-The Times of India BHUBANESWAR: Union tribal affairs minister Jual Oram asked chief minister Naveen Patnaik to fix the minimum support price (MSP) of minor forest produce (MFP) gathered by tribals. "I would like Odisha to provide MSP to the tribals at the haats where they bring the forest produce to sell. This will protect them from any possible exploitation by middlemen and traders," said Jual in his letter to Naveen on...
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Kalahandi forest dwellers allege FRA violation by state forest department -Shruti Agarwal and Ishan Kukreti
-Down to Earth Activists say that in 3 villages of Kalahand district, the Odisha forest department is imposing on the rights of forest dwellers to dispose bamboo, guaranteed under FRA More than two weeks after the cabinet cleared an amendment in the India Forest Act, 1927 (IFA) to deregulate trade of bamboo grown on non-forest land, forest dwellers from Odisha are complaining that the state forest department is not letting them...
More »Unutilised forest wealth generates huge revenue for Rajasthan's tribals
-IANS UDAIPUR: Farming has rarely been a viable proposition in Rajasthan's dry and hilly Udaipur region. A new way has now been found to provide sustainable sustenance for the area's tribals by enabling them to sell -- for a staggering Rs 189 crore ($29 million) in the last two years -- minor forest produce (MFP) that is abundant in the area and has remained unutilised for almost nine decades. According to officials,...
More »Madhya Pradesh forest department violates FRA, seizes tendu leaves from tribals -Ishan Kukreti
-Down to Earth The leaves were reportedly confiscated as the women were selling them to buyers other than the forest department Without any legal rationale, the officials of Madhya Pradesh Forest Department seized tendu leaves collected by 24 tribal women in Barwaha village near Mungaoli town. The incident happened on May 31 when the women were returning after collecting the leaves. The leaves, used in rolling beedis, are a part of the...
More »NGOs blame ambiguity over FRA 2006 implementation for non-utilisation of bamboo
-The Hindu Erode: While non-government and welfare organisations are understandably keen to enable tribal communities on the hills to derive utility of abundance of bamboo on the hilly parts, there are indications of ambiguity over the status of implementation of Forest Rights Act 2006 under which bamboo is considered a minor forest produce. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests had, during 2011, asked states to treat bamboo as a minor forest...
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