Bastar district in Chhattisgarh is home to over 40% forest cover, with nearly 80% of its population relying on forests for their livelihoods. In October 2021, we launched a one-year project titled “Training, Capacity Building, and Decision Support for Community Forest Resource Rights Recognition and Management in Bastar District, Chhattisgarh.” The primary objective of this project is to strengthen the capacity of gram sabhas in Bastar to claim Community Forest Resource (CFR) rights and develop sustainable management plans that promote both forest conservation and equitable livelihood improvement. At the same time, we aim to build the capacity of the district administration to streamline the processing and recognition of CFR claims and encourage the alignment of government policies and programs to integrate livelihood development with decentralized forest governance.

As part of this initiative, we developed a GIS-based Decision Support System for mapping CFR areas, which is accessible through a mobile app called ‘Aamcho CFR Mapping.’

Project Team