In the battle over jungle and tribal land, deep mistrust divides natural allies.
As India gives shape to its new forest policy, the votaries of forest conservation and tribal rights have come out strongly against commercial extraction of forests that undermines both local communities and ecology. It is a timely show of strength since the draft policy seeks to measure the productivity of our forests by the quantity of timber harvested instead of the quality of biodiversity and eco-system services they host and provide.
Historically, though, the two groups continually undercut each other even as India’s appetite for growth devoured both forests and tribal land. Beneath the current truce, simmers the banal debate of rights versus conservation, fueled most recently by the historic march of the farmer and the forest-dweller from Nashik to Mumbai. Before the two resume sparring, examine this incongruity. Why did forest-dwellers join a farmers’ rally? Are farming solutions to be found inside forests? Isn’t a forest-dwelling farmer a contradiction in terms?
As India gives shape to its new forest policy, the votaries of forest conservation and tribal rights have come out strongly against commercial extraction of forests that undermines both local communities and ecology. It is a timely show of strength since the draft policy seeks to measure the productivity of our forests by the quantity of timber harvested instead of the quality of biodiversity and eco-system services they host and provide.
Historically, though, the two groups continually undercut each other even as India’s appetite for growth devoured both forests and tribal land. Beneath the current truce, simmers the banal debate of rights versus conservation, fueled most recently by the historic march of the farmer and the forest-dweller from Nashik to Mumbai. Before the two resume sparring, examine this incongruity. Why did forest-dwellers join a farmers’ rally? Are farming solutions to be found inside forests? Isn’t a forest-dwelling farmer a contradiction in terms?
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