Roundtable on Minor Forest Produce: Introduction

Sunita Narain, Director of the Centre for Science and Environment, discusses the confusion surrounding the Forest Rights Act and forest management.

Centre uses SC order to turn forest land into revenue land

11-year-old order for relocating three Maharashtra villages used for conversion in 18 states

Why this Maharashtra village is fighting for the long forgotten Gramdan Act?

In a society that is moving towards hyper-individualism, the community here takes a collective approach

IFR review: Lapse in procedure behind rejection of claims in Burhanpur

Claims filed in 2020 through the Van Mitra Portal were rejected without sharing the reason for the same with the claimants

‘Legislated genocide’: Brazil’s new bill restricting recognition of tribal land sparks massive protests

Law will be devastating for indigenous rights, increase illegal deforestation, biodiversity loss, violence against forest dwellers, say experts &…

MoEF&CC takes back advisory to avoid honeycombing of forest land under FRA

An official from the environment ministry says the advisory was withdrawn as there is no provision under the Forest Rights Act to club land together

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?

How accurate are government’s claims on forest rights in Odisha

A review by the Centre recently found Odisha to be the best performing state in forest rights implementation   

Odisha tribals to sell kendu leaves and exercise their forest rights

The state’s forest department has not allowed sale of the leaves to anyone other than the goverment 

Bhima-Koregaon violence: Police raids homes of human rights activists, arrests at least five

In a multi-state raid, Pune Police seized laptops, pen drives and documents of human rights activists

Surveillance laws are failing to protect privacy rights: What we found in six African countries

Governments are purposefully using laws that lack clarity. Or they ignore laws completely in order to carry out illegal digital surveillance of …

No entry

Looks like the executive committee of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), to be held at Geneva in December this year, is choosy …

Uttarakhand Van Gujjars allege forest officials assaulted women; probe underway

Rajaji National Park area villagers allege they tried to lodge two FIRs, but police did not register them  

Will the State recognise women workers’ right to bleed with dignity

The Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs has sought feedback from stakeholders on the draft National Action Plan on Business & Human Rights by …

Taking ownership: How forest-dwellers in Chhattisgarh, Odisha claimed rights over traditional boundary

The recent focus on CFRR under FRA marks a beginning of the second generation use of FRA.

Conservation as tool for assertion: How Banni pastoralists took matters in own hands

The Maldhari community of the area used various sections of forest rights act to regain livelihood options 

Remembering 2022: What it meant for India’s children  

As the year comes to a close and we gear up to welcome 2023, here’s revisiting some of the major events this year that significantly …

Recalling 2020: How COVID-19 impacted kids

2020 was a topsy-turvy year and the new normal kept us away from a lot. As the year comes to a close, here’s a look back at the fears …

World Desertification Day 2023: Granting equal land rights to women can reduce world hunger significantly, says UN

Removing legal barriers to women owning land will help with soil health protection, notes United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

Baigas get home

The vulnerable tribe in Madhya Pradesh is the first to get habitat rights in India. It is a landmark in the forests rights movement

Uprooted for the sake of compensatory afforestation

To compensate for forest land diversion for Parsa coal block, Chhattisgarh government identifies 16 villages without approval from gram sabhas

Chhattisgarh, MP elections: Forest rights emerge as major issue

Activists send people’s manifesto to political parties asking them to empower the tribals by recognising their rights over land and forest …

Would cats bell themselves? The wait for the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights

The recently concluded UN South Asia Forum on Business and Human Rights (March 17-19) evoked a lot of enthusiasm from diverse stakeholders. Would …

Polavaram dam project has opened floodgates of corruption: activists

Activists are calling for setting up of a multi-member judicial commission to do a comprehensive enquiry into the process of land acquisition, …

Life in limbo: the Rohingya refugees trapped between Myanmar and Bangladesh

Abuses on Rohingyas have reached new height but neither Myanmar nor neighbouring Bangladesh are taking responsibilities to grant basic human …