A legal victory for Orans, sacred community-conserved areas
The Supreme Court of India’s clear and specific guidelines are a positive step towards ensuring the conservation of 25,000 orans covering an area of about 600,000 hectares. Read more ▸
India
Orans
Orans are sacred groves—community-conserved woodland areas around temples or shrines dedicated to lokdevta (folk deities), saints, and local heroes in Rajasthan, India. Read more ▸
Alert: Adivasi communities in Bastar, India, face escalating state violence while resisting land grabs and destructive mining
The Adivasis demand appropriate recognition of their constitutionally guaranteed and internationally acknowledged Indigenous rights. Read more ▸
Recap: Webinar on challenges and opportunities in pastoral territories of life in Asia
The ICCA Consortium Members Shan Shui Conservation Center and Kalpavriksh facilitated the webinar, which was held on March 22, 2024; four speakers from different countries with long experience in grassland conservation and development were invited to share stories from their regions. Read more ▸
India: KRAPAVIS organizes workshop on Orans for desert pastoralist communities
KRAPAVIS takes a multi-faceted approach to documentation, restoration, and sustainability of Orans and Dev-vans—the Community Conserved Areas (CCAs) of Indian desert pastoralists. Read more ▸
Van Gujjar Tribal Yuva Sangathan |
Van Gujjar Tribal Yuva Sangathan |
P. V. Satheesh: a quiet revolutionary walks on
P.V. Satheesh—the quiet revolutionary who helped transform the lives of Dalit women farmers in India—passed away on March 19, 2023. He was 77. The founder of the Deccan Development Society worked for agro-biodiversity, food sovereignty, women’s empowerment, Dalit rights, social justice, and local knowledge systems. Read more ▸
Adivasi women’s kitchen gardening in western India: study explores how knowledge on food systems is articulated and shared
A study on Adivasi women’s kitchen gardening in western India highlights women’s expertise and knowledge in household food production, transformation, and consumption. María Villalpando Páez led the study in collaboration with the Kalpavriksh Environmental Action Group (ICCA Consortium Member). Read more ▸
The South Asia Community Conserved Areas portal is officially launched
There are innumerable examples around the world of community-based conservation initiatives with unique governance and management systems and the use of traditional knowledge. These efforts have gained recognition on the national level and within global environmental policies, but there is still a huge gap that exists in bringing visibility to Community Conserved Areas (CCAs), especially in the context of South Asia. Read more ▸
Post-2020 global biodiversity framework: grassroots consultation on domestic implications in India
Consultation organized by ICCA Consortium Members KRAPAVIS and Kalpavriksh delves into communities’ concerns with protected areas, potential implications of draft global targets on area-based conservation, and domestic legal tools and locally determined strategies to strengthen community rights in this context. Read more ▸
India: Rengma Village leadership body commits to community conservation and “green development pathway”
In Nagaland, India, the Rengma Village Council Chairman Forum (RVCCF) resolved to have a community conserved area in each village in the Tseminyu District, which already boasts 70% forest cover. Read more ▸
New portal presents the diversity of Community Conserved Areas in India
The portal will be later expanded to all other South Asian countries. On the portal, communities can share data, case studies, multimedia content, and maps of the Community Conserved Areas (CCAs) and share their experience documenting, sustaining, and defending these territories of life. Read more ▸
Nagaland: Whitley Award winner Nuklu Phom leads effort to establish a Biodiversity Peace Corridor
Nagaland Community Conserved Areas Forum’s (NCCAF, ICCA Consortium Member) Nuklu Phom won the prestigious award in 2021. Read more ▸
India’s Tiger Project: Harbouring a colonial hang-up
The State of Rajasthan continues to apply its failed tiger conservation model in Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary, to the detriment of Indigenous and pastoralist communities. Read more ▸
Dhaatri |
Dhaatri Resource Centre for Adivasi Women and Children |
India: Mining proposals threaten the community’s long-term efforts in defending and conserving the gram sabha forests of Korchi Taluka
The ICCA Consortium calls on the Government of India to order withdrawal of mining proposals that threaten the efforts of the gram sabha of Korchi and India’s commitment to conservation of biodiversity. Read more ▸
The hidden side of conservation: Webinar highlights cases of human rights abuse in protected areas
Ahead of the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2021 in Marseille, the webinar’s goal was to address the multifaceted social and environmental conflicts generated by restrictive conservation policies and reflect on the ways forward. Read more ▸
KRAPAVIS wins India Biodiversity Awards 2021: Recognition for community-led restoration of Orans
Our Member Krishi Avam Paristhitiki Vikas Sansthan (KRAPAVIS) has won the India Biodiversity Awards 2021 for its two-and-a-half decades of work to restore hundreds of Orans, sacred community-conserved areas in the desert state of Rajasthan. Read more ▸
Rainforest Club Tamenglong |
Rainforest Club Tamenglong |
