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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
		<atom:link href="https://india.mongabay.com/feed/?topic=forest-rights-act&#038;type=post" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
		<link>https://india.mongabay.com/list/forest-rights-act/</link>
		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:13:48 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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					<title>Centre says tribal leaders are not ‘necessary’ parties to Great Nicobar forest rights dispute</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/10/centre-says-tribal-leaders-are-not-necessary-parties-to-great-nicobar-forest-rights-dispute/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/10/centre-says-tribal-leaders-are-not-necessary-parties-to-great-nicobar-forest-rights-dispute/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Oct 2026 17:03:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/10/27160248/pexels-nabilnaidu-10671403-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=41895</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Forest Rights Act, Forests, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Islands, Land Rights, and Tribes]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Union Tribal Affairs Ministry has said that Nicobarese leaders seeking to join a petition challenging the settlement of forest rights on Great Nicobar Island are “neither necessary nor proper parties,” in the case, court documents show. The Nicobarese are one of two major tribes affected by the development of the Island, and primary claimants [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Union Tribal Affairs Ministry has said that Nicobarese leaders seeking to join a petition challenging the settlement of forest rights on Great Nicobar Island are “neither necessary nor proper parties,” in the case, court documents show. The Nicobarese are one of two major tribes affected by the development of the Island, and primary claimants to forest rights in the area. An ongoing petition in the Calcutta High Court, filed by former IAS officer Meena Gupta, has challenged the Union government’s claim that rights under the Forest Rights Act (2005) (FRA) were settled on the Island. The FRA recognises the historical rights of tribal and other forest dwelling communities over forest resources, and makes compliance with its statutes necessary in clearing forest land for diversion. On July 9, 2026, four Nicobarese residents sought to join Gupta’s plea, arguing that government certifications claiming the settlement of forest rights was based on gram sabha consent from non-tribal settler communities. Apart from the Nicobarese and Shompen — a particularly vulnerable and largely uncontacted tribe — the Island is inhabited by families of ex-servicemen from the mainland who were settled on the remote Island from 1969 onwards as part of a state-sponsored scheme. “This certificate falsely states that the concerned Gram Sabhas have consented to the diversion of forest lands and cites meetings of the Gram Sabhas of the settler community in which no Nicobarese were present,” the impleadment document submitted to the court, seen by Mongabay-India, says. “No Gram Sabha meeting of the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/10/centre-says-tribal-leaders-are-not-necessary-parties-to-great-nicobar-forest-rights-dispute/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>How nomadic herders sustain forests [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/how-nomadic-herders-sustain-forests-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/how-nomadic-herders-sustain-forests-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Jun 2026 12:38:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Najakat AliNeema P. BroomeNeha Negi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[buffalo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cattle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grazing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildfires]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/01112508/An-egret-walks-among-resting-Gojri-buffalo-reflecting-the-close-relationship-between-the-herds-and-other-species-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38446</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Uttarakhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Community based conservation, Ecology, Forest Rights Act, Grasslands, Indigenous Peoples, and Tribes]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When you walk with the Van Gujjars in the forest, you realise quickly that conservation with them doesn’t look like warning boards or official patrols. It is in everyday things, in the way the nomadic pastoralist families move with their buffaloes, graze carefully, use medicinal plants, and lop trees in a way that they grow [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When you walk with the Van Gujjars in the forest, you realise quickly that conservation with them doesn’t look like warning boards or official patrols. It is in everyday things, in the way the nomadic pastoralist families move with their buffaloes, graze carefully, use medicinal plants, and lop trees in a way that they grow back again. For them, looking after the herd is just another way of looking after the forest. For generations, the Gojri buffalo has been at the centre of Van Gujjar life. Families migrate with them season after season, down to the plains in winter where fodder and water are easier to find, up to the alpine meadows in summer where grass grows thick and fresh. This movement is guided by elders&#8217; knowledge of rivers, pastures, and seasons. It is a way of living that has helped keep forests, grasslands, and people in balance. Ask a Maee (a traditional herder identified by each family for their buffaloes, and shares a mutually intimate relationship with their buffaloes), and they’ll explain it simply, “Our buffaloes eat from the top, not the root.” These small details make all the difference. Grass grows back quickly and is soft, and the forest regenerates. Within days, the same patch turns green again. In Kunau Chaur, a grassland and scrub forest in Uttarakhand, elders point to the trees that sprouted after buffaloes carried seeds across the ranges. In another landscape, Anjani Chaur, the elders said that the buffaloes do more than walk; they&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/how-nomadic-herders-sustain-forests-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Government opens up forest plantation to private sector, critics question its conservation value</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/government-opens-up-forest-plantation-to-private-sector-critics-question-its-conservation-value/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/government-opens-up-forest-plantation-to-private-sector-critics-question-its-conservation-value/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jan 2026 17:33:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[restoration]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/28165013/18963522564_1e12625071_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36652</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Forest Rights Act, Forests, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights, Plantations, Plants, Reforestation, and Sustainability]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In early January, the Union Environment Ministry issued a letter to all states and union territories informing them that private entities could lease forest land and carry out plantations for commercial benefit without paying any penalties, marking a shift in how India’s forests have been traditionally managed. Forestry activities, including plantations, have typically been carried [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In early January, the Union Environment Ministry issued a letter to all states and union territories informing them that private entities could lease forest land and carry out plantations for commercial