Rehabilitation is not expected to be a one stop
exercise by agencies.The impact of the resettlement
arrangement on the people needs to be constantly
monitored.But any adverse report on the lacune in the
rehab measures has to be authentic and corroborated by
specific instances. Narmada , Tehri dam oustees rehab
packages are up for scrutiny and scathing criticisms
for its failure to deliver to the people. In the
present case a sketchy pressnote should not be a basis
to arrive at any conclusion .Even the summary of the
report  should have been elaborated  in the pressnote.
We eagerly wait for its release.

Tapas Chakraborty Aug 13.
--- Shivani Chaudhry <schaudhry@...> wrote:

> Housing and Land Rights Network
> New Delhi
>
> PRESS RELEASE
>
>
>
>
> 3 August 2006
>
>
> Report Reveals Violations of Tsunami Survivor's
> Human Rights to Housing, Land and Livelihood in the
> Andaman and Nicobar Islands
>
>
>
>
> "Battered Islands" - a report on a fact-finding
> mission to the tsunami-affected areas of the Andaman
> and Nicobar Islands by the Housing and Land Rights
> Network, New Delhi - highlights the dire situation
> with regard to human rights of tsunami survivors in
> the Islands. A fact-finding team visited several
> affected islands in January and February 2006, a
> year after the tsunami, to study the situation of
> the affected and their living conditions.
>
>
>
> It is tragic that even after a year and a half after
> the December 2004 tsunami, people continue to live
> in makeshift shelters and are yet to be adequately
> rehabilitated. The situation in the Islands typifies
> what happens once the early enthusiasm and activity
> surrounding an emergency dies down. The report
> points out the pervading sense of neglect and
> betrayal among survivors and a feeling of fatigue,
> as patience and endurance levels are repeatedly
> tested and tried. It focuses on the shelter and
> housing component of rehabilitation in the Islands
> through the lens of human rights. A situational
> analysis revealed that intermediate shelters
> constructed across the Islands do not meet
> international human rights standards of "adequate
> housing." Instead the small tin structures are
> largely uninhabitable due to their tendency to trap
> heat and humidity. A woman from Great Nicobar Island
> is quoted in the report as saying the shelters are
> like "toasters." They also threaten privacy and
> safety, especially of women, since they are built in
> lines with common partitions that do not reach the
> ceiling. Sanitation and solid waste management
> facilities are largely absent in most sites while
> drinking water shortages are acute.
>
>
>
> Across the Islands, the report reveals that
> rehabilitation is slow and consultation with people
> has been minimal. Though the Administration has
> recently finalised designs for permanent housing,
> local communities have not had any say in the final
> plans, which continue to be rife with controversy.
> Wastage of resources are rampant, be it through the
> construction of defunct toilets, the provision of
> unnecessary wheelbarrows for garbage collection, or
> the transportation of non-durable pre-fabricated
> construction sheets from the mainland.
>
>
>
> Shivani Chaudhry from the Housing and Land Rights
> Network, one of the members of the fact-finding team
> asserts, "The remoteness of the Islands can in no
> way condone the obvious disrespect for the human
> rights of the survivors. While rehabilitation is
> conducted in a very top-down manner with no space
> for community participation, critical issues such as
> housing and livelihood are still not being given the
> priority they require."  Enakshi Ganguly Thukral, a
> child rights activist working with HAQ: Centre for
> Child Rights, another member of the team, mentioned
> the severe and long-lasting impacts on children and
> negligence on part of the authorities in providing
> them with the systematic attention they deserved.
>
>
>
> While several actors are involved in rehabilitation
> work and most of them well-intentioned, coordination
> between them in most areas is insufficient.
> "Relocation of displaced communities, especially
> tribals evacuated to other islands, is a major
> concern as people have not been consulted and have
> been forced to settle in areas predetermined by the
> Administration", says the report. Another egregious
> issue with post-tsunami rehabilitation is that
> women's needs have not been adequately considered.
> The authors express concern about the
> "gender-neutral" nature of resettlement and
> rehabilitation processes and plans, thus leading to
> specific concerns of women remaining unaddressed.
>
>
>
>
> Recommendations made to government and
> non-government agencies as well as other involved
> actors such as funders, include the need for
> participatory and in-depth consultations with
> communities, immediate recognition of the
> inadequacies of intermediate shelters and urgent
> redressal of persistent housing problems;
> incorporation of human rights standards of
> "adequacy" into any plans for permanent housing;
> provision of special facilities for women and
> children, including the establishment of functional
> Child Welfare Committees. The report urgently calls
> for all involved agencies to adhere to
> internationally accepted human rights standards and
> develop a strong human rights-based approach to
> long-term rehabilitation work. The authors assert
> that "the right to humanitarian relief and
> rehabilitation must be recognised and upheld as a
> basic human right and cannot be viewed as charity."
>
>
>
> For more information, including to request a copy of
> the report, please write to: schaudhry@...
>
> or call  (011) 2435-8492.
>
>
>
> The report will soon be available as a pdf file on
> www.hic-sarp.org
>
>
>
> ***********************************
> Housing and Land Rights Network
> South Asia Regional Programme
> B-28 Nizamuddin East
> New Delhi - 110 013
> INDIA
> Telefax: 91- (0) 11-2435-8492
> www.hic-sarp.org
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been
> removed]
>
>




