Carbon Copy A freshly passed amendment to the Forest Conservation Act has created a stir among ecologists, parliamentarians and stakeholders. With several contentious provisions, the amendment reveals an afforestation push where rights and justice take a backseat to commercial interests. This week, amidst a raucous monsoon session, the Indian Parliament saw the passage of several consequential pieces of legislation in quick succession. Among them was the contentious amendment to the Forest Conservation...

-Press release by Mineral Inheritors Rights Association (MIRA) dated September 21, 2022  The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) declares that the area beyond the limits of national jurisdiction (comprising the seabed, ocean floor and subsoil, excluding the water above) (the “Area”) and its resources, are the Common Heritage of Humankind. All rights in the resources of the Area are vested in humankind as a whole. UNCLOS provides...

-Press release by Mineral Inheritors Rights Association dated August 4, 2022  The promises made by the INC during the 2018 elections for the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly in the Mining and Allied Activities portion of their manifesto are yet to be implemented. Four years have passed, and the Indian National Congress (INC) has yet to implement any of the five promises stated in the Mining & Allied Section of their 2018 Chhattisgarh Legislative...

-India.Mongabay.com * The allocation of lands for new commercial coal mines is likely to renew issues related to the creation of land banks in Jharkhand. * Common lands that people use have been transferred to land banks over the years, and physical surveys to record actual rights aren’t complete yet. * Lack of effective implementation of the Forest Rights Act 2006 on forest land (also part of land banks) has been a major...

-The Telegraph The Telegraph reports on a riverine community’s determination to save its environs Once upon a time, when my forefathers were looking for land to settle down, they found this barren sandbar and decided to make it a habitable place,” says Nani Roy, 42, a resident of Manachar. Char is the Bengali word for sandbar. Manachar is the sandbar that extends from Durgapur Barrage to Panagarh in Burdwan district. About three...