THE CONTEXT: Global conservation efforts have often marginalized Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs), leading to displacement and loss of traditional livelihoods. The ‘fortress conservation’ model, which excludes human presence from protected areas, has been widely criticized for its adverse social impacts. In contrast, India’s FRA recognizes the symbiotic relationship between forest dwellers and biodiversity, aiming to rectify historical injustices and empower communities in forest governance.
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EVOLUTION OF CONSERVATION PARADIGMS:
From Exclusion to Inclusion- Shifting Conservation Models:
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- The dominant global conservation paradigm has historically been rooted in colonial frameworks that view nature as pristine wilderness separate from human influence.
- This “fortress conservation” model has legitimized the creation of protected areas with centralized state control, often criminalizing indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) as encroachers rather than custodians.
- This correlation is not coincidental but causal – IPLCs have historically served as effective stewards of biodiversity through traditional ecological knowledge systems and sustainable resource governance practices.
Theoretical Underpinnings- Rights-Based Conservation:
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- The rights-based approach to conservation represents a paradigm shift that recognizes the intrinsic connection between secure land tenure for indigenous communities and biodiversity protection.
- This approach acknowledges that traditional governance systems have sustained biodiversity for generations, often more effectively than state-imposed conservation regimes.
- Evidence increasingly demonstrates that securing indigenous rights strengthens conservation outcomes while advancing social justice, creating a win-win scenario for ecological sustainability and human rights.
INTERNATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR BIODIVERSITY AND INDIGENOUS RIGHTS
Convention on Biological Diversity:
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- The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), established at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, is the primary international legal instrument guiding global conservation efforts. With 196 countries as signatories, the CBD’s tripartite objectives encompass biodiversity conservation, sustainable use, and equitable benefit-sharing.
- Article 8(j) of the CBD explicitly urges nations to “respect, preserve and maintain knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.”
- A significant breakthrough occurred in November 2024 at CBD’s COP-16, which established a permanent subsidiary body for IPLCs and adopted a comprehensive work program on Article 8(j). This development makes the CBD the only UN Convention with a dedicated institutional mechanism to implement the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.
Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF):
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- The KMGBF, adopted at the CBD COP-15 summit 2022, represents the most ambitious global biodiversity agreement. The framework outlines 23 targets to create a world “living in harmony with nature,” including the widely discussed “30 by 30” target – protecting 30% of the world’s terrestrial and marine areas by 2030. Notably, the KMGBF emphasizes equitable representation of IPLCs and integration of their traditional knowledge in implementation processes.
- There remains significant concern that the ambitious expansion of protected areas under the “30 by 30” agenda could potentially undermine indigenous rights if implemented through traditional exclusionary conservation models.
INDIA’S LEGAL AND POLICY FRAMEWORK: A PROGRESSIVE EVOLUTION
Constitutional Safeguards and Scheduled Areas:
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- India’s constitutional framework provides robust protections for tribal communities, particularly through provisions related to Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Areas under Articles 244 and 244A.
- While the Indian government has refrained from using the term “indigenous peoples” in its policy discourse, it has a population of approximately 104 million (8.6% of the population) according to the 2011 Census, effectively the world’s largest population of indigenous people within a single country.
- This constitutional framework has been progressively strengthened through landmark legislations, particularly the Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act of 1996 (PESA) and the Forest Rights Act of 2006 (FRA).
Biological Diversity Act, 2002- Institutional Mechanisms:
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- India enacted the Biological Diversity Act (BDA) in 2002 to fulfill its obligations under the CBD. This act established a three-tier institutional structure for biodiversity governance. This includes the National Biodiversity Authority at the central level, State Biodiversity Boards at the state level, and Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) at the local level.
- A key function of BMCs is preparing People’s Biodiversity Registers (PBRs), which document comprehensive information about local biodiversity resources and associated traditional knowledge.
FOREST RIGHTS ACT, 2006: A PARADIGM SHIFT IN CONSERVATION GOVERNANCE
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- The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (FRA), represented a watershed moment in Indian environmental legislation. The Act explicitly acknowledges the “historical injustice” faced by forest-dwelling communities and creates a legal framework that links the recognition of indigenous rights with democratic, decentralized forest governance and conservation.
- The FRA recognizes 13 different categories of rights, including two that are particularly significant for biodiversity conservation:
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- “Right of access to biodiversity and community, right to intellectual property and traditional knowledge related to biodiversity, and cultural diversity”.
- “Right to protect, regenerate, or conserve or manage any community forest resource that they have been traditionally protecting and conserving for sustainable use”.
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GLOBAL COMPARATIVE LENS:
| Country / People | Legal Mechanism | Outcome | Take away for India |
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| Kenya – Ogiek | African Court 2017 judgement | Community land restitution in Mau Forest | Judicial review can overturn colonial concessions |
| Tanzania – Maasai | Evictions from Ngorongoro (2022) | 70k pastoralists displaced | 30×30 goals risk rights abuse |
| Peru – Asháninka | REDD+ Indigenous Amazon Fund | Carbon finance flows to community | Align FRA with carbon markets |
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND EMERGING APPROACHES:
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New Policy Cross‑Currents (2022‑25)
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National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) 2024-2030:
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- In line with its international commitments, India launched an updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) 2024-2030 at CBD COP-16.
