‘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 …
How government is subverting Forest Rights Act
Does this official data betray a conspiracy? Only 1.6 per cent of the 2.9 million claims approved under the Forest Rights Act recognise community …
A taste of dry death
As the Gujarat forest department persists in planting a weed that sucks dry all the water in its vicinity, the Little Rann of Kutch gets...
Sukhomajri at the crossroads
The forest department intervenes to spoil a successful conservation programme of a Haryana village. An assement by Richard Mahapatra
The Eklingapura experience
A joint forest management initiative succeeded at Eklingapura mainly because foresters were able to respond to the needs of the community.
Neglect robs Saurashtra park of greenery
A wilderness park nurtured carefully by a former maharaja of Bhavnagar looks decrepit today, with its resources plundered and its wildlife dwindling.
Court ruling on tree felling worries officials
A dispute over a plot demarcation has highlighted the problem of protecting privately owned forests in Himachal.
Eaten hollow
The sal heartwood borer is all set to destroy sal forests in Madhya Pradesh. But this would not have been possible without the assistance of an …
The sad plight of India's forestry graduates
Forest graduates are being sidelined in favour of science graduates in the State Forest Service
Honey, they shrunk our livelihoods!
Honey collectors gamble with their lives to eke out a livelihood in the Sundarbans, but are forced to sell it to the forest department for a pittance
Eight-year-old shot by Kaziranga forest guard in 2016 shifted to AIIMS Delhi
The forest department is not paying for the treatment in New Delhi, claims the boy's family
Fading scent of musk deer
With winters approaching, Uttarakhand forest officials set out to protect the state animal, but without sufficient funds or a proper plan
More miles to go for Chipko women
The Chipko movement halted commercial tree felling in UP's Chamoli district, but the women who led it are still fighting corrupt and indifferent …
Madhya Pradesh forest department violates FRA, seizes tendu leaves from tribals
The leaves were reportedly confiscated as the women were selling them to buyers other than the forest department
Ecotourism on the wing
Uttarakhand strikes a balance between conservation and employment by institutionalising birdwatching camps, says Ghazala Shahabuddin,who attended …
Malaria hits anti-poaching efforts
Malaria has affected management of Pakke Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh. Vibha Varshney talks to Nandini Velho of National Centre for …
Intanki National Park- haven for encroachers’
Chunks of Intanki National Park in Nagaland are sold for Rs 2,500 a hectare as the forest department looks on. Sayantan Bera visits encroachers&…
Uneasy truce
Stand-off ends between forest officials and villagers in Ranthambhore, but roots of the conflict remain
Forest dwellers intensify protest
21 years on, profit sharing under joint forest management remains unclear in Maharashtra
Panna’s poaching nexus exposed
Staff of the tiger reserve worked hand in glove with poachers, while the state government kept its eyes tightly shut
Melghat Malaise
This first of three Down To Earth analyses of tiger reserves finds Melghat in Maharashtra in a legal mess
Bone of contention
Neither Project Tiger nor the eco-development project can end the conflicts between the forest officials and the villagers in Ranthambhore
THE FOUNTAINHEAD DONGRIPARA, DHAMTARI DISTRICT, CHATTISGARH
Spark came from non-recognition as a village • Integrated management of forest and water • Sees self-governance as a matter of …
THE SECOND INDEPENDENCE
Tiny forgotten villages teach India a firsthand lesson in governance. Down To Earth reporters and photographers fan out to six states to discover …