Forest Rights Lost.

Evictions Loom Over a Million Adivasis.

Themes: Conservation, Parks, Policy, Human rights, Indigenous people, Poverty

How can the competing issues of conservation and indigenous rights work in harmony to ensure both forests and the livelihoods of their inhabitants are protected?

DRC adopts a strategy that will bolster community forestry, conservation group says.

Themes: Conservation, Human rights, Indigenous people, Parks, Policy

A new community forestry strategy in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could help provide Congolese communities with a say in the management of the country’s forests. A group of local and international organizations, government agencies and community groups developed the strategy to strengthen the capacity of provincial authorities and ensure that the country’s community forestry laws do in fact include and benefit communities. The plan calls for an “experimental phase” over the next five years to gradually provide access to areas of the roughly 700,000 square kilometres (more than 270,000 square miles) of available forest through community management permits.

Cornered by Protected Areas.

Vicky Tauli-Corpuz (UN Special rapporteur) and RRI launch an RRI brief derived from the upcoming Indigenous Peoples and Protected Areas report.

Themes: Conservation, Human rights, Indigenous people, REDD, Policy, Poverty, CBD, Financialisation

Indigenous Peoples and local communities have been conserving their lands and forests for centuries. But the rise of “fortress conservation” is forcing them from their homes, hurting people and forests alike.

India's National Tiger Conservation Authority rides roughshod over the Forest Rights Act.

Themes: Conservation, Human rights, Indigenous people, Parks, Policy

An order passed by the National Tiger Conservation Authority on March 27, 2017 categorically states that the Forest Rights Act (FRA) will not apply in Tiger Reserves. By doing this, the order not only invalidates the rights of communities who live within Tiger Reserves, but also confuses the provisions of the two laws: the Forest Rights Act and the Wildlife Protection Act.

Guest Post by Survival International:

“If the indigenous people haven’t given their consent, then WWF has no business being there”

Themes: Conservation, FPIC, Human rights, Indigenous people, Parks, Policy

For decades, alarm bells have been ringing over the human rights abuses that WWF is contributing to in the Congo Basin. In its attempt to defend itself (14 October), WWF shows that it is still deaf to these concerns, and prepared to mislead the public.

What works?

Protected areas, indigenous territories, and conservation concessions in Peru.

Themes: Conservation, Indigenous people, Parks, Policy

“State-controlled protected areas (PAs) have dominated conservation strategies globally, yet their performance relative to other governance regimes is rarely assessed comprehensively. Furthermore, performance indicators of forest PAs are typically restricted to deforestation, although the extent of forest degradation is greater.”

WWF Violating Indigenous Rights – Complaint Abandoned

Stephen Corry of SI explains how the process unwound.

Themes: Human rights, Indigenous people, Parks, FPIC, Policy, Poverty, Conservation

Survival International has today abandoned trying to get a resolution to our formal complaint that the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is violating international standards about corporate responsibility, and is reverting to using public pressure to try and stop the abuses.

Criminalising Forest-Dwellers Has Not Helped India’s Forests or Wildlife.

It’s Time for a New Deal.

Themes: Conservation, Parks, Policy

Instead of evicting forest-dwelling communities for engaging in traditional activities in protected areas and reserved forests, the government should use them for co-management.