Community rights and forest conservation

Community rights and forest conservation

Subject: Environment

Section: Environmental laws

Context:

• From the colonial forest law in 1865 to the Forest Conservation Amendment Act, of 2023, more than fifteen laws, Acts, and policies have been formulated interlinking forests with legal and policy frameworks. However, there is little to no recognition of the rights of indigenous communities in these Acts, who are the rightful inhabitants of forest lands.

Provisions that hamper community rights and forest rights:

• The amendment primarily aims to tackle the critical issues of climate change and deforestation’s adverse effects, focusing on effective management and afforestation.
• It aims to determine how forests can be utilised for economic gain.
• As per the amendment, the law will now apply exclusively to areas categorised under the 1927 Forest Act and those designated as such on or after October 25, 1980.
• The Act will not be applicable to forests that were converted for non-forest use on or after December 12, 1996, and land which falls under 100 kilometres from the China and Pakistan border where the central government can build linear projects.
• To establish security infrastructure and facilities for surveillance, the central government is authorised to construct security measures in areas up to ten hectares. This provision also applies to areas (up to five hectares) which are designated as vulnerable.
• Initiatives like ecotourism, safari, environmental entertainment, and more may be implemented in these areas.
• Removal of the ‘Prior Consent’ clause:
  • The Forest Conservation Act stipulated that prior consent from the tribal grama sabha was mandatory for any alterations to forests for non-forest purposes. However, the recent revisions to the legislation have removed the necessity for such consent.
• It contradicts the concept of decentralised forest governance as forests in the country fall under the concurrent list.

Why was the amendment brought in?

• The GodavarmanThirumulkpad case in 1996 led to an interpretation of forest land in accordance with its ‘dictionary meaning’. Subsequently, all private forests were brought under the ambit of the 1980 law. Thus emerges the debate on ‘environment vs Industry’.
• After the act was passed, the Odisha government revoked the “deemed forest” status in the State but had to later cancel the order due to public outrage.

What is compensatory afforestation (CA)?

• Compensatory afforestation encompasses various projects and schemes that can be undertaken by both private individuals and organisations (including large corporations) for afforestation or reforestation purposes.
• Challenges in CA are:
  • Ambiguities in the original legislation
  • Shortage of available land.
• The law mandates that for every parcel of land that is lost due to afforestation efforts, an equivalent amount of land must be afforested elsewhere. It does not specify the type of trees that should be planted, leaving room for discretion.

How does this affect the Forest Rights Act (FRA)?

• The amendment has had notable impacts in Mendha-Lekha in Maharashtra, Loyendi in Odisha, and Malakkappara in Kerala among others.
• The Act is considered an impediment to converting forest land for non-forest purposes.
• The State governments hold the view that granting community rights under the FRA could weaken the State’s authority over the forest.
• The amendment fails to address the growing issue of human-animal conflicts in forest areas.

Details of the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Act 2023

Source of this article: The Hindu