eBook | The Indian Forest Acts: A concise history from 1876 through 1927 and its present implementation

Millions of people live in and near India’s forest lands, but have no legal right to their homes, lands or livelihoods.  A few government officials have all power over forests and forest dwellers. The result? Both forests and people die.  This Act recognises forest dwellers’ rights and makes conservation more accountable. Source: What is the … Read more

Forest Rights Act (FRA)

Tribals have been residing in forest land for generations, cultivating and collecting forest produce like firewood and fruits. They, however, do not have a legal document showing that they are owners of the land. Ever since the Forest Conservation Act, these tribals have been seen as encroachers or illegal occupants. After the enactment of the Act, … Read more

Tip | “Forests Alive”: Educational and other books combining scientific knowledge and hereditary practices of the Soliga and other tribal communities worldwide

ATREE at Biligiri Rangaswamy Wildlife Sanctuary The process, while documenting and archiving a vast resource of places and stories, also provided a critical understanding of the ways Soligas interacted with the landscape. ATREE used formal cartographic instruments such as GIS-enabled devices, to locate places and names that Soligas identified with in mainstream maps. ATREE has developed … Read more

Tiger conservation and tourism – its impact on the people in and around the tiger reserves

The Supreme Court order [2012] to ban tourism in core tiger reserves, and decisions to shoot poachers at sight find favour with some conservationists, the middle class and media. But what will their impact be on the people who live in and around the tiger reserves, asks Tarsh ThekaekaraTiger numbers are on the rise. Not … Read more

Traditional social structures of Adivasis and the constitutional right to food: “Will this be the end of malnutrition and starvation in India?”

Source: 2022 Global Hunger IndexURL: https://www.globalhungerindex.org/india.htmlDate Visited: 30 June 2022 Legally entitled to a full stomach Fifty percent of the world’s hungry live in India [2012 estimates, see globalhungerindex.org for more recent figures]. But India is a democracy, which gives her citizens a lot of rights – for instance, the constitutional right to food. Based … Read more