LED Lab Mapping in Sariska Tiger Reserve

The team from the Law, Environment and Design (LED) Lab, a new partnership between Natural Justice and the Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology, visited three villages in the core area of the Sariska Tiger Reserve to begin a resource mapping process with the Gujjar community. The team was accompanied by KRAPAVIS, a local NGO. The team worked with the community on a cognitive mapping exercise where different groups gathered to fill the chart paper with their understanding of the space they lived in. These cognitive maps became an effective tool to document the injustices caused by the denial of their rights to access the forest after its declaration as a tiger reserve. The LED Lab team conducted meetings with the Gram Sabha in each village to understand the status of implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 and through this determined that knowledge of the Act was limited. The design students accordingly decided to develop a graphic novel that chronicles the different provisions of the Act and describes its interaction with potentially conflicting laws like the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The team also visited relocated villages where communities are still struggling with the dramatic transition and heard of the lack of community consultation through the relocation process. The LED team will now work towards creating a simple relocation chart that will detail options available along with experiences and challenges faced by other villages. 

Read more about the visit to Sariska Tiger Reserve here. Learn more about the LED Lab here.

Gujjar Community Consultation in Sariska Tiger Reserve

Natural Justice’s Arpitha Kodiveri and Sankar Pani attended a two-day workshop organised by Krishi Avam Paristhitiki Vikas Sansthan (KRAPAVIS) in Alwar, Rajasthan from 9-10 September, 2012. The workshop sought to understand the challenges faced by the Gujjar community after the declaration of the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan. Arpitha and Sankar presented on the concept of Biocultural Community Protocols and how a protocol might be relevant in the Sariska context. They were also involved in the consultation of community leaders from the 11 effected villages located in the core area, seeking to understand the grounds and process for the proposed relocation to surrounding areas and developing strategies for securing rights under the Forest Rights Act, 2006.

Kachchh Community Workshop on Forest Rights Act

Natural Justice’s Arpitha Kodiveri and Sankar Pani attended a two day consultation on ‘Community Forest Rights under Forest Rights Act: Challenges and Opportunities for Biodiversity Conservation in Kachchh District.’ The workshop was organised by  Sahjeevan, a Kachchh-based NGO, from 6-7 September, 2012. The consultation took place between members of pastoralist communities from the Banni and representatives from organisations working on the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA). As most communities are being denied various rights in forest areas, the workshop focused on the applicability and implementation of the FRA in Kachchh district with an emphasis on issues faced by pastoralist communities and on communities dependent on fishing and salt cultivation. The issues noted were the lack of implementation of the FRA provisions around grazing rights as well as evictions for industrial activities and the declaration of special economic zones. 

The primary recommendations from the consultation were: 

• To ensure implementation of the FRA through a widespread awareness campaign and the facilitation of claims by the district administration in collaboration with civil society organisations; 

• The withdrawal of clearances granted for the diversion of forest land not in compliance with the FRA; 

• Traditional rights in the protected areas should be strengthened and should be recognised under the FRA.