benefit without paying any penalties, marking a shift in how India’s forests have been traditionally managed. Forestry activities, including plantations, have typically been carried out by the forest department, since forests are considered to be publicly owned. But the letter makes the application of India’s primary forest conservation law more flexible, by allowing non-government entities to lease forest land — with permission — for the purposes of restoration or silviculture, and reclassifying it as “forestry activity.” “This step would lead to partnerships between government and non-government entities to undertake afforestation on degraded forest lands and therefore will help increase India’s green cover,” an FAQ document regarding the provision, provided to Mongabay-India by a Ministry spokesperson in response to a series of questions, says. However, forest restoration experts have raised concerns about the conservation objectives of this change, as well as its implications for forest-dwelling communities who depend on forest resources. The amendment was brought in to “sustainably harness” forest resources with the possibility of profit-sharing, but also to “harmonise” existing laws with the newly launched Green Credit programme – a controversial scheme that allows private entities to generate credits from tree planting to meet legal compliances. “Planting trees is not the same as ecological restoration. Commercial tree plantation in natural ecosystems can actually be ecologically harmful. The documents in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/government-opens-up-forest-plantation-to-private-sector-critics-question-its-conservation-value/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>What encroachment into forest lands means [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/05/what-encroachment-into-forest-lands-means-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/05/what-encroachment-into-forest-lands-means-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 May 2025 12:07:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[C. R. Bijoy]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Community Forest Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forest commons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forest management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tribal communities]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/05/23224701/2560px-Mannan_Women_Fishing-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=32755</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environmental Politics, Forest Rights Act, Forests, and Protected Areas]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Forest ‘encroachment’ under the legal cover of the Forest Act of 1865, commenced with the inception of the Imperial Forest Department in 1864, now India’s Forest Department. This colonisation continued post-independence through the colonial era Indian Forest Act of 1927 (IFA). The government proclaimed any piece of land to be ‘forest’ by notifying it to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Forest ‘encroachment’ under the legal cover of the Forest Act of 1865, commenced with the inception of the Imperial Forest Department in 1864, now India’s Forest Department. This colonisation continued post-independence through the colonial era Indian Forest Act of 1927 (IFA). The government proclaimed any piece of land to be ‘forest’ by notifying it to this effect. These incursions not only ravaged the forests and all its denizens, but also unleashed a bloody saga of resistance in defence of democracy in the forests that continues till date. The centuries-old traditional use of forests by forest dwelling communities got disrupted. This is in spite of the provisions to recognise and settle forest rights in the IFA and its look-alike state laws. Encroachment vs. unsettled claims On March 28, 2025, the environment ministry, complying with the National Green Tribunal order of April 19, 2024, in OA No.129/2024, submitted on affidavit that about 1.3 million hectares (13,05,688.387 ha) of forest land are &#8216;encroached&#8217; as on March 2024. This data is from 20 states and five Union Territories (UTs); response from the remaining eight states and three UTs were awaited. The case, registered suo motu, pertains to a news item titled Forest land five times Delhi’s geographical area under encroachment govt data shows appearing in Deccan Herald of January 5, 2024. It quoted 0.75 million hectares (7,50,633 ha) as the forest area under ‘encroachment’. The India State of Forest Report 2023 records 25.17% of the country or 80 million hectares (827,35,700 ha) as land&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/05/what-encroachment-into-forest-lands-means-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>[Explainer] What are habitat rights?</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/01/explainer-what-are-habitat-rights-under-the-forest-rights-act-and-why-are-they-being-discussed-now/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/01/explainer-what-are-habitat-rights-under-the-forest-rights-act-and-why-are-they-being-discussed-now/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Jan 2025 18:22:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shuchita Jha]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Community Forest Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Forest Right Act]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Forest Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Habitat Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ministry of Tribal Affairs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PVTG]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife protection act]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/01/13104315/Claim-filing-process-for-the-Habitat-Rights-of-Hill-Kharia-in-Mayurbhanj-district-Photo-credit-Shyam-Sundar-Sahoo-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=31039</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environment Explained]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chhattisgarh, India, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Forest Rights Act and Tribes]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Odisha recently became one of three states in the country to grant Habitat Rights (HR) under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA) to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). The state recognised Habitat Rights for seven of its 13 PVTGs and other traditional communities. India&#8217;s Forest Rights Act, enacted to undo historical injustices to tribal and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Odisha recently became one of three states in the country to grant Habitat Rights (HR) under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA) to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). The state recognised Habitat Rights for seven of its 13 PVTGs and other traditional communities. India&#8217;s Forest Rights Act, enacted to undo historical injustices to tribal and other forest-dwelling communities in India, recognises a range of rights for these communities. The different rights ensure that indigenous and forest-dwelling communities can access their ancestral land and resources, carry on their traditional livelihood practices and utilise, protect and conserve the forests. What are Habitat Rights? Habitat Rights are classified under the FRA&#8217;s Community Forest Rights. They recognise traditional and customary rights over &#8220;demographic and geographic spread out, socio-cultural, economic, and livelihood systems, as well as traditional knowledge to ecological systems and biodiversity,&#8221; defines a report by the UN Development Programme and the Tribal and Scheduled Caste Development Department of the Chhattisgarh government. In the context of forest dwelling people or indigenous communities, the term, &#8216;habitat&#8217; is defined under Section 2 (h) of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, as “the area comprising the customary habitat and such other habitats in reserved forests