Forest Rights Act News

To mine or not to mine – that’s the question that seems to be looming over Chhattisgarh’s Hasdeo Arand forests. While the forests being pristine, rich in biodiversity and ecologically…

Chhattisgarh is home to some of India’s most precious forests but it is also an area rich in minerals such as iron ore. The race for extraction of these resources,…

About eight percent of the total recorded species of flora and fauna of the world and four of the world’s 34 biodiversity hotspots are located in India, according to Global…

In Uttarakhand, there is a strong drive to displace the nomadic pastoral tribe of Van Gujjars in order to protect wildlife. ‘Van’ means forest. It was an identity conceived by…

The government of India is once again making a move to amend the Indian Forest Act 1927 even as the effort made last time led to a serious pushback from…

As Similipal National Park and Tiger Reserve in Odisha burned over the past month, the debate over whether ownership of the park should be in the hands of the forest…

The recent conflict between the owners of a homestay and a male elephant in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in the Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu, that led to the death of…

The Rajasthan government has proposed a new draft forest policy which will drive the management and protection of forest in the largest state of India in the next 10 years.…

The cost of relocating tribal people, forest dwellers and pastoral communities for biodiversity conservation in India, is projected to be over a thousand times more than the cost of community-based…

“Mining companies come to our villages and our forests to exploit the resources underneath and everyone in the value chain makes money. But it is the tribal community that bears…

Miffed with poor support from the government for their welfare and protection while performing their duties, the association of the Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers has sought a series of…

About 65 percent of India’s hill state of Uttarakhand is forested. Now, a latest proposed ecotourism policy suggests using vast stretches of these forests for ecotourism activities. While the policy…

The Chhattisgarh government revised its May 28 order making the state forest department the nodal agency of the CFRR (community forest resource rights), which is under the Forest Rights Act,…

Protecting natural forests and wildlife has been a way of life for indigenous communities inside Similipal Biosphere in Odisha. Their efforts have been recognised a few years ago under the…

Even though Indian states budgeted 19 percent more money for forestry in three years after the introduction of ecological fiscal transfers (EFTs) than in the three years prior to its…

With governments looking to attract investment and jump-start the economy that has taken a beating due to COVID-19, land banks are once again in the limelight, but pursuing the idea…

Odisha’s Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR), which spreads across an area of 2,200 square kilometres, is caught between the animals, which have earned it national fame, and the local tribal people…

To ensure that businesses in India are responsible, sustainable and respect basic human rights, the government of India is in the process of finalising its National Action Plan on Business…

Resistance among villagers that led to the South Korean steel company, POSCO, pulling out of the 12 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) integrated steel plant with captive power plant project…

What is a forest? At present, in India, there is no clear nationally-accepted definition of ‘forest’. States are responsible for determining their definition of forests. In its meeting in September…