India's Tribal Land: Can Both Development & Conservation Be Andaman's Priority?
1 year, 10 months ago

India's Tribal Land: Can Both Development & Conservation Be Andaman's Priority?

The Quint  

Andaman & Nicobar has certain peculiarities eg, six indigenous tribes and native only to these distant Islands, a reserved/protected forest cover of 94%, abundance of flora and fauna, unmodernised economy with tourism and fishing as mainstay and in desperate need for additional investments for socio-economic uplift. How do you leverage its unmatched geographical and strategic potential hosting the only ‘Chinese chokepoint’ of Malacca Straits in close proximity, without strengthening its militaristic wherewithal, therein? How do you protect the unique biodiversity that is given to the land without exposing the same to the usual ‘development’ imperatives? One such moment of having to nuance multiple choices and articulating the optimum way for the protection and betterment of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and furthering the ‘larger good’ of India, with the Prime Minister in the audience, was my proposal at the National Development Council in 2012.

Protect  investments  development  land  islands  indias  tribal  given  protect  potential  nicobar  priority  tribes  forest  vulnerable  andamans  conservation

History of this topic

Echoes of nature: Frontline’s top 12 environment stories of 2024
6 days, 7 hours ago

Echoes of nature: Frontline’s top 12 environment stories of 2024

The Hindu  

Published : Dec 17, 2024 18:01 IST - 1 MIN READ Arguably one of the most disturbing headlines from the world of environment came when we rang in the New Year. In January 2024, from a pristine little island in the Indian Ocean, the Great Nicobar Island, author Pankaj Sekhsaria reported on the unimaginable havoc a proposed Rs.72,000 crore infrastructure …

A legacy of balance
1 month, 2 weeks ago

A legacy of balance

New Indian Express  

BENGALURU: In his latest book, Speaking with Nature: The Origins of Indian Environmentalism, historian Ramachandra Guha takes readers on a journey through India’s environmental past – a legacy that few are familiar with. Through their lives and writings, these figures – ranging from the poet Rabindranath Tagore to the economist J C Kumarappa – anticipated the environmental challenges we face …

Andaman admin to protect Great Nicobar tribal interests, says Centre
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Andaman admin to protect Great Nicobar tribal interests, says Centre

Hindustan Times  

The Andaman and Nicobar administration has been entrusted with protection of interests of tribals who will be impacted by the holistic development of Great Nicobar Island in the Union territory, the Centre informed the Lok Sabha on Monday. HT reported on April 14, 2023 that the Tribal Council of Little and Great Nicobar had in November 2022, withdrawn the no …

Bid to double global protected areas may affect India’s tribes
8 months, 4 weeks ago

Bid to double global protected areas may affect India’s tribes

The Hindu  

GUWAHATI The bid to safeguard biodiversity by almost doubling protected areas across the globe will hit India’s tribal population the hardest, warned experts at a symposium on the rights of indigenous communities organised by the University of Arizona in the United States on March 22. Indigenous peoples across the world will suffer if the U.N.’s Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework pursues …

New forest laws and ‘development’ push: A prelude to a ‘land grab’ in India’s north-east?
1 year, 6 months ago

New forest laws and ‘development’ push: A prelude to a ‘land grab’ in India’s north-east?

The Hindu  

Published : Jun 02, 2023 16:16 IST - 10 MINS READ The eviction in March of tribal people living in the foothills of Manipur from their traditional forest lands on the grounds that these are “reserve forests” and the conflagration that soon ensued may have more to it than meets the eye. Several factors point to this, including the introduction …

INTERVIEW | Ritwick Dutta: ‘Limited intervention was in the best interest of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands’
1 year, 11 months ago

INTERVIEW | Ritwick Dutta: ‘Limited intervention was in the best interest of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands’

The Hindu  

Published : Jan 12, 2023 10:30 IST Ritwick Dutta, an award-winning lawyer specialising in environmental issues, is also an activist, author, and educator. Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment, the environmental law advocacy group co-founded by him, received the Right Livelihood Award in 2021 for its “grassroots approach of empowering vulnerable communities to protect their livelihoods and claim their right …

How Can Forest Dwelling Populations Protect Their Land Rights?
3 years, 10 months ago

How Can Forest Dwelling Populations Protect Their Land Rights?

The Quint  

Forests, regarded both as safeguards of biodiversity as well as rich reserves of valuable resources, are often subject to unique laws and policies, especially when it comes to forest land. Since the colonial period, India has witnessed a continued conflict between indigenous forest-dwelling populations and large resource extraction drives. In this context, with complex power dynamics at play, how do …

Discover Related