and protected forests of primitive tribal groups and pre-agricultural communities and other forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes.” A habitat for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups may refer to an area where they have both spiritual and material connections, notes a study undertaken by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) in 2014 in collaboration with Vasundhara,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/01/explainer-what-are-habitat-rights-under-the-forest-rights-act-and-why-are-they-being-discussed-now/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Supreme Court restores 1996 definition of forests in recent interim order</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/02/supreme-court-restores-1996-definition-of-forests-in-recent-interim-order/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/02/supreme-court-restores-1996-definition-of-forests-in-recent-interim-order/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Feb 2024 15:37:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Simrinsirur]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forests]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/02/27131304/pexels-go-green-kerala-holidays-18827175-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=26680</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Hewing The Regulatory Tree and The Indian Forest Story]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environmental Law, Forest Rights Act, Forests, and Reserved Forest]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Supreme Court, on February 19, directed the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to revert to an older definition of forests whose protections were more “broad and all-encompassing”, as opposed to the more narrow definition in the amended Forest (Conservation) Act. The directions were made in an interim order as part [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Supreme Court, on February 19, directed the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to revert to an older definition of forests whose protections were more “broad and all-encompassing”, as opposed to the more narrow definition in the amended Forest (Conservation) Act. The directions were made in an interim order as part of an ongoing case challenging the government’s amendments. A final verdict in the case will be made in July. The Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980 was passed to limit infrastructure development activities on forest land, but it was amended in 2023 to reduce the scope of its applicability. The amendments to the Act, now called the Van (Sanrakashan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, limit legal protections to only those forests which are notified in the Indian Forest Act of 1927 and which find mention in government records. This opens up vast tracts of unrecorded forest land to other uses without any protections or compensatory mechanisms. According to the 2021 Forest Survey of India, 28% of India’s forests are unrecorded. A Supreme Court bench, led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, has now directed the government to comply with the definition in the landmark 1996 Godavarman judgment, in which it said that apart from those notified and found in government records, all forests resembling “dictionary meaning” would be entitled to protections under the Forest (Conservation) Act, irrespective of ownership and status. It was decided in the 1996 order that state governments would set up expert committees and conduct&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/02/supreme-court-restores-1996-definition-of-forests-in-recent-interim-order/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Controversial forest amendment bill passed in Lok Sabha, but key questions remain unanswered</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/07/controversial-forest-amendment-bill-passed-in-lok-sabha-but-key-questions-remain-unanswered/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/07/controversial-forest-amendment-bill-passed-in-lok-sabha-but-key-questions-remain-unanswered/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jul 2023 13:02:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ministry of Environment Forests and Climate Change]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2023/07/27092906/Nilgiri_Biosphere_Reserve-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=23820</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[The Indian Forest Story]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Forest Rights Act, Forests, and Reforestation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A Bill proposing radical changes to India&#8217;s forest law came closer to becoming legislation on July 26, when it was passed in the lower house of Parliament with barely any discussion. Last week, a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) accepted the government’s proposals unopposed, despite dissenting views from India&#8217;s forest-rich states and committee members, who said [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A Bill proposing radical changes to India&#8217;s forest law came closer to becoming legislation on July 26, when it was passed in the lower house of Parliament with barely any discussion. Last week, a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) accepted the government’s proposals unopposed, despite dissenting views from India&#8217;s forest-rich states and committee members, who said the Bill undermines the objective of conserving and protecting existing forests. The Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha amid ongoing protests by the Opposition against the violence in Manipur, with only a handful of MPs participating in the discussion. It was passed with a majority of the house voting in favour of the Bill, which experts say is likely to dilute environmental norms protecting India’s forests. “On the one hand, the rules let the forest clearance procedure sideline the need for ensuring forest rights prior to a project get approved. On the other hand, the Bill proposes to make certain projects exempt from the procedure entirely,” explained Meenakshi Kapoor, an independent environmental researcher specialising in environmental clearance processes. “This opens up vast tracts of forest for diversion without any permissions and has the potential to be in conflict with other forest laws.” The JPC submitted its report of the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill 2023 to Parliament last week, in which it deliberated each of the government’s proposed changes clause by clause. It received over 1,300 submissions with objections and recommendations to the Bill. While the report features several of these objections and the Environment&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2023/07/controversial-forest-amendment-bill-passed-in-lok-sabha-but-key-questions-remain-unanswered/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Odisha villages claim their rights to use forest products and earn revenue from cashew</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/05/odisha-villages-claim-their-rights-to-use-forest-products-and-earn-revenue-from-cashew/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/05/odisha-villages-claim-their-rights-to-use-forest-products-and-earn-revenue-from-cashew/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 May 2023 11:42:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aishwarya Mohanty]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cashew]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Forest Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forests]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2023/05/28130620/Cashew-9-scaled-e1685259419866-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=22962</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[The Indian Forest Story]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Odisha]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Forest Rights Act, Forests, and Non-Timber Forest