The Indian Govt has given the green signal for the implementation of the Forest Rights Act on Jan1st thus paving the way for forest dwelling Tribes who are three generation old or alteast stayed in the forest villages for more than 75 years to use minor forest produce and carry on traditional cultivation of forest land under occupation upto a ceiling of four hectares.
People in the know will be aware of the tug of war between the conservation lobby and the tribal activists over pros and cons of the act in question. To allay fears of the eco brigade, the govt says it will take steps to ensure that forest land holders will have to practice sustainable use, ensure the ecosystem stays protected and lend a helping to eco-conservation efforts. All said and done, recent data show that deforestation and logging has reached major levels and real doubts exists whether the act and its implementation will really help things take a turn for the better.
To further buttress their claim, the Union Government has announced that 28 existing tiger reserves and eight new proposed tiger reserves be defined as critical tiger habitats under the amended Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and thus make them outside the purview of the Forest Rights Act. An enhanced resettlement programme of more than a million people resting on a budget of 4000 crore and covering almost close to 300 forest villages is presently being implemented.
Will this Act really help preserve India’s rich nay dwindling forest resources? Very recently, 250 sq km of Forest near Ranchi which were permitted for use by locals had seen utter devastation with not even one tree left now. Not much comfort really. Imagine three million to four million people currently live within India’s 602 protected areas, including 28 tiger reserves. Human co-existence with animals is far fetched to say the least and more so utopian in concept that the chances of success are so slim.
We can only wait and watch. Its almost like an accident waiting to happen..
it is not the tribals who are to be feared but those who come behind them..the business men, traders, poachers etc who will use these tribals as their front for their own nefarious activities.
the job of the conservationists, the protectos just got tougher
Tribals have existed in forests for centuries and even before that. They do not destroy forests! It is the money laundering lobbyist group and corporate world that threatens forests by buying /clearing acres of forest lands for industries and large scale farms. It is also this latter group that exploits forests for tourism revenue and timber.
The Forest Rights act is to important more from a human rights perspective. Hopefully it will restore basic living rights for the tribals, who have respected and preserved Nature as their God for ages now. This in turn will lead to safety of the forest lands in close proximity to tribal settlements.