Date: November 3, 2017
In 2006, the Indian Parliament enacted The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (referred to as the Forest Rights Act, or FRA), a unique emancipatory law with the potential to transform the lives and livelihoods of more than 150 million Forest-dependent people. The law vests a number of rights over forest lands with forest dependent Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDs), including individual rights over forest lands, community rights and the rights to protect and manage Community Forest Resources within traditional or customary boundaries of the village. The most critical right, which has a bearing on forest governance and the welfare of tribals and forest dwellers, is that of Community Forest Resource Rights.
The following reports were produced in 2016-17 as part of the Community Forest Rights Learning & Advocacy Process, with the support of the Rights and Resources Initiative and Oxfam India.