For better resource management, effective community participation is highly recommended in every sector. The United Nations has passed several resolutions on this especially involving tribal groups in strengthening forest biodiversity. Infact, the Biodiversity Act in India was also enacted on the recommendations of the UN. The community involvement has not only been emphasized by several management authors and economists but has been proven to be effective on the ground as well through various studies.
Community participation in managing natural resources not only plays a vital role in better resource management but also helps in conserving our natural resources as well. The forest conservation in India by the local communities in the past is the best example of community’s participation in resource conservation. The forest dwelling tribal communities or other traditional forest dwellers (OTFDs) used to protect the forest for their own survival as these communities were fully dependent on it.
A true symbiotic relationship existed between forest dwelling communities and forests. During British India rule, lots of changes took place in forest management and the Govt began controlling the forests directly. The intervention of the state in forest governance led to exclusion of the forest dwelling communities especially when the British Govt began laying rail lines and construction of roadways through forest areas and tribal population was evicted as well in many states of India. The Govt extended its control over the forest and the resources in the name of forest conservation but that hasn’t helped the local communities at all which is otherwise mandatory for a welfare state like India.
Enactment of Indian Forest Act
The Indian Forest Act of 1865 was the first legal framework which systematically introduced State’s control over the forests in India. This law was amended in 1878 and after some decades the Indian Forest Act of 1927 was enacted repealing the previous laws. The Indian Forest Act 1927 is still applicable in India and it was extended to Jammu & Kashmir as well with effect from Oct 31st 2019 soon after article 370 of constitution was read down by Indian parliament on August 5th 2019. Prior to Oct 31st 2019 J&K was governed by the Jammu & Kashmir Forest Act 1930 (Samvat 1987). This law was repealed post article 370.
Indian Forest Act 1927 categorised forests into Reserved forest, Protected Forest and Village forest. The provision of village forests permitted access to these forests by the communities for their needs. Earlier, before these laws, the communities used to own and maintain forests. After Independence from the British Raj, the Govt couldn’t change the Indian Forest Act of 1927 which is still applicable as discussed above. The Forest was kept under the State list in the Constitution of India and majority of the states have their own laws on it. Then it was transferred to the Concurrent list.
UN’s Forest Instrument
Respecting the role of indigenous communities in sustainable forest management the United Nations Forest Instrument (UNFI) was adopted by the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF) in May 2007 followed by the UN General Assembly in December 2007. The Forest Instrument provides countries with a framework for promoting sustainable forest management (SFM). It recognizes SFM as a dynamic and evolving concept, which aims to maintain and enhance the economic, social and environmental values of all types of forests, for the benefit of present and future generations. The purpose of the Forest Instrument is to: strengthen political commitment and action at all levels to implement the sustainable management of all types of forests effectively. The UN Forest Instrument calls upon states to involve local communities, forest owners and other relevant stakeholders seeking their contribution in achieving sustainable forest management. It adds that they should be involved in a transparent and participatory way in forest decision-making processes that affect them, as well as in implementing sustainable forest management, in accordance with national legislations like FRA.
Forest Conservation Act 1980
In 1980, the Forest Conservation Act was enacted by Parliament that aimed at conservation of the forest. The Forest Conservation Act provides that the conversion of forest land for non-forest purposes can only be done with the prior approval of the Ministry of Environment and Forest. It introduced a two stage process for obtaining forest clearance, i.e approval for the conversion of forest land for non-forest purposes. But this law was amended last year amid serious objections from ecologists , activists , former forest officers , bureaucrats and even opposition parties.
The Forest Conservation Act (FCA) 1980 restricts the de-reservation of forest or use of forest land for non-forest purposes, but under the amended law (Forest Conservation amendment Act 2023) such restrictions have been lifted. When we say non-forest purpose, this includes use of land for cultivating horticultural crops or for any purpose other than re-afforestation. The amended law 2023 added activities like setting up of (i) zoos and safaris under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 owned by the government or any authority, in forest areas other than protected areas, (ii) eco-tourism facilities, (iii) silvicultural operations (enhancing forest growth), and (iv) any other purpose specified by the central government. Once private players take up these activities it will convert forest areas into towns which is a clear violation of the Biodiversity Act (BDA).
Forest Rights Act 2006
It took the Govt of India at least 60 years to enact a legislation that granted forest dwelling scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers the rights that existed before the British Rule. The Congress led UPA Govt came up with Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 also called Forest Rights Act -FRA in 2006. This law was enacted on 18 December 2006 and is also known as Tribal Rights Act , Tribal Land Act. After 1 year the law was notified in Govt gazette and on Jan1st 2008 Govt came up with FRA Rules. This law was extended to J&K post article 370 and this author has extensively written on this legislation during the last 4 years. The aim of writing this piece is to do further advocacy on this law as this law is not being enforced properly on the ground. The amendments in the Forest Conservation Act -FCA overrides the Forest Rights Act 2006 – FRA, which applies to all types of forest land including unclassified forests, un-demarcated forests, existing or deemed forests, protected forests, wildlife sanctuaries, and national parks. Thus, such a restrictive definition of forests would allow diversion of land which is a clear violation of FRA. In fact several NGOs, tribal organisations have raised their concern over this issue.
Land allocation under FRA not available
The latest report submitted by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs Govt of India before the parliament is shocking. It reveals that the quantum of land allocated to scheduled tribes – STs or Other Traditional Forest Dwellers- OTFDs in J&K under FRA isn’t available at all ? Rajya Sabha MPs Dr Syed Naseer Hussain and Dr Amee Yajnik in February 2023 sought written response from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs on the implementation of Forest Rights Act 2006. The MPs sought a response about the number of Individual Forest Rights (IFR) and Community Forest Rights (CFR) claims rejected by the concerned administration in different states and UT’s. In addition, the MPs also sought the number of IFR and CFR claims rejected under the FRA, particularly for Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDs) along with the general grounds on which these applications/claims were rejected ? These MPs also sought information about the number of land allocation / rights granted under FRA to forest dwellers in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in the financial year 2021-2022?
The Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Govt of India Mr Bishweswar Tudu while replying the MPs on the floor of the Rajya Sabha said:
“As per information submitted by States Governments up to the month of November, 2022 42,97,245 IFR and 1,69,372 CFR claims were received in all the states and UTs except Jammu & Kashmir. Out of these 16,88,496 IFR claims & 41,376 CFR claims were rejected. In total 22,49,671 claims were accepted which include 21,46,782 IFR & 1,02,889 CFR claims.”
While responding to a question on FRA implementation in J&K , the Minister of State for Tribal Affairs said that this was being implemented at different stages as the FRA has been made applicable in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir with effect from 2021.
Conclusion
The Forest Rights Act (FRA) has been in operation for more than 15 years now but a majority of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDs) of the country are yet to receive entitlement under this pro-people legislation. The FRA will not only ensure tribals and other traditional forest dwellers will get their legitimate rights but this law will also strengthen the forest governance and ensure sustainable forest management by involving local communities through Gram Sabhas. We need to utilize forest land for providing sustainable livelihood to local communities which is in tandem with environment and local biodiversity rather than converting the forests into concrete jungles by setting up massive hotels or other tourism infrastructure. The Government must start allocating forest land to local communities under FRA so that they set up tourism related infrastructure rather than the forest department transferring this land to corporates and big hoteliers. Experts in Ecotourism can be assigned tasks to handhold the forest dwelling communities to achieve their targets on sustainable tourism. Let the J&K Govt give it a try and see the results.
- Views expressed in the article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the editorial stance of Kashmir Observer
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