Produce]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The onset of summer months means a bumper harvest of cashews in the Nayagarh district of Odisha. A cash crop, cashew is highly profitable for farmers, but this was not the case in Kodalpalli and Sinduria villages in the district until 2021. The cashew cultivated in the forest area close to these villages were collected [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The onset of summer months means a bumper harvest of cashews in the Nayagarh district of Odisha. A cash crop, cashew is highly profitable for farmers, but this was not the case in Kodalpalli and Sinduria villages in the district until 2021. The cashew cultivated in the forest area close to these villages were collected and sold by the forest department and the cashew corporation of the state until the villages acquired titles under The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. Cashew kernel with its fruit either falls off the trees and is collected or is plucked directly from the tree. Photo by Aishwarya Mohanty. A long battle for title and livelihood  The forest close to the village was once used for millet cultivation. But in the absence of legal rights over the forest, the soil conservation department under the forest department soon took over the patch to cultivate cashews, the residents of Kodalpalli and Sinduria say. This kind of cultivation was undertaken across the Odisha on government wastelands/revenue wastelands and some on degraded forest lands. By the 1990s, the plantations were taken up by the Odisha State Cashew Development Corporation Ltd., who leased out the land to private parties. Consequently, the people of Kodalapalli and Sinduria not only lost their right to cultivate their own food, but were also excluded from the cashew plantations and sale. To keep the local residents away, the cashew collectors were also hired from other areas and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2023/05/odisha-villages-claim-their-rights-to-use-forest-products-and-earn-revenue-from-cashew/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>[Commentary] The underbelly of the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill 2023</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/04/commentary-the-underbelly-of-the-forest-conservation-amendment-bill-2023/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/04/commentary-the-underbelly-of-the-forest-conservation-amendment-bill-2023/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Apr 2023 15:24:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[C. R. Bijoy]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forests]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2023/04/07100339/Banner-for-Commentary-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=22373</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[The Indian Forest Story]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Deforestation, Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Forest Rights Act, Forests, and Law Enforcement]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill 2023 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 29th March, to amend the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 (FCA). It was sent to the Joint Committee of the Parliament instead of the parliamentary Standing Committee on Science, Technology, Environment and Forests, one of the eight committees of the Rajya Sabha. The [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill 2023 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 29th March, to amend the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 (FCA). It was sent to the Joint Committee of the Parliament instead of the parliamentary Standing Committee on Science, Technology, Environment and Forests, one of the eight committees of the Rajya Sabha. The Joint Committee is expected to submit its report with recommendations in the upcoming monsoon session of the Parliament. The critiques of the Forest Amendment Bill revolve mostly around the ‘all-too-glaring’ attempts to minimise the extent of forest lands (that fall within the scope of FCA) for the diversion for non-forestry activities. Forest and forest governance have come a long way undergoing fundamental changes since colonial times. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) seems to be impervious of this transformation. Forests are no longer looked upon for maximising revenue extraction through its widespread destruction. The exclusionary fortress conservation approach is antithetical to conservation science. Human co-existence with wildlife is the unassailable law of nature. Decolonisation and democratisation of the forest governance is now vital to deal with the climate crisis and biodiversity loss and to ensure that ecology and livelihoods are at the core of conservation. Forest conservation in law and governance Way back in the 1970s, the state governments diverted and de-reserved forest lands and promoted forest encroachment for various purposes, particularly agriculture, which led to the rapid destruction of forests. Vast forest areas had vanished. The state governments buckled under domestic&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2023/04/commentary-the-underbelly-of-the-forest-conservation-amendment-bill-2023/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Tharu tribal women of Dudhwa battle for their right to the forest</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/01/tharu-tribal-women-of-dudhwa-battle-for-their-right-to-the-forest/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/01/tharu-tribal-women-of-dudhwa-battle-for-their-right-to-the-forest/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Jan 2023 11:37:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Tarun Kanti Bose]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2023/01/09094639/DUDHWA_NATIONAL_PARK-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=21258</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[The Indian Forest Story]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Uttar Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Forest Rights Act, Forests, and Indigenous Rights]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Women from the Tharu tribal community, living in 46 villages of Dudhwa National Park in Uttar Pradesh, are the forefront of the fight to their community’s right to the forest. Organised under the Tharu Adivasi Mahila Mazdoor Kisan Manch (Tharu Tribal Women Workers Peasant Platform), the collective, which was formed in January 2009, demands rights as [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Women from the Tharu tribal community, living in 46 villages of Dudhwa National Park in Uttar Pradesh, are the forefront of the fight to their community’s right to the forest. Organised under the Tharu Adivasi Mahila Mazdoor Kisan Manch (Tharu Tribal Women Workers Peasant Platform), the collective, which was formed in January 2009, demands rights as per the legal conditions under India’s Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA). The FRA recognises the rights of forest dwelling tribal communities and other traditional forest dwellers to forest resources for livelihood, habitation and other socio-cultural needs. The tussle with the forest department has been ongoing for decades. Among the recent instances of conflict was during the COVID-19 pandemic, when, on July 1, 2020, Kajaria village in the core area of Dudhwa witnessed an attack by forest officials. Tharu women and men had been tilling the land that forest officials claimed was forest land. “Eighteen people dispatched by the Forest Department beat us with wooden batons. They hit my son on the head, and he began to bleed heavily. When I tried to protect him, they beat me violently and tore my clothes,” said Virmati Rana, a resident of Kajaria. They attempted to file a complaint about the assault at the Gauriphanta police station, but she alleged that the inspector and other police personnel harassed and drove them away. Kajaria village in Dudhwa has witnessed tension between the villagers and the forest officials. Photo by Tarun Kanti Bose. “When