Forest rights - and why the new law needs to be implemented

Posted : Sun, 02 Dec 2007 04:10:04 GMT Author : Shankar Gopalakrishnan Category : India (World) Like a bad penny that never stops coming back, the issue of forest rights is in the news again. The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, has returned to the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Opponents slam it as the 'most dangerous act of any Indian government since 1947', handing out 'forest for votes' and 'privatizing a national resource.'A handful of conservationists issue dire warnings to the government, politicians and reporters about the terrible disaster that will ensue from implementing this law. Meanwhile, this Act has become the first legislation in India's history to be attacked through a TV ad campaign.In all this sound and fury, the real issues around this Act have mostly been lost. For, in reality, this Act has nothing to do with 'handing out' land to anyone, nor is it a 'welfare scheme' for tribals. It is a law intended to deal with one very basic problem: what are called 'forests' in Indian law, presumed by many to be vast stretches of 'pristine wilderness,' are nothing of the kind. Literally, millions of people live inside the areas described in law as forest. The reason why is a story in itself.India's forest and wildlife laws are built around a model of excluding people. Created to ease timber extraction, the Colonial Forest Act (later changed to Indian Forest Act) aimed to bring all forests under the centralised control of the forest department and to take over the lands and rights of people who live there. This was initially justified as necessary for 'scientific management' for higher timber yields; then, post-Independence, for the nation's industrial requirements; and finally for conservation. Whatever the justification, the policy has remained the same.Thus, in law, at the time of declaring a 'forest', a settlement officer is supposed to survey and 'settle' the rights of people................................................................. full story at: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/151645.html