra district soon to get rights under FRA
The district’s forest dwellers have filed 81 individual and 43 community rights claims so far
Grasping at grass
Maldharis resort to Forest Rights Act as forest department plans to restrict grazing on Banni grassland
Villagers allege illegal tree felling in Melghat; forest dept denies claims
Village Gram Sabha sent a letter to principal secretary, Maharashtra forest department, on Jan 27, seeking action