Syllabus: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment
New Policy Framework
- Union Tribal Affairs Ministry policy framework affirms India’s conservation strategy is social contract, not fortress model.
- Key principle: people living near/inside forests cannot be relocated until Forest Rights Act (FRA) 2006 process is completed.
- Affirms communities are stakeholders, not trespassers in forest areas and tiger reserves nationwide.
Policy Provisions
- Relocation as “exceptional” measure overturning the 2024 NTCA directive to remove villages en masse from tiger reserves.
- Promotes research, pilot projects on sustainable co-habitation redefining tiger conservation through socially legitimate model.
- Invokes SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for unlawful evictions; three-tier redress system providing community safety net.
Challenges
- Forest-dependent communities have varied needs: some expect hospitals/schools; others preserve traditional lifestyles requiring differentiation.
- Tigers sensitive: many conservationists believe human-free core zones essential for apex predator conservation scientifically.
- Implementation concerns: conservation establishment may resist policy slowing habitat consolidation efforts potentially causing dual policies.
- Conservation controlled by Forest Departments under Environment Ministry; States have wide latitude in FRA implementation.
- Forced relocations may continue in States not enforcing National Framework for Community-Centred Conservation and Relocation.
Conclusion
- Fine-grained mechanisms sensitive to local conditions crucial for people-tiger sustainable coexistence beyond Ministry capacity.
- Implementation often violates established principles regarding compensation criteria and minimum inviolate area for populations.
- Balance needed: exiting fortress model shouldn’t mean forsaking India’s natural riches or community rights.
Q- Discuss the significance of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) 2006 in the context of tiger conservation. How does the recent policy framework address the concerns of forced relocations? (10 marks, 150 words)