On January 17, 2014, Padmaiah Malekudiya, whose family had been living on about 2 acres of encroached forestland in Bijjale enclosure, Mala Village of Karkala Taluk, Kudremukh, chose to renounce the rights he had acquired under the Forests Rights Act, 2006 in favor of a fresh start and a better life outside, thanks to fair and just compensation from the government.
Through a landmark order dated 9th January 2014, the Deputy Commissioner of Udupi, M. T. Reju, provided a compensation … Read More
Human settlements in tiger reserves are a threat to the delicate movement of wildlife and in turn, face the danger of sudden attacks by wild animals. It is the animals that are going to lose eventually. Relocation of local tribes and villages out of the reserves is the only solution for both the tribes and animals, because man and animals have failed to coexist in peace. Human activity of any kind, good, bad or ugly is a nuisance to the … Read More
Villagers inside the reserve area at Tadoba Tiger Reserve. Humans (locals) and animals are a threat to each other in such scenarios. Local people’s perception of surrounding forests is an important factor in their conservation. Also, in many cases, the villagers themselves want to trade the hardships of living inside forests in favour of a more modern lifestyle near cities and towns. Voluntary resettlement can be a win-win solution. Apparently four more villages are yet to be moved out of … Read More
A tiger walks on the main road in Mohurli Range in the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) completely oblivious to the humans and vice versa! There are still villages within the tiger reserve but slowly the ongoing voluntary resettlement is helping villagers find an alternative outside the park — a win-win for both tigers and villagers. … Read More
Three villages in the Wan sanctuary, in the Melghat Tiger Reserve have successfully and willingly relocated to new areas outside the reserve. Other villages have also petitioned the forest department to rehabilitate them. 350 families from Amona, Nagartas, Bharukheda have moved with a relocation package of Rs. 10 lakhs per adult and free land for a house. All three villages are now closer to their administrative headquarters and all the people have better access to healthcare, education, courts, and other … Read More
Even though around 10,000 people inside Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary want to relocate outside government inaction is delaying their move out. The central government has sanctioned Rs. 80 crores to move out a third of the population inside Wayanad, but of that only Rs 4.5 crores have been released. According to a report from the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) there are 110 settlements having 2613 families in the sanctuary. Wild animal attacks are frequent as are retaliatory killings. The Central … Read More
K.Ullas Karanth and Krithi Karanth on the lessons learned from resettlement projects in three important protected areas in the Western Ghats — Nagarahole, Bhadra and Kudremukh.
Forests in the Western Ghats occur as fragmented strips within a larger landscape matrix of crops and tree plantations. Reserves in the Ghats cover only twelve per cent of total area and the average reserve size is 243 sq km; the fourteen legally protected areas in the Ghats cover a total of only 6400 … Read More
Relocation, resettlement and displacement of people have been carried out for several reasons in India and the history of such efforts goes back forty years. In India it is estimated that resettlement for conservation is a small fraction (less than one percent) of the more than sixty million people relocated for other reasons. The nature of these efforts has ranged from forcible eviction to voluntary relocation and they have ranged from abject failure to mixed success.
Relocation and resettlement of … Read More
Devappa was born when the Jagara Valley was a hunting ground of the British. When he was small, the valley had elephants, gaur, and tigers. Within it were villages such as his, sparsely distributed with few people.
In 1951, this 198 sq km area was declared Jagara Valley Game Sanctuary. The population of the villagers inside the reserve was low and the extraction of forest resources was more for self-subsistence than for the market.
In the sixties, a reservoir was … Read More
The Ministry of Environment and Forests has approved the resettlement of farming communities inside Wayanad Wilidlife Sanctuary and has set aside a sum of Rs 5.5 crores to aid in implementing the first phase of relocation. The resettlement comes under the Voluntary Relocation of Settlements project. The communities in Wayanad have been fighting a three decade long battle asking for relocation. Phase 1 will affect 1388 people living in 880 families across 14 settlements and is expected to cost Rs. … Read More
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