__________________________________________________________
Yahoo! India Answers: Share what you know. Learn something new
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Does any body know if this involves a ressurection of
the Mithakhari/Flat bay dyke proposal of a few years
back?
If i remember right this involved construction across
the Port Blair harbour.
--- Pankaj <pankaj@...> wrote:

> Admn. & WAPCOS sign MoU
> Construction of dykes, check-dams for water
> harvesting on card
> THE DAILY TELEGRAMS, August 11, 2006
> Port Blair, Aug 10
>    A MoU was signed between the A & N Administration
> and WAPCOS for
> construction of dykes with sluice gate, check dams
> and other soil
> conservation and water harvesting and recharge
> structures for harvesting
> water for the benefits of this islands. Under this
> programme over 10 kms of
> dykes with proper sluice gates and speel wells, over
> 400 check dams are
> planned to be constructed  within the current
> financial year.
>   During the period, various other soil conservation
> and water harvesting
> structures will be constructed. The budget
> allocation for the project is Rs.
> 24 crores.
>     The central ground water Board (CGWB) will
> assist in the implementation
> of the programme which will address the issue of
> water availability for
> farmers all over the islands.
>     WAPCOS will conduct requisite surveys and
> investigations in the field,
> identify suitable sites for erecting structures,
> design the structures,
> prepare DPRs, cost estimates, tender documents, and
> will also supervise the
> construction to ensure the requisite quality in
> respect of specifications
> for materials used and workmanship. In short, WAPCOS
> will be involved from
> beginning of the project till the completion of
> construction. Repair of
> existing damaged sluice gates will also be
> undertaken in the project.
> Successful completion of the project would
> significantly impact the water
> availability in various islands, and help in soil
> conservation and land
> protection from salinity.
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>     andamanicobar-unsubscribe@...
>
>
>
>
>


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
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hello all,

i am new to this group and would like to know whether we have a forum
where we can meet once a year.

also i would like to know more about the catchal islands and how the
locals are being  rehabilitated after the tsunami devastated it.

thanks
soumana datta

For information...
pankaj

From: Shohini Ghosh shohini@...
Workshop on Forced Migration: Academy of Third World Studies
18th to 22nd September 2006

(Organised in Collaboration with the Calcutta Research Group)

1. The Programme



The workshop will be a 5-day residential workshop to be jointly
organised by the Academy of Third World Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia,
New Delhi and the Calcutta Research Group (CRG), Kolkata. The
programme is intended for young students, researchers, other academics
and activists working in the field of forced migration.



The curriculum will deal with themes of forced migration, nationalism,
ethnicity, partition, partition-refugees, national regimes and the
international regime of protection, political issues relating to
regional trends in migration in South Asia, internal displacement, the
gendered nature of forced migration, international humanitarian law
and other protection framework, resource politics, environmental
degradation and forced migration.



The workshop will give special emphasis to the experiences of forced
displacement, creative writings on refugee life, nature of internal
displacement, critical legal analysis, analysis of notions of
vulnerability, care risk, protection, and settlement, attention on
gender concerns as an internal part of the course, and emphasis on
issues of human rights and humanitarian law and action for the victims
of displacement. The workshop intends to serve multiple objectives -
study, training, capacity building, and pooling of available resources
in displacement studies.