COVID-19 first emerged, the forest department warned&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2023/01/tharu-tribal-women-of-dudhwa-battle-for-their-right-to-the-forest/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Land banks in Jharkhand may become a recipe for conflicts</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/07/land-banks-in-jharkhand-may-become-a-recipe-for-conflicts/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/07/land-banks-in-jharkhand-may-become-a-recipe-for-conflicts/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Jul 2022 16:40:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sushmita]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conflicts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[land]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rights]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/07/22124945/View_from_Hundru_Waterfall_Jharkhand-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=19262</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environomy and Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Jharkhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Forest Rights Act, Forests, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, and Land Rights]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“Adani company go back,” residents of Jharkhand’s Gondalpura declared in a public hearing organised on July 15, 2022, by the Hazaribagh District Collector’s office to discuss issues surrounding impending land acquisition for an upcoming mine. The Gondalpura block in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh was sold to Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL), following the 2020 commercial coal auctions by [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“Adani company go back,” residents of Jharkhand’s Gondalpura declared in a public hearing organised on July 15, 2022, by the Hazaribagh District Collector’s office to discuss issues surrounding impending land acquisition for an upcoming mine. The Gondalpura block in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh was sold to Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL), following the 2020 commercial coal auctions by the government of India. As part of the auctions, several mines across states were auctioned to various big and small industries, including many that had not mined coal before. In the mining plan for Gondalpura block, the non-forest land was 176 hectares while forest land was 224 hectares. However, while applying for forest clearance in March 2021, AEL sought more land &#8211; 293.53 ha of non-forest land and 219.65 ha of forest land. The private company also asked the state for land from the land banks for compensatory afforestation &#8211; a statutory process meant to compensate for the loss of forests to mining, industries, infrastructure, and all non-forest use by raising plantations on an equivalent area of non-forest land or double the area of degraded forests. Residents of five villages, Gondalpura, Gali, Balodar, Hahe and Phulang, are likely to be displaced in this land acquisition process. Land is a complex and contentious issue in tribal-dominated Jharkhand, a central Indian state. It has 23,605 square kilometres (about 2 million hectares) of Recorded Forest Area (RFA) which is about 29.6 percent of the total geographical land of the state. A land bank includes large tracts of land&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/07/land-banks-in-jharkhand-may-become-a-recipe-for-conflicts/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>[Commentary] Pastoralists of Gujarat need a passage to participate in governance</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/06/commentary-docketed-as-otfds-pastoralists-of-gujarat-need-passage/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/06/commentary-docketed-as-otfds-pastoralists-of-gujarat-need-passage/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Jun 2022 16:37:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rituja Mitra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[land rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pastoralism]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/06/22075126/Pastoralists-in-the-CFR-area-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=18778</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environomy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Gujarat and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environmental Law, Forest Rights Act, Forests, Land Rights, and Law Enforcement]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Gujarat’s diverse geographical landscapes are home to several indigenous communities pursuing traditional occupations. The hilly terrain in the state’s eastern, northern and southern belts comprise significant tribal populations. The western peninsular belt comprises Saurashtra and Kachchh regions where the landscape is a peculiar example of a mixed thorn and scrub forest, an expanse of rangelands [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Gujarat’s diverse geographical landscapes are home to several indigenous communities pursuing traditional occupations. The hilly terrain in the state’s eastern, northern and southern belts comprise significant tribal populations. The western peninsular belt comprises Saurashtra and Kachchh regions where the landscape is a peculiar example of a mixed thorn and scrub forest, an expanse of rangelands and mangrove belts that have thriving biodiversity. The ecosystem of this belt has sustained the lives and livelihood of nomadic pastoralists like Bharwads, Rabaris, Fakirani Jats, Sama and Charans among other groups. These pastoralists who have been customarily using the forest and rangelands for grazing of their livestock and collecting non-timber forest produce like gum and honey, have been contributing more than 86% to the milk economy of the state. However, their participation in the governance and management of the resources they rely upon, remains negligible. Nomadic pastoralists and their rights The state government of Gujarat, under the provisions of The Gujarat Panchayats Act (1993) has devolved statutory powers to the gram sabha to act upon in the matters relating to the grazing areas. In the context of nomadic pastoralists, the participation in panchayat’s gram sabha to address their issues such as access to grazing in forests, encroachment removals from gochar land, creation of indents for livestock vaccination and other issues, are hardly even put forward. An argument that is placed regarding this issue is that most nomadic pastoralists stay far from the village for about eight months of the year, and once they return&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/06/commentary-docketed-as-otfds-pastoralists-of-gujarat-need-passage/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Celebrating tiger numbers in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, while tribal residents await their rights</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/05/celebrating-tiger-numbers-in-sathyamangalam-tiger-reserve-while-tribal-residents-await-their-rights/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/05/celebrating-tiger-numbers-in-sathyamangalam-tiger-reserve-while-tribal-residents-await-their-rights/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 May 2022 10:08:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Arathi Menon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tiger]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tribal]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/05/12133137/Rows-of-tribal-huts-in-a-village-in-the-forest-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=18250</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[The Indian Forest Story]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Tamil Nadu]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Forest Rights Act, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Tigers, and Tribes]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[At the first-ever global tiger summit, to save