'Community rights must figure in the Forest Bill'
The raging controversy over the regressive draft Forest Bill has dumped the onus of defending it on minister of state for environment and forests …
Should conservation be privatised?
Since the late 1960s, many African countries, including Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa, have adopted a new approach to conservation.…
Who's to blame?
Management of protected forests is a hotly debated issue. In the absence of a sound policy based on a scientific approach, there are as many …
Chronicle of a journey foretold
Water trains aren't a strange sight anymore. Not the least in the parched areas of Gujarat. But while many villages await their erratic supply, …
‘Forests can’t survive without communities’
Nepal’s Forest Act of 1993, which allows communities to manage their forests, is admired and emulated by governments and movements across …
On The Warpath
They prefer to be called the 'forest castes'. They are the 2,000,000-odd villagers living in some 10,000 villages across Orissa. After …
Power the people
For the country where only 15 per cent of its population have access to electricity, Nepal has come a long way. It took 84 years to achieve power …
High Altitude Dilemma
It is an intriguing view from the high mountains of Bhutan. To the east lies Nepal, grappling large-scale environmental degradation. To the north …
MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTION
Knowledge without power, and power bereft of knowledge. This, in sum, is the story of mismanagement of wildlife and protected forests in India. …
Bamboo rising
Five years after it was implemented, the Forest Rights Act finally takes root. Communities across the country rush to claim rights over forests …
'Most countries don’t want to recognise indigenous people as people'
Mohammed Taghi Farvar, former director of Avicenna University in Iran, is a well-known ecologist and social scientist. At present, he is the …
Ten years of FRA: only 3 per cent of forest dwellers’ rights recognised
Collective rights to undo historic injustice meted out to indigenous people remain completely ignored by the states, says Citizens’ report
A tale of 2 communities in Gujarat: One wants to be a farmer while the other wants to migrate — a win-win game for all
Thakor community is hopeful that in the near future, with more such leasing opportunities from the Patels, they will be able to accumulate enough …
Can India reduce food wastage with community refrigerators?
Community refrigerators have helped reduce food wastage in the UAE, Germany and France. India too can popularise and scale up the initiative
Mauritius must protect vulnerable coastal communities from the effects of the oil spill
The Mauritius oceans are particularly important for Creole community that live in villages along the coastline and are descendants of African and …
The Forest Rights Act and self-help transformed this remote Odisha tribal village; here is how
Residents of Loyendia have regenerated forests and made a new dirt road within a decade of getting community forest resource rights
Centre’s new guidelines on compensatory afforestation ignore communities’ concerns
Guidelines have tried to address the challenge of land scarcity for compensatory afforestation but have fallen short of clarifying minimum …
Bengal forest department calls Gram Sabha ‘illegal’; files FIR against 11
Villagers from the Gram Sabha gathered near Bamini falls on the eve of Birsa Munda’s birthday
New law finally gives voice to the Yarra River's traditional owners
New legislation has recognised the Yarra River as a single, living entity. But what does that mean in practice?
Money for nothing?
A revolutionary system of trade, the LETSystem, helps communities meet their requirements without depending on hard cash
Moving mountains: Here is how India’s upland regions can be sustainably developed
The approach to direct mountains towards sustainable development should evolve by drawing attention towards a disciplinary perspective, …
Washed, clean and green
The Vankars of Gujarat have reclaimed saline wastelands in Gujarat after 9 years of bloody struggle
Murli's musings
The HRD minister wants to teach rainwater harvesting. But is he willing to learn it from communities?
Less than 1% mitigation & adaptation funding went to world’s indigenous groups despite more commitment: Report
A Global Biological Framework Fund (GBFF) will be launched in the upcoming 7th Global Environment Facility Assembly from August 22-26, 2023
Estimating the potential of community forest rights: What makes implementation challenging
Given the complexity of land and forest settlement in India and the poor quality of land records and maps available, generating an estimate is …