Around 300 million people, made up of local communities and indigenous peoples, traditionally live in forests and primarily depend on them for their livelihoods
Customary lands of indigenous peoples and local communities encompass 65% of the world’s land area, and 80% of the global biodiversity
Protecting forests is often a deadly risk for indigenous peoples and local communities
In 2017, there were 207 documented murders of environmental defenders
Learn more on the website of the Forest Peoples Programme >>
“In his play Muktadhara (The Waterfall), Tagore robustly employs this element of freedom. The play relates the story of an exploited people and their eventual release from it. [Today, when] tribal populations across India are being uprooted with impudence Tagore’s message of freedom, in all its shades, is of utmost relevance.” – Bhaswati Ghosh in Freedom in Tagore’s Plays | Learn more >>
See also
Adverse inclusion | Casteism | Rural poverty
Demographic Status of Scheduled Tribe Population of India (Census figures 2011)
Fact checking | Figures, census and other statistics
Human Rights Commission (posts) | www.nhrc.nic.in (Government of India)
Search tips | Names of tribal communities, regions and states of India
“What is the Forest Rights Act about?” – Campaign for Survival and Dignity
“Who are Scheduled Tribes?” – Government of India (National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, NCST)
“You can’t keep quiet on everything. At some point, if you disagree – it’s better to say it then rather than piling it up. “You can’t keep quiet on everything. At some point, if you disagree – it’s better to say it then rather than piling it up.” – Former IAS Officer Kannan Gopinathan in a special lecture on “Democracy: Institutions and Individuals” (Asian College of Journalism – ACJ, 2 September 2020) | Democracy >>
Learn more
Atree.org | Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology & the Environment (posts)
Biodiversity | Biodiversity hotspot | Hyderabad biodiversity pledge
Climate change | Audio | The Climate Question (BBC Podcast)
eBook | Background guide for education
Ecology and environment | Eco tourism | Tourism | Wildlife tourism
Environmental history and what makes for a civilization – Romila Thapar
Equations blog (Equitable Tourism Options)
Forest Rights Act (FRA) | Hunter-gatherers | Illegal mining | Legal rights over forest land
Information provided by Indian government agencies and other organizations (FAQ)
Nature and wildlife | Crocodile | Elephant | Tiger | Mangrove forest | Trees
PARI’s tales from tiger territory | People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI)
Shola Trust | Nilgiri Biosphere
Water and development – India’s tribal communities
Western Ghats – tribal heritage & ecology
What is the Forest Rights Act about?
Who is a forest dweller under this law, and who gets rights?
Watch “The Good Ancestor – The Legacies We Leave” (3 min.): An animation that explores the legacies we might leave for future generations >>
Links to some of the most important organisations, thinkers and doers that are leading the way and that have inspired the book The Good Ancestor by Roman Krznaric >>