Forest Conservation Amendments and Tribals Rights in N-E India

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Forest Conservation Amendments and Tribals Rights in N-E India

Forest Conservation Amendments and Tribals Rights in N-E India

News: Recently, the Mizoram Assembly has passed a resolution opposing the 2023 Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, citing ongoing forest conservation and tribal rights challenges in Northeast India.

What are the concerns raised by the North-Eastern states?
Impact of amendments on North-East states
• The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act of 2023 allows for forest land diversion for projects located within 100 km of India's international borders without requiring forest clearance under the Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980.
• Most of Northeast India falls within the 100 km range, raising concerns about the environmental impact and infringement on tribal rights.

Forest not officially classified are not protected
• Until 1996, the provisions of the FCA were only applied to forests that had been declared or notified as a forest, and to forests recorded in government records on or after 25th October 1980.
• The areas not officially classified as forests in a government record, even if they are standing forests, will not be protected from commercial exploitation or any other kind of diversion. This overturns a 1996 Supreme Court order in the Godavarman case which ruled that any area resembling a forest's dictionary meaning would be protected under conservation laws.

Significant unclassed forest areas
• A substantial portion of North-eastern forests is privately owned, including unclassed forests, which may not be covered by the Act unless included in government records.

What are mechanism for Forest Protection in North-East India?

Mechanism	Key Details
Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act (FRA) 2006	Forest Land includes unclassified forests, un-demarcated forests, existing or deemed forests, protected forests, reserved forests, Sanctuaries, and National Parks. This complied with the 1996 Supreme Court redefinition.
Article 371A and 371G	Special Constitutional protections in Article 371A (Nagaland) and 371G (Mizoram) safeguard tribal customary law, land ownership, and transfer rights. Mizoram, being a State, falls under FCA’s purview, affecting over 84% of its forest areas.
Forest Rights Act (FRA) 2006	FRA recognizes traditional forest rights in various forest types, including unclassed forests, providing an additional layer of protection for tribal communities. The potential benefits, most Northeastern states, except Assam and Tripura, have not implemented FRA, citing reasons such as land ownership patterns and lack of forest-dependent communities.