De jure and De facto Land Management Approaches of Forest Officials

Nita Shashidharan Ecology, Economy and Society–the INSEE Journal |  March 5, 2025 It was January 17, 2022, and I was in the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) in Erode, Tamil Nadu, a biodiversity-rich protected area (PA) with interspersed forest and agricultural land. My field assistant and I waited on the red concrete steps of the range […]

Democratising Forest Governance: Challenges Old and New

Sharachchandra Lele Economic and Political Weekly | January 13, 2025 Sixteen years after the Forest Rights Act, 2006, only three states have recognised a significant number of community forest resource rights, and only one of them (Maharashtra) has enabled their operationalisation. While the outcomes in Maharashtra have been impressive, violations abound elsewhere. Even where recognised, […]

Bengaluru’S Riot Of Colours: A Call For Sustainable Urban Forestry

R. Ganesan, Namratha Murali Hindustan Times | February 20, 2024 After every shedding cycle, deciduous trees invest resources in producing new foliage and flowers, drawing nutrients from the soil, while simultaneously drawing groundwater. Burning litter deprives the soil of the nutrients needed by these trees, leading to a gradual decline in soil fertility. Furthermore, burning […]

An uphill struggle to grow the Forest Rights Act

Sharachchandra Lele On December 18, 2006, the Rajya Sabha endorsed the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, enacted by the Lok Sabha. This Act, commonly known as the Forest Rights Act, or FRA, marks a watershed in India’s socio-environmental legislation, as it attempts to put an end to the […]

CFR Management Plan Template prepared by ATREE & TISS (Hindi, version 2)

The Community Forest Resource (CFR) rights provision of the Forest Rights Act 2006 (FRA), recognizes the communities’ rights to protect, regenerate, conserve and manage forest resources under Section 3 (1) (i). Once communities have received such CFR rights, they are supposed to make a plan for managing the CFR area. This is a requirement as […]

CFR Management Plan Template prepared by ATREE & TISS (English, version 2)

The Community Forest Resource (CFR) rights provision of the Forest Rights Act 2006 (FRA), recognizes the communities’ rights to protect, regenerate, conserve and manage forest resources under Section 3 (1) (i). Once communities have received such CFR rights, they are supposed to make a plan for managing the CFR area. This is a requirement as […]

Forest carbon market-based mechanisms in India: Learnings from global design principles and domestic barriers to implementation

Anirban Roy, Manan Bhan  Ecological Indicators | December 13, 2023 Forest carbon markets (FCMs) have emerged as a significant means to direct resources toward urgent climate action that can mobilize a large set of actors and catalyze funding toward reducing deforestation and promoting sustainable forest management. Here, we conduct a critical qualitative review of global […]