2. Objectives
The programme will serve these objectives:
To train and equip young students, academics, and researchers with key
concepts of forced migration, internal displacement, legal regimes of
rights protection and human rights especially to those of refugees and
internally displaced persons.
To provide a comprehensive knowledge of national and international
legal regimes in order to empower rights activists and IDP communities
in the struggle for protection of social and political rights.
To sensitise participants who are or would be engaged in rights
protection, or humanitarian work about the special needs of women,
Dalits, indigenous communities, specially challenged people, and other
marginalised groups in society during crisis situations such as ethnic
conflicts, internal displacement, Tsunami, floods, or those due to
development displacement etc.
To enhance understanding of the complex relationship between the
forces of nationalism, identity politics, racism, and xenophobia with
forced migration, its dynamics and special impact on women, and other
marginalised communities.
To facilitate critical engagement with the key concepts of rights,
justice, peace, vulnerability, marginality, and development available
in national and international humanitarian law, context and discourse.
To use the methodology of participatory and decentralised educational
processes in a dialogic �educational space� to facilitate the process
of building bridges between agencies involved in rights protection and
humanitarian relief and the IDPs and refugees by preparing a mid level
actors/professionals who will smoothen this process.


3. The Course Syllabus
The following modules will form the basis of the course syllabus:
�         Nationalisms, ethnicities, partitions, and partition-refugees
�         Gendered nature of forced migration, victim-hood, and
gender-justice
�         International Humanitarian Law and regime of protection,
sovereignty and the principle of responsibility, and political issues
relating to regional trends in migration in South Asia
�         Resource politics, environmental degradation, and forced migration
�         Internal displacement � causes, linkages, and responses

In course activities besides writing assignments, there will be
workshop assignments, group discussions, creative sessions, and
face-to-face sessions with resource persons experienced in related
areas. The course will include visual studies. Frontline thinkers and
activists in the field of human rights and humanitarian activities
will form the faculty of the course.

4. Programme Methodology
The programme would consist of interactive lectures, face-to-face
discussion with resource persons drawn from a variety of fields and
experiences, panel discussions, workshops, case study discussions,
policy discussions, films on displacement issues etc. The programme
would use certain principles to develop participatory and critical
approaches to learning, teaching and training aimed at developing a
sense of critical engagement with the processes and systems, which
govern society, its development and inter-personal relations. These
principles would also be used to create a dialogic, interactive and
participatory �educational space� owned collectively by the
participants of the programme. The significant characteristics of the
educational space for dialogue would be its horizontal structure,
informal nature, exposure to non-mainstream perspectives, critical
engagement with both mainstream and non-mainstream perspectives and a
creative environment for learning and training.

The tools for learning, teaching and training during the programme are:
�                     A programme reader including key texts on each modules
�                     Presentations by resource persons
�                     Face to face discussion with human rights
activists, professionals etc.
�                     Selected case studies
�                     Films on human rights issues, alternatives,
strategies and important campaigns
�                     Creative writings on related themes


5. Faculty
Besides the faculty members of the Jamia Millia Islamia and the
members of the CRG, the faculty will be drawn from people with
recognised backgrounds in refugee studies, studies on internal
displacement, university teaching and research, humanitarian work in
NGOs, legal studies, UN functionaries, particularly UNHCR and ICRC
functionaries; public policy analysis, journalism, and concerned human
rights activism and humanitarian work. Attention is to be paid to
diversity of background and region to bring out diversity in
experiences. Special attention will be given to the requirements of
the syllabus; the faculty will be involved in developing on a
permanent scale a syllabus, a set of reading material, evaluation, and
follow-up activities. The resource persons will also be involved in
harmonising the syllabus of this course with the requirements of the
participants, and similar syllabi in various universities, workshops,
and courses.


6. Participants
The participants in the programme would be drawn from backgrounds of
humanities and social sciences, law, social and humanitarian work, and
human rights work. The effort will be to have at least fifty percent
women participants in the programme. Participants should be proficient
in the language of discussion. Interested participants will need to
send their curriculum vitae with a 500-1000 word write-up on reasons
for applying to the programme and its relevance to her/his work,
ideas, or life.

The programme would be residential and participants will have to make
their own arrangements for travel to the venue.

At the successful completion of the programme participants will be
awarded a certificate of appreciation by the Academy of Third World
Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia and the CRG.

The workshop will have 20 participants.


7. The Selection Criteria and Procedures
�       Participants with a keen interest in the issue of
socio-economic rights and associated with some civil or community
organisations working in the field of rights protection or
humanitarian relief.
�       Preference will be given to young participants preferably
below 35 years of age.
�       Preference to be given to women participants.
�       Participants to secure references from two people having
experiences in the themes of the course.

Selection of participants will be made by a selection committee
comprising of members from the Academy of Third World Studies, CRG and
other academics or human rights activists and legal experts in the
field.