tigers from extinction, held at St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2010, 13 tiger range countries, including India took a resolution to double tiger numbers by 2022 under the Global Tiger Recovery Programme. Skip to 2022, Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, one of the biggest tiger reserves in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[At the first-ever global tiger summit, to save tigers from extinction, held at St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2010, 13 tiger range countries, including India took a resolution to double tiger numbers by 2022 under the Global Tiger Recovery Programme. Skip to 2022, Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, one of the biggest tiger reserves in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in southern India has hit the target of doubling numbers with 87 tigers. Wildlife conservation in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve or STR cannot be talked about in isolation to its violent past, largely dedicated to the notorious forest brigand Veerappan. Veerappan reportedly poached over 200 elephants, smuggled sandalwood and killed 132 people, most of them forest and police officials who came in the way of his nefarious activities. Deputy Forest Officer (DFO) of Sathyamangalam division, one of the two forest divisions in STR, R. Kirubashankar said, “It was difficult for the forest officials to take conservation measures like foot patrolling during Veerappan’s time due to the threat he posed.” Kirubashankar said that foot patrolling was scaled up and anti-poaching camps (40 camps since 2010) were established at STR, after the passing of the brigand in 2004. STR&#8217;s conservation milestones began with the end of Veerappan. It was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 2008 and subsequently, 1408 sq km area became a tiger reserve in 2013. Tiger numbers recovered phenomenally and in 2022, STR won the prestigious conservation award TX2 for doubling tiger numbers in a decade. Entrance sign to the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, India. Photo by&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/05/celebrating-tiger-numbers-in-sathyamangalam-tiger-reserve-while-tribal-residents-await-their-rights/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>[Commentary] Thirty years after the Rio Summit the green report card is not fully in the red</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/05/commentary-thirty-years-after-the-rio-summit-the-green-report-card-is-not-fully-in-the-red/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/05/commentary-thirty-years-after-the-rio-summit-the-green-report-card-is-not-fully-in-the-red/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 May 2022 15:53:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate action]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[global warming]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/05/06152348/Painted_Stork_in_flight-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=18131</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy, Climate Connections, and Environomy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Cities and Towns, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Climate Change Mitigation, Coast, Community based conservation, COVID-19, Environmental Economics, Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Floods, Forest Rights Act, Forests, Global Warming, Impacts of Climate Change, Migration, Mining, Pollution, Renewable Energy, Villages, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This summer it will be thirty years since the Rio Earth Summit. Unlike the earlier decadal anniversaries, this year the United Nations is not celebrating an event to mark the occasion. The world is preoccupied with a pandemic that is gradually showing hesitant signs of waning, and the Ukraine War that could mark changes in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This summer it will be thirty years since the Rio Earth Summit. Unlike the earlier decadal anniversaries, this year the United Nations is not celebrating an event to mark the occasion. The world is preoccupied with a pandemic that is gradually showing hesitant signs of waning, and the Ukraine War that could mark changes in the world order.  India and China were considered developing countries when the Rio Summit, or the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, was organised in 1992. They were not included in the list of countries that needed to have greenhouse gas emission reduction targets in the Climate Change Convention. Today the world watches keenly at the emission reduction targets announced by the leaders of these two countries. At the end of the Rio+10 Summit of 2002, the Johannesburg Declaration talked about the rich and the poor countries, and “global disparities.” This, when combined with globalisation where “the benefits and costs are unevenly distributed,” could pose “a major threat to global prosperity, security and stability.”  In another 10 years, by the time the Rio+20 Summit was organised in Rio de Janeiro in 2012, the world order had changed. The economic crisis of 2008 had thrown a spanner in the growth story of the developed countries. Starting with the sub-prime lending crisis in the U.S., where a reverse swing in the land and housing prices had exposed the banking system that had lent money without adequate collateral, the economic crisis had destroyed the networked economies of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/05/commentary-thirty-years-after-the-rio-summit-the-green-report-card-is-not-fully-in-the-red/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Two tiger reserves, two different stories of resettlement</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/04/two-tiger-reserves-two-different-stories-of-resettlement/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/04/two-tiger-reserves-two-different-stories-of-resettlement/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Apr 2022 13:05:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Alok Prakash PutulTranslated by Abhishek Jha]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Displacement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[land rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tigers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tribals]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/04/14213500/Relocated-village-5-e1649952346633-768x442.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=17878</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas and The Indian Forest Story]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chhattisgarh, India, and Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Forest Rights Act, Forests, and Tribes]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Thirty-year-old Bhagbali has vivid childhood memories of life in his village Bokrakachhar, amidst the forests of Chhattisgarh. Reminiscing about the time before his family and many others were displaced from their village, he said, “We don’t get to eat even tendu (a fruit) here. Our village had several natural fruits and herbs such as char, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Thirty-year-old Bhagbali has vivid childhood memories of life in his village Bokrakachhar, amidst the forests of Chhattisgarh. Reminiscing about the time before his family and many others were displaced from their village, he said, “We don’t get to eat even tendu (a fruit) here. Our village had several natural fruits and herbs such as char, chironji, harra, mahua, berangi, musli and mahul. We used to eat and sell these as well. Those were happy days.