Panel 1.9. Beyond tenure: Implications for forest-based livelihoods

Forest Rights Act marks a significant turn in forest governance in India. Thousands of villages now have community forest rights (CFR) that empower them to manage forests to address local needs. The FRA further mandates different state departments such as those responsible for forests, agriculture, and social welfare to provide technical and financial assistance to the rights-bearing, village-level institution of gram sabhas. There have, however, been limited institutional reforms that fully acknowledge and incorporate the gram sabha in the larger forest governance structure. In this paper we draw on cases from Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh in central India to analyse the recent approaches adopted in these states to facilitate CFR gram sabhas or its members in forest management. Broadly, these approaches can be categorised into three – withdrawal of the state, welfare-based state support, and demand-based state assistance. Attempt at withdrawing state presence in gram sabhas includes the deregulation of non-timber forest products (NTFP) allowing their trade by gram sabhas and their federations. This approach while giving gram sabhas autonomy may also expose them to vagaries of the markets. On the other hand, attempts that continue or increase the state presence include increasing direct and indirect investment into state-led participatory programs and NTFP-trade cooperatives focusing on welfare of individual members of the gram sabhas but by-passing the gram sabhas themselves. A third attempt has been the demand-based convergence of pre-existing state schemes towards gram sabha-led community forest management goals. All three approaches may be attempted simultaneously and may or may not be enforced onto gram sabhas or their members. We compare these approaches to understand the form of state facilitation necessary in post-rights scenario for sustainable forest governance through CFR gram sabhas.

A large and growing proportion of working lands across the United States (US) are rented, thereby presenting a conservation decision-making context where agricultural landowners are not directly involved in farm operations. As a result, rental agreements involving non-operating landowners (NOLs) and tenant farmers (operators) are common across the US. Among others, existing research underscores the importance of balance of power between NOLs and operators, tenure (in)security, lease terms, information deficits and asymmetries, and trusted information sources in affecting conservation behavior on rented farmland. Recent scholarship also highlights the need to view land tenure as a multidimensional construct, and that to improve our understanding of how land tenure affects conservation behavior scholars need to operationalize these dimensions. Drawing upon insights from several US-focused papers published during the last six years, this talk will present a synthesis of promises and ongoing challenges associated with promoting conservation on rented working lands. In particular, the focus of this talk will be on cross-cutting themes that are applicable to forest-based livelihoods, including tenure security, power and gender dynamics, and theoretical and conceptual underpinnings of land tenure.

Nepal's community forestry (CF) is an institutional exemplar of tenure rights devolution. Central to CF are the Community Forest User Groups (CFUGs), which are expected to manage common-pool forest resources by balancing conservation with community needs. Previous research has sought to understand CFUG performance through the lens of Ostrom's Design Principles. Building on this, we incorporate insights from Public Choice theory and recognize the central role of CFUG leadership. CFUG leaders are supposed to be democratically elected volunteers. However, this ideal may be undermined due to a lack of volunteers in smaller and resource-poor CFUGs or by competition and maneuvering for positions in resource-rich areas. We explore the heterogeneity of CFUG leadership by investigating the preferences of CFUG leaders for timber harvesting, rule enforcement, forest management, and decision-making accountability to uncover a typology of CFUG leadership. We relate the typology to the characteristics of the leader (e.g., gender, leadership position in CFUG) and the CFUG (e.g., forest area and regeneration, engagement status, and incidence of forest fires). Latent class analysis through generalized structural equation modeling (GSEM) of data from 144 CFUG leaders in Kavrepalanchowk and Kaski districts reveals two leadership types. One aligns with Ostrom's principles, favoring inclusivity, responsiveness to local conditions, and conservation. The other reflects Public Choice Theory, driven by economic gains and political ambitions, with a preference for resource optimization. The findings underscore the importance of adaptive governance models that account for the diverse leadership preferences identified in CFUGs. They should be considered when developing interventions, ensuring that strategies align with the actual preferences and values of local leaders to foster a future for CF that reconciles conservation with economic incentives. Future research should investigate the interplay between leader preferences, local governance, and external influences to promote long-term sustainability and economic vitality.

Tenurial reforms in forest governance, like the one brought by the enactment of the Forest Rights Act 2006 (FRA) in India, are associated with improvement in forest-based livelihoods for the local communities. But what happens if such tenurial reforms fail to extinguish or aggregate the pre-existing property rights assigned to competing forest resource-uses viz. mining and/or conservation? In this paper, we investigate the nature of institutional change and its implications for reshaping resource-related contestations brought in by FRA 2006.

Using the case study of mineral-endowed and biodiversity-rich Hasdeo Aranya forests in central India, we explicate the effect of fragmentation and creation of multiple overlapping forest rights post-FRA in shaping local communities’ de facto exercise of tenurial rights. We use the conceptual framework of ‘anticommons’ property and a conflict-based analysis of institutional reforms. Our data comprises (i) a detailed review of government and judicial records of policy & legal deliberations, (ii) ethnographic fieldwork over an extended duration, and (iii) interviews with policymakers.

We uncover the effects of pre-existing power asymmetries as they manifest through the institutional regime post de jure tenurial reforms. We find that the very existence of de jure anticommons (created by FRA) can serve as the legal, institutional, and discursive foundation for resistance by local communities against extractivism and displacement. They can also significantly constrain the “Cunning State’s” discretionary powers to mediate conflict amongst stakeholders. Consequently, the power and politics in action could lead to an unstable equilibrium – sometimes leading to a disruption in forest-based livelihoods and, at others, a fulcrum of revival in the forest economy. Our findings represent a radical rethinking of the role of anticommons – traditionally viewed from the lens of inefficiency - in contemporary societies.