8. Assignments
Based on the module structure and their previous understanding
participants would be required to prepare a case study of rights
violation or protection of IDPs, or prepare a rights manifesto, policy
document, empowering strategies or something which they think would be
beneficial for the discussion during the programme. The exercise would
help participants in developing their ability to research (observe,
report, pinpoint) - all related to the social and physical geography
of the community. It will help them train in setting goals or
objectives, plot steps towards achieving the objectives and finally
evaluate their progress towards that objective.


please pass on this information to anyone who will be interested.

if you got this message as a forward, you can subscribe directly by sending
a mail to invites-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

all messages posted in invites@yahoogroups.com and NgoJob@yahoogroups.com
can also be accessed at www.openspace.org.in

for deadlines/reminders of upcoming events do check our website:
www.openspace.org.in


And the big bad wolf says:
Yahoo! Groups Links

Admn. & WAPCOS sign MoU
Construction of dykes, check-dams for water harvesting on card
THE DAILY TELEGRAMS, August 11, 2006
Port Blair, Aug 10
    A MoU was signed between the A & N Administration and WAPCOS for
construction of dykes with sluice gate, check dams and other soil
conservation and water harvesting and recharge structures for harvesting
water for the benefits of this islands. Under this programme over 10 kms of
dykes with proper sluice gates and speel wells, over 400 check dams are
planned to be constructed  within the current financial year.
   During the period, various other soil conservation and water harvesting
structures will be constructed. The budget allocation for the project is Rs.
24 crores.
     The central ground water Board (CGWB) will assist in the implementation
of the programme which will address the issue of water availability for
farmers all over the islands.
     WAPCOS will conduct requisite surveys and investigations in the field,
identify suitable sites for erecting structures, design the structures,
prepare DPRs, cost estimates, tender documents, and will also supervise the
construction to ensure the requisite quality in respect of specifications
for materials used and workmanship. In short, WAPCOS will be involved from
beginning of the project till the completion of construction. Repair of
existing damaged sluice gates will also be undertaken in the project.
Successful completion of the project would significantly impact the water
availability in various islands, and help in soil conservation and land
protection from salinity.

Dear Friends
Here are the links of a report with the post tsunami assessment the nesting of
the Giant Leatherback Turtle in the South and South East Asian region, including
the A&N islands.

http://www.ioseaturtles.org//Features/Leatherback_Assessment-Full_Report-3107.pd\
f

http://www.ioseaturtles.org//Features/Tsunami_Assessment-3107.pdf

thanks
pankaj

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Dear friends
On Sita's query and Rauf's alarming news: the draft policy did in fact
suggest 1980 as a cut off date, and though for most of the indigenous people
of mainland India, their chances were pretty much sealed long before 1980,
bringing it forward to 2005 will with great surety (and deliberation?)
destroy the Jarawa peoples.
Arnab