&#8221; With a deep sense of sadness, Bhagbali added, “We would freely roam around the forest. Everything we owned got lost when we were displaced from our village.” Bhagbali’s family is one of the many from the Saunta tribe, that were displaced from their homes in the forests &#8211; their former home base is now a protected area, the Achanakmar Tiger Reserve. In February 2009, the government announced that Achanakmar will be designated as a tiger reserve. Ten months later, in December 2009, 38 tribal families were moved out of the reserve, overnight. They were taken to the Kondigiri panchayat, some 40 kilometres away from their village. The displaced families were told that from then onwards they will be living in Kondigiri. They were told that they would be given agricultural land and houses to live in. The displaced families were also promised roads, employment and schools for their children. Bokrakachhar was not the only village to get displaced from the present day Achanakamar Tiger Reserve. In December 2009, six out of 25 villages of Achanakamar&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/04/two-tiger-reserves-two-different-stories-of-resettlement/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>India seeks synergy in rules governing its forests</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/04/india-seeks-synergy-in-rules-governing-its-forests/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/04/india-seeks-synergy-in-rules-governing-its-forests/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Apr 2022 15:24:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mayank Aggarwal]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[governance]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/04/06084450/environment-g05f8b2eb8_1920-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=17721</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Deforestation, Forest Rights Act, Forestry, Forests, and Plantations]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The government of India has been trying to change how India’s forests are governed, especially the national forest policy, for at least six years now but has been unable to do so due to severe resistance. The Indian government has now formed a task force to develop a synergy between various laws related to the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The government of India has been trying to change how India’s forests are governed, especially the national forest policy, for at least six years now but has been unable to do so due to severe resistance. The Indian government has now formed a task force to develop a synergy between various laws related to the conservation and protection of forests including the regulation of trees outside forests and agroforestry. The March 31, 2022 order by the forest policy division of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) said &#8220;it has been decided to constitute a task force led by MoEFCC’s Director General of Forest to “study and analyse the National Forest Policy, 1988, the proposed National Forest Policy, proposed amendments in the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and the current regulatory regimes on agroforestry/tree outside forests across the country.” In October 2021, the MoEFCC had unveiled a note seeking comments on amendments in the Forest Conservation Act 1980 – a decision that environmentalists fear that the proposed amendment would result in more forest areas being opened up for projects including mining. The government’s move, according to the order, is to “develop synergies for promotion of sustainable development and management of forests and trees outside forests in the country.” The order sought the task force’s report within 60 days by May 31, 2022. Since May 2014, the focus of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government has been to overhaul the environment and forest laws to ensure ease of business&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/04/india-seeks-synergy-in-rules-governing-its-forests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Parliament panel asks government to ensure faster green clearances for aluminium sector</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/03/parliament-panel-asks-government-to-ensure-faster-green-clearances-for-aluminium-sector/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/03/parliament-panel-asks-government-to-ensure-faster-green-clearances-for-aluminium-sector/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Mar 2022 09:56:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mayank Aggarwal]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[aluminium]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mining]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2020/12/09013709/Pic-3-bauxite-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=17626</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Forest Rights Act, Forests, Mining, and Tribes]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[India is yet to fully explore over 80 percent of its reserves of bauxite (an aluminium ore), notes a committee of India’s parliament, while emphasising that issues related to land acquisition, environment clearance and forest clearance are “major constraints” in the development of new bauxite mines. The committee asked the Indian government’s ministry of mines [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[India is yet to fully explore over 80 percent of its reserves of bauxite (an aluminium ore), notes a committee of India’s parliament, while emphasising that issues related to land acquisition, environment clearance and forest clearance are “major constraints” in the development of new bauxite mines. The committee asked the Indian government’s ministry of mines to ensure timely environment and forest clearances, land acquisition and consent to operate so that the industries don’t face problems in developing these mines. In its report presented in the parliament on March 22, the standing committee on coal, mines and steel, led by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Rakesh Singh, noted that aluminium, while used in many sectors in industrialised counties, is limited primarily to the electric and electronic sectors in India. But multiple initiatives of the Indian government, such as 100 percent rural electrification, Housing for All, Smart Cities, national infrastructure pipeline, renewable energy and scheme for electric vehicles will boost the consumption of the metal (aluminium) in the country. In its report on the development of aluminium and copper industries in the country, the committee observed that only 17 percent (656 million tonnes) of bauxite is under ‘proven and probable’ category while the remaining 3,240 million tonnes are yet to be fully explored. There are a total of 3,896 million tonnes of bauxite resources across the country. The parliamentary panel asked the union ministry of mines to “facilitate the development of more bauxite mines and ensure that the mining industry get a continuous&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/03/parliament-panel-asks-government-to-ensure-faster-green-clearances-for-aluminium-sector/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>India proposes river rejuvenation through plantations</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/03/india-proposes-river-rejuvenation-through-plantations/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/03/india-proposes-river-rejuvenation-through-plantations/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Mar 2022 13:08:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mayank Aggarwal]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[afforestation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[river]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trees]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/03/18020835/Banner-R-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=17501</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Nature-based Solutions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Deforestation, Forest Rights Act, Forestry, Forests, Groundwater, Rivers, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The government of India is planning an ambitious programme for the rejuvenation of 13 major Indian rivers through forestry interventions at a cost of nearly Rs. 19,300 crores (Rs. 193 billion). The plan, however, experts say, is yet another way of packaging the concept of afforestation and it fails to address the real issues behind [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The government of India is planning an ambitious programme for the rejuvenation of 13 major Indian rivers through forestry interventions at a cost of nearly Rs. 19,300 crores (Rs. 193 billion). The plan, however, experts say, is yet another way of packaging the concept of afforestation and it fails to address the real issues behind the dying rivers. The detailed project reports (DPRs) on rejuvenation of 13 major rivers – Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Sutlej, Yamuna, Brahmaputra, Luni, Narmada, Godavari, Mahanadi, Krishna, and Cauvery – were recently released by the Indian government’s environment minister Bhupender Yadav. The reports, funded by the National Afforestation &amp; Eco-development Board of the environment ministry (MoEFCC), were prepared by the Dehradun-based Indian Council of Forestry Research &amp; Education (ICFRE). The 13 rivers across the country, mainly in the Himalayan and peninsular region, collectively cover a total basin area of 18,90,110 square kilometres which is 57.45 percent of the geographical area of the country. The government states that the growing water crisis on account of depleting freshwater resources, especially due to the shrinking and degradation of river ecosystems is a major impediment to achieving national goals pertaining to the environment, conservation, climate change, and sustainable development. The DPRs said deforestation and forest degradation, scanty rainfall, flash floods, landslides, bank erosion, faulty agriculture and horticulture practices, soil erosion, excessive groundwater extraction, rapid urbanisation, unregulated floodplain, waste dumping, the release of effluents, unregulated tourism, pilgrimage, unregulated sand mining, and riverbank encroachment are some of the issues that are&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/03/india-proposes-river-rejuvenation-through-plantations/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Scented Marayoor forests under the threat of declassification and spike disease</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2021/12/scented-marayoor-forests-under-the-threat-of-declassification-and-spike-disease/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2021/12/scented-marayoor-forests-under-the-threat-of-declassification-and-spike-disease/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Dec 2021 11:32:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[K.A. Shaji]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[smuggling]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2021/12/14045851/Landscape-6-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=16511</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Kerala]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Deforestation, and Forest Rights Act]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Marayoor sandalwood reserve in Kerala, spread over 1,460.77 hectares, close to one-sixth the size of Kochi, is currently one of the very few forests with high-quality sandalwood in India. While it is a highly monitored area to prevent smuggling and degradation, there is now threat from the state&#8217;s revenue department which wants to declassify [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Marayoor sandalwood reserve in Kerala, spread over 1,460.77 hectares, close to one-sixth the size of Kochi, is currently one of the very few forests with high-quality sandalwood in India. While it is a highly monitored area to prevent smuggling and degradation, there is now threat from the state&#8217;s revenue department which wants to declassify and hand over a part of the area for private and commercial activities. As per the latest estimate, the number of sandalwood trees in the Marayoor reserve is 57,000, and the estimated value is Rs. 30 billion (3,000 crores). As a highly-priced forest patch in India, Marayoor is guarded round the clock by armed forest guards and watchers as well as thermal infrared cameras aimed at protecting the forest from smugglers and brigands. Before the division came up in 2005, Marayoor&#8217;s sandalwood forests were known for large-scale felling and smuggling by lobbies operating across the whole of South India. As Marayoor sandals have high oil content and huge amounts of hardwood, they are very much in demand globally. Aside from its economic value due to demand for sandalwood in the global market, Marayoor is also a crucial forest patch that connects the national parks of Eravikulam, Chinnar, Kurinjimala, Anamudi and Pambadum Sholai, explained S. Ranjith, the divisional forest officer in-charge of Marayoor Sandal Division. &#8220;Animals from the forests of Munnar division too, frequent these forests, supporting the proposed reserves of Koodakkad and Theerthamalai. The reserve has many wild animals, including elephants and Indian bison,&#8221; he said.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2021/12/scented-marayoor-forests-under-the-threat-of-declassification-and-spike-disease/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>[Commentary] Mapping the potential of Community Forest Resource Rights in central India</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2021/10/commentary-community-forest-resource-rights-mapping-the-potential-in-central-india/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2021/10/commentary-community-forest-resource-rights-mapping-the-potential-in-central-india/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Oct 2021 14:00:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sharachchandra LeleShruti Mokashi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tribals]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2021/10/08022321/14869183493_f2438b5398_b-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=15812</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Community based conservation, Forest Rights Act, Forests, and Tribes]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006, commonly known as the FRA, is a landmark legislation in the history of independent India, as it attempts to undo the multiple historical injustices imposed on forest-dwelling communities in India. In particular, the Community Forest Resource (CFR) Rights (or CFRR) provisions [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006, commonly known as the FRA, is a landmark legislation in the history of independent India, as it attempts to undo the multiple historical injustices imposed on forest-dwelling communities in India. In particular, the Community Forest Resource (CFR) Rights (or CFRR) provisions in sec 3(1)(i) recognise the rights of forest-dwelling communities to access, collectively manage, protect, and conserve forests that they have been traditionally using. Instead of allowing the government to impose its felling oriented or exclusion oriented working plans on the forest landscape or imposing its agenda through pseudo-participatory processes such as Joint Forest Management (JFM), or leaving the forests de facto open-access, the CFRR provisions enable a statutory process of decentralised forest management by the gram sabha. The gram sabhas would then develop and implement  their own CFR management plans like the Mendha lekha and Pachgaon villages in Maharashtra. Furthermore, once CFRR are recognised, the forest cannot be ‘diverted’ for development projects without an NOC (No-Objection Certificate) from the CFR Gram Sabha, nor can any evictions take place in the name of wildlife conservation without implementing the Critical Wildlife Habitat provisions of the FRA.  The Niyamgiri hills is one such example in which forest clearance given to a mining firm was scrapped. Thus, these provisions have the potential to radically democratise forest governance in India. Despite its immense potential, however, (or because of it), even 13 years after the FRA was notified, the recognition of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2021/10/commentary-community-forest-resource-rights-mapping-the-potential-in-central-india/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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