- The NBSAP outlines 23 National Biodiversity Targets aligned with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, focusing on reducing threats to biodiversity, ensuring sustainable resource use, and enhancing implementation tools.
- The updated NBSAP emphasizes a paradigm shift toward bottom-up governance approaches, mirroring the FRA’s decentralized model.
Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs):
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- The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework includes provisions for “Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures” (OECMs) as an alternative to traditional protected areas. OECMs are characterized by four key features:
1. Not already designated as protected areas
2. Governed by governments, private entities, or IPLCs
3. Making sustainable efforts toward biodiversity conservation
4. Protecting ecosystem functions and cultural, socioeconomic values
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- India is planning to notify OECM guidelines soon, presenting a potential opportunity for greater community involvement in conservation efforts. However, experts caution that without proper safeguards and legal recognition of rights, OECMs could become vulnerable to exploitation, similar to concerns with other biodiversity frameworks.
Integration of Conservation and Rights-Based Approaches:
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- A critical perspective emerging from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs is the need for convergence between biodiversity conservation frameworks and the FRA.
- In its response to the draft Biodiversity Rules 2024 (dated April 10, 2024), the Ministry emphasized that instead of creating parallel mechanisms for biodiversity management, the government should strengthen integration with gram-sabha-led community forest resource management systems established under the FRA.
- The Ministry further recommended that before declaring biodiversity heritage sites, authorities must ensure completion of forest dwellers’ rights settlement under the FRA and secure informed consent from respective gram sabhas. This position reflects a growing recognition of the need for policy coherence and legal integration to simultaneously advance conservation and rights objectives.
INSTITUTIONAL BARRIERS AND IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES
The Call for Justice report, submitted to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in March 2024, identified several key implementation barriers:
1. Knowledge gaps and misconceptions: Many officials and potential beneficiaries lack adequate understanding of the Act’s provisions, particularly regarding the eligibility of non-Scheduled Tribe Forest dwellers.
2. Procedural bottlenecks: Despite the Act’s intention to empower gram sabhas (village assemblies), district and forest officials continue to wield disproportionate decision-making power, undermining local democratic governance.
3. Insufficient representation: Forest-dwelling communities who are not Scheduled Tribes have found almost no representation in the committees designed to approve claims for rights, creating systematic exclusion.
4. Underutilization of community rights provisions: The implementation has disproportionately focused on individual rights claims rather than the potentially more impactful community forest resource rights
THE WAY FORWARD:
| Reform Lever | Actionable Steps | Expected Pay off |
|---|---|---|
| Institutional Convergence | Notify FRA BDA Harmonisation Rules; Gram Sabha as nodal authority for ABS. | Reduces forum shopping, legal friction |
| Digital Governance | Roll out e FRA portal with GIS based CFR boundary maps & drone validation. | Transparency; reduces false claims |
| Capacity Building | Create Eco Para Legal Corps of tribal youth under PM Janjati Nyaya Mitra Yojana. | Informed claims; legal literacy |
| Performance Linked Finance | 16ᵗʰ Finance Commission to earmark Green Grants to States achieving ≥ 80 % CFR claims. | Aligns fiscal incentives |
| Carbon + Community | Allow Gram Sabhas to register C sink projects under CCTS; revenue share model. | Monetises stewardship; meets NDC |
| OECM Pilots | Fast track 100 Community Conservation Landscapes (e.g., Apatani rice–fish terraces, Arunachal). | Area based Target 3 without eviction |
| Conflict Resolution | Notify Forest Mediation Rules under Sec 14 FRA; independent ombudsman. | Quick disposal, lowers litigation |
| Gender Lens | Mandate ⅓ women quorum in CFR Committees; recognise Mahila Van Panchayats (Uttarakhand). | SDG 5 & 15 co benefit |
| Data & Research | Commission Longitudinal CFR Impact Study with IIFM Bhopal + Tribal Universities. | Evidence based policy |
| Global Collaboration | Leverage South South FRA Coalition (Kenya Peru India) for knowledge exchange at UNPFII. | Thought leadership |
THE CONCLUSION:
The FRA reframes conservation as democratic environmentalism, which balances ecological integrity with social equity. Aligning upcoming instruments—the OECM guidelines, NBSAP targets, and India’s Carbon Credit Trading Scheme—with FRA’s Gram Sabha‑centric architecture can transform India’s 40 million ha forest commons into a living laboratory for SDG 15 (“Life on Land”).
UPSC PAST YEAR QUESTION:
Q. How does biodiversity vary in India? How is the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 helpful in conservation of flora and fauna? 2018
MAINS PRACTICE QUESTION:
Q. India’s Forest Rights Act, 2006 represents a paradigm shift from exclusionary conservation models to a rights-based, community-led approach to forest governance. Discuss.
SOURCE:
https://epaper.thehindu.com/reader
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