Over the last few decades, many countries around the globe have tried different ways to incorporate local communities into forest management and conservation activities. Protected areas in India have had significant impacts on local communities, primarily through the physical removal of people. The indigenous Soliga tribal community has been living in the forest for centuries, and they are known as the people of the bamboo. In the case of Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Tiger Reserve (BRT) a protected area where Soligas reside and are dependent on the forest for livelihood and subsistence needs. Efforts to integrate local communities in the management and enhance community benefits from the forests have been undertaken, including participatory resource monitoring, value addition for forest products, and co-management under the policy Forest Rights Act.

The Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006 was used to empower forest-dependent communities with the right to access forests for their well-being. Our work has facilitated the provisioning of forest rights to 77 Gramasabhas (decentralized community governance system), which includes 83 villages and 5433 families with 21,732 members, and 2007 households have received cultivation rights. These two accomplishments are important milestones and created history under the protected area regime in India. To develop an inclusive co-management plan, ten Gramasabha workshops have been conducted, in which around 1200 members participated. Meetings were focused on encouraging the community to develop community-led co-management plans for conservation and livelihood enhancements under FRA.

They felt that Lantana camara (invasive species) spread was a major threat to the forest. Control of traditional forest fires is contributing to canopy fires and litter fires would help us to conserve biodiversity. The community felt that they needed to strengthen Grama sabha at the village level under the FRA and cooperation from the forest department and other stakeholders. We follow an enterprise-based conservation model to address some of the biodiversity conservation issues with community participation.

The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act of India, 2006 (hereafter Forest Rights Act or FRA, is a landmark legislation that seeks to rectify historical injustices experienced by the forest-dwelling communities by recognizing rights to forest access and use. Despite its slow and staggered implementation, studies have shown that FRA implementation has led to significantly increased household incomes, particularly in the eastern part of Maharashtra, where communities have begun to exercise their community rights to manage, harvest, and trade forest products. However, while evidence suggests tangible economic benefits, there remains a gap in understanding the intra-household level implications of FRA, especially concerning gender dynamics. Therefore, a nuanced understanding of the gendered impacts of the Act is essential to ensure its holistic implementation. To address this gap, we conducted empirical research in Maharashtra’s Amravati district, a tribal-dominated area reported witnessing increased forest-based incomes post-FRA implementation. Through comprehensive household-level surveys and in-depth interviews, we collected detailed data on the intra-household level impacts of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), including key indicators of individual and household well-being such as poverty levels, women’s labor force participation and empowerment. Our findings reveal high women's labor force participation post-FRA, however, their labor is undermined and undervalued, leading to gender-based wage disparities and limiting women's bargaining power over household income. Based on these insights, we propose gender-sensitive reforms for FRA implementation to address disparities and ensure equitable distribution of benefits. Overall, our study emphasizes the importance of gender-sensitive approaches in realizing FRA's transformative potential for attaining socially just and sustainable outcomes.

Weak land rights is one of the leading causes of tropical deforestation. The department of Caqueta in the Colombian Amazon has led the country in hectares of deforested land in recent years, and has been impacted heavily by the internal conflict for the last several decades. Due to the conflict and the difficulty of collecting up to date land data in rural areas, data on land tenure and land prices are inaccurate and outdated. This research took a multi-pronged approach by collecting both quantitative data on land parcels, tenure type and prices, as well as perceptions on tenure security and land use decision-making processes. Data was collected through 450 surveys, 109 individual interviews with both men and women, as well as through three focus groups with women leaders in Caqueta. Data collection took place from March 2021 to March 2024. Surveys and interviews were primarily carried out by local partners. The focus group methodology was co-designed with the author and Corpomanigua, a local organization focusing on the cultivation of a dignified life, human rights and gender equality in the department of Caqueta. Preliminary results have found that women have less secure land rights than men, although those who have experienced a previous displacement were more likely to perceive their land tenure rights as insecure regardless of gender. Women are also more likely to value conservation and the cultivation of a range of native Amazon species than men. Causes of insecure land tenure include location of farm, previous forced displacement, informal land tenure holdings, and the lack of land tenure policy implementation.

Within the existing scholarly work on commons and commoning, there has been limited engagement with the challenges posed by the rise of neoliberal governance models. Focusing on forests as commons, this study departs from the dominant analytical framework that poses community resource management in opposition to the logic of the State or capitalist market. There is a need to study the commons as influenced by the expansion of government-controlled forest areas, government-recognized common property areas along with the expansion of private property rights under neoliberalism. In India, the Forest Rights Act 2006 grants tenure rights to communities, giving them greater control over forest resources. Our research is based on one such site in Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh, wherein 28 revenue villages secured community forest rights in 2020 through the Forest Rights Act 2006. Through findings based on in-depth interviews and group discussions, our paper addresses two questions: one, how has the process of securing tenure rights changed the management of land use and community rights over the extraction and sale of forest produce? And two, how has community ownership altered social relations within the community, and what are its social justice implications? We find that despite the legal acknowledgement of rights, the collective struggles to define itself and the village community and sustain forest-based livelihoods. While there was substantial local participation in the movement to achieve community rights, the momentum has waned after the legal recognition. The federation formed in the process is struggling to expand its functioning while the powerful state department and erstwhile market traders continue with their earlier roles. Our paper opens the discussion on the transformative potential of community rights obtained under the Forest Rights Act 2006, a process underway across India.