New Delhi, India, December 2012
Conflicts over Rights of Rural and Tribal People in India’s Forests and Common Lands
Land acquisition in India leads to widespread conflict
Press Release
New Research Predicts Rising Trend in India’s Violent Land Conflicts; Map Shows Massive Resource Takeover Spurs Conflict in 130 Districts.
Experts Call India Leader among Land-Grabbing Emerging Economies; Ignoring Rights at Home, Indian Multi-Nationals Risk Same Mistakes Abroad
Click here for the International Overview on Large Scale Land Acquisitions by Arvind Khare.
Click here to download a Fact Sheet on the New Analyses.
New RRI Analyses for India
Undemocratic and Arbitrary: Control, Regulation and Expropriation of India’s Forest and Common Lands
Society for Promotion of Wastelands Development (SPWD); Rights and Resources Initiative – December 2012
A compendium of case studies on takeover of common lands in India was prepared for SPWD in order to attempt to fill the gap in the available literature on the subject of land takeover in the country. It represents one of the first attempts to look at this issue at the national level, drawing together local situations and experiences into an overall legal and policy framework. This paper seeks both to present a synthesis of the findings of these studies, reflecting the overall situation at the national level, as well as to discuss possible policy actions that can be undertaken.
Deeper Roots of Historical Injustice: Trends and Challenges in the Forests of India
Rights and Resources Initiative – October 2012
This book is a compilation of research and analyses from some of the leading scholars and experts on the Indian forest sector. Their analyses take a critical look at the trends that have shaped the developments in India’s forest sector over the past two decades. They analyze key actors, institutions, laws, policies and politics–and unravel the interplay between the factors that influence the direction of economic development and industrialization as well as conservation models; determine the nature and scope of civil rights; and sway policy.
Media Contacts
To arrange interviews with the report’s authors, or for more information, please contact:
Key Spokespeople Biographies (Click here to download)
Arvind Khare, Executive Director, Rights and Resources Initiative
Shankar Gopalakrishnan, Representative, Campaign for Survival and Dignity, India
Viren Lobo, Executive Director, Society for Promotion of Wastelands Development, India
Dr. Sudershan Iyengar, Vice Chancellor, Gujarat Vidyapeeth, India
Dr. B. D. Sharma, Bharat Jan Andolan, India
Madhu Sarin, Fellow, Rights and Resources Initiative
Dr. R. Sreedhar, Chairperson, Mines, Minerals and People, India
Luiz Joels, Former Director, Brazilian Forest Service
Jintao Xu, Professor of Natural Resource Economics, Peking University
Conference on Forests and Common Lands: Rights, Conflicts, Forest Rights Act (FRA) and Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA)
A set of new reports is being released on December 18th at an international conference organized by RRI and the Society for Promotion of Wastelands Development (SPWD), designed to shed new light on the scope of dramatic, under-the-radar land disputes erupting nationwide. The reports document the historical and structural causes of a recent and significant upward trend in the transfer of extractive resources and land transfer taking place across India—despite constitutional and legal guarantees. An illustrative data-rich map (see left) is also being released.
Conference Agenda | Concept Note
Event Proceedings | Policy Brief
Presentations:
Large Scale Land Aqcuisitions: An International Overview Arvind Khare, Executive Director, RRI
Traditional populations and forests: An overview of Brazilian policies Luis Joels, former director of the Brazilian Forest Service
Estimation of Land Requirement for emergent sectors Dr. Jagdish Purohit, Program Director, SPWD
Land Conflicts Map
December 2012 Presentation on Undemocratic and Arbitrary Report Shankar Gopalkrishnan
Collective Forest Tenure Reform under Village Democracy Xu Jintao, Professor, Peking University (China)
Resources for the Press