On 8/9/06, Ashish Kothari <ashish@...> wrote:
>
> Pl. note that this note is for the Tribal Bill prior to the version
> proposed
> by the Joint Parliamentary Committee...many of the provisions cited below
> have changed.
>
> For our commentary on the new version, pl. see www.kalpavriksh.org.
>
> Ashish
>
> Ashish Kothari
> Member, Kalpavriksh
> Co-Chair, IUCN Theme on Indigenous/Local Communities, Equity, and
> Protected
> Areas
> Apt. 5 Shree Dutta Krupa
>
> 908 Deccan Gymkhana
> Pune 411004
> Tel: 91-20-25675450
> Tel/Fax: 91-20-25654239
> Email: ashishkothari@...
> Website:  www.kalpavriksh.org
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Venkateswar, Sita" <S.Venkateswar@...>
> To: <andamanicobar@...>
> Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2006 8:33 AM
> Subject: RE: [andamanicobar] Tribal Bill- what will happen in the islands?
>
>
> The issues you refer to are covered in this discussion of the Forest
> Rights
> Bill by Kaushik Sanyal:
>
>
>
> PART B: KEY ISSUES AND ANALYSIS
>
> The Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill, 2005, aims to
> recognize and enforce the rights of FDSTs to forest land and resources.
> The
> main challenge of the Bill is to harmonize the potentially conflicting
> interest of recognizing forest rights of FDSTs while protecting forests
> and
> wildlife resources. Lack of data
>
> <http://www.indiatogether.org/images/related.jpg>
>
> *  Ecology for the people
> <http://indiatogether.org/2005/nov/rgh-ecology.htm>
> *  Forest fights, Indian style
> <http://indiatogether.org/2005/sep/env-fordivide.htm>
> *  Understanding encroachment
> <http://indiatogether.org/2003/jun/vup-encroach.htm>
> *  Their lands, our laws
> <http://indiatogether.org/2003/mar/vu-triballands.htm>
>
> <http://www.indiatogether.org/images/pixels/ffffff.jpg> Although the Bill
> proposes to recognize and vest forest land rights to FDSTs, there are no
> reliable estimates of the number of families who will be benefiting from
> the
> proposed legislation. Secondly, although the government estimates that
> there
> are around 2-3 million people living inside India's protected areas
> (national parks and sanctuaries) [6], there is no census of the number of
> FDSTs residing within the core areas of national parks and sanctuaries
> [7].
> Therefore, it is not possible to calculate how much forest land would be
> required in order to implement the provisions of the Bill.
>
> Tribal Rights vs Environmental Conservation
>
> * Differing Viewpoints
>
> There are three main streams of thought regarding this issue. Some experts
>
> say that tribal communities have lived in forests for centuries, and
> granting them the formal right over forest land is just undoing a
> historical
> injustice. On the other extreme, some conservationists say that certain
> species of animals (such as the tiger) cannot co-exist with humans, and
> there is a need to reserve at least some parts of forests to conserve
> these
> species. They also say that increased human habitation in forests will
> cause
> depletion of forest cover, resulting in significant ecological costs. A
> third view is that traditional forest dwellers help in preserving forests,
>
> and giving them land rights would actually help in ecological conservation
>
> [8]. However, there does not appear to be any clear evidence to
> conclusively
> support any of these views. Some of these issues are discussed below.
>
> * Allotment of Land
>
> The Bill prescribes 2.5 hectares as the upper limit of forest land that an
>
> FDST nuclear family may be allotted. However, there is a possibility that
> it
> might result in elimination of legal protection for forest cover, which
> could lead to heavy ecological damage [9]. For instance, the possible
> depletion of watershed forests of Central India, which allow penetration
> of
> rain water into the sub soil, could lead to drying up of rivers such as
> Narmada, Tapti, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, and Cauveri [10]. The
> counter-argument is that the Bill only seeks to recognize the forest
> rights
> of FDSTs who have been cultivating the forest land for generations. In any
>
> case, the total forest land under encroachment is estimated by the
> government at 13.43 lakh hectares [11], which amounts to about 2% of the
> recorded forest area in the country [12].
>
> It is also possible that confiscating forest land from the tribal
> families,
> who possess more than 2.5 hectares of land, could lead to further
> impoverishment of tribal communities [13].
>
> * Core Areas
>
> The Bill grants forest rights to FDSTs in core areas [14] of National
> Parks
> and Sanctuaries provided they are relocated within five years. If
> relocation
> does not take place within the prescribed time period, the holder would
> get
> permanent right over forest land. Therefore, there would either be large
> scale relocation of tribal communities or they would get permanent right
> over land in core areas.
>
> Given India's poor track record in relocating people affected by
> development
> projects, such as the Narmada Dam [15], or from sanctuaries such as
> Sariska
> and Gir [16], the possibility of large scale relocation from core areas
> raises the spectre of loss of livelihood and hardship for FDSTs.
>
> There could also be an argument against advocating coexistence between
> wild
> animals and tribal communities. Certain species such as tigers, rhinos,
> and
> elephants are vulnerable to pressures from human land use [17]. These
> species are typically large-bodied, slow breeding, need large areas, and
> vast resources for survival. Some experts argue that it might be more
> realistic to identify protected areas, which consist of National Parks and
>
> Sanctuaries (about 4.7% of India's geographical area [18]) as inviolate
> while areas outside such reserves could be utilised to serve the needs of
> tribal communities [19].
>
> Coverage
>
> * 1980 'cut-off date'
>
> The Bill takes October 25, 1980 as the cut-off date for vesting and
> recognizing forest land rights of the tribal community. However, the Bill
> does not specify the kind of evidence that FDSTs would require to prove
> their occupancy of forest land before 1980. Although states such as
> Maharashtra have adopted more effective procedures than just documentary
> evidences (oral testimonies, evidence of elders of the village etc.) for
> verifying claims [20], it is not mandatory for every state to adopt such
> practices. Therefore, there might be a case for specifying a set of
> admissible evidences in the Bill itself.
>
> Also, it is unlikely that FDSTs would have the required documentary
> evidence
> to prove their occupancy over forest land before 1980 