BIG CAT CONUNDRUM

The tiger occupies a hallowed seat in India. Ecologists believe that millions of small ecological processes live out their routine lives under …

Forest conservation is too complex an issue to be resolved by executive fiat

The condition of India's forest and her forest dwellers is extremely grave. A fresh round of police attacks on tribal people -- four dead in Dewas,…

Forest war

Naxalism started as a movement against land alienation. Today it has become a popular movement against natural resource alienation, …

OFFICIALLY BANKRUPT

June 30, 2004: The India Eco-Development Project -- a project meant to enhance the country's biodiversity and provide people living inside and …

Thank thy saviour

Tribal women in Odisha tied rakhis around trees, calling them the true saviours of their life

Of inclusive conservation and exclusionary orders

Forest-dwelling communities have the capabilities and desire to contribute to wildlife conservation, so why are we dismissing them?

Hellfires in the hills

Pauri Garwhal became ghost territory as villagers and the forest department virtually ignored unprecedented forest fires

Uttarakhand lets in: Migrants bring city, drop sustainability

Scarcity, conservation, equitable and fair use of limited resources does not apply to them.

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

Himachal Pradesh forest fires: Dhamarshala, Kasauli pine for respite

Extremely high summer temperature and inflammable pine needles causing fire to engulf forests in the state

Route by root

Built by the Khasi and Jaintia tribes, Meghalaya's living root bridges are a testimony to their intimate relationship with nature

Forest Rights Act: Who is the encroacher and who is encroached upon

Thirteen years after a historic law was formulated to give forest dwellers legal ownership of their traditional land, their fate still hangs in …

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

PM, CM in title clash

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijay Singh are playing the blame game over the settlement of tribal …

Madhya Pradesh sets JFM precedent

Two recent developments augur well for the forest dwellers of Madhya Pradesh. Firstly, under the Joint Forest Management plan, forest protection …

Forests march

A walkathon through 5 states traverses through a rich crop of traditional conservation methods -- and a thicket of disputes

Rejection of forest rights claims, poor coverage and missing data; all happening in Odisha

CAG audit makes scathing criticism about the failure of local authorities in creating awareness on FRA provisions amongst forest dwellers

Uneasy truce

Stand-off ends between forest officials and villagers in Ranthambhore, but roots of the conflict remain

'Village forests have been pitted against community rights'

The proposed amendment of IFA is an attempt to keep power in the hands of the forest bureaucracy by playing up village forests against community …

Forest governance 2.0

Forest dwelling communities have created a new economy courtesy a decade of the Forest Rights Act. Will the bureaucracy support the empowered …

Caught in the crossfire in Nepal

The Bankariyas, a forest-dweller community of central Nepal, have been uprooted from their traditional habitat and are living like refugees in …

FRA helps Dhenkanal tribals gain land rights

Their ancestors were brought in as workers nearly a century ago by the former princely state

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 …

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 …