Affidavit on behalf of Union Territory of Puducherry in the matter of a news item titled "India lost 2.33 million hectares of tree cover since 2000 Global Forest Watch" which appeared in the Indian Express, April 13, 2024. The report dated April 25, 2025 said that there is no loss …
Immediately after school, 15-yearold Surendra Kumar rushes to the wheat fields running parallel to the main Chambal canal in Umaidganj village in Rajasthan’s Kota district. He begins his search for a pair of Saras Cranes and their two young ones—the crane family he has been tracking for four years now. …
The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has written to states to include bamboo in the list of minor forest produce (MFP) and to take steps to facilitate its use, sale and management by communities. The letter, dated March 21, is addressed to all chief ministers. It acknowledges the …
“Stroke of the pen” reform is critical as in many cases policy is dastardly and change is laggardly. The essential element is to find that big-ticket item that can have impact on a scale and at a pace that is needed. I believe Union environment and forests minister Jairam Ramesh’s …
This document analyses and highlights the views and suggestions included in reports arising out of the Planning Commissions consultations with diverse stakeholders and also seeks to bring forth similarities and differences on key issues by comparing and contrasting the suggestions of ten core forums that submitted their views to the …
The evidence of the Views from the Frontline 2011 study is that there is a growing gap between the UN’s ‘Hyogo Framework for Action’ and its implementation at the frontline where disasters impact. The framework aims to ‘build the resilience of nations and communities to disasters’. Much is being done …
This paper highlights the role of community prevention in improving overall health and in supporting health equity. By addressing the underlying causes of illness and injury, community prevention efforts can prevent illness and injury before they occur. The paper presents three frameworks that support quality community prevention efforts.
Call it the fallout of seven years of severe drought or government inaction, a silent revolution is brewing in Lalitpur district of Uttar Pradesh. Communities are getting united and digging channels to bring water from government canals to their fields. Some are volunteering labour, while those belonging to Scheduled castes …
Forests provide multiple benefits to the society, which are both direct and indirect. A study was conducted in Dehradun and Tehri districts to quantify and assess the economic value of various provisioning services which local people derive from the forest to meet their day to day requirement.
The study was conducted in Betalghat block in Nainital district to find out the factors influencing the motivation of villagers for participating in agroforestry. Findings revealed that household size, annual income, level of forest dependency, level of contact with technical person, level of awareness about forestry activities and level of …
The Japanese Satoumi concept of managing coastal resources depends crucially on the bottom-up involvement of local communities. http://icsf.net/icsf2006/uploads/publications/samudra/pdf/english/issue_58/art01.pdf
This paper explores notions of participation as located in ‘second generation’ or institutional reforms, particularly as articulated by prominent state-sponsored public-private partnerships such as the Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF) and the Tamilnadu Urban Development Fund (TNUDF). These ‘model’ partnerships provided key programmatic elements that became the basis of national …
Some hundred people, men and women, were gathered on the hill. Many more, I could see, were trudging up. Their faces were resolute. I asked why they were opposing the cement plant. Their answer was simple: “We cannot eat cement.” “But the plant will bring you employment and prosperity,” I …
It would not be wrong to say that virtually all infrastructure and industrial projects—from mining to thermal and hydel and nuclear power to cement or steel—are under attack today from communities who fear loss of livelihoods. These communities are at the forefront of India’s environmental movement. They are its warriors.
2010 was a loud year for the environment. High profile projects—from Vedanta to Posco and Navi Mumbai airport to Lavasa—hit the headlines for non-compliance with environmental regulations. While 2009 was the 25th anniversary of the Bhopal gas tragedy, it was only last year that we were all outraged by the …
The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India (GOI) has been asked to identify ecologically sensitive areas (ESAs) along the Western Ghats, and to suggest how to manage them. The concept of ESAs has been extensively discussed in the literature. Several …
LUCKNOW: In order to conserve and develop forests through public participation, Forest Development Authorities (FDAs) have been created at the level of a forest division. Till now, the state has 63 divisions, where FDAs got funds from the Centre. "FDAs have been existing in almost all the forest divisions," said …
Luong Quang Huy describes a participatory research approach designed to empower local communities in adapting to socio-economic trends and climate change. The project resulted in a framework that encouraged local communities to use reflexively what they already have, such as their knowledge and connections, and to apply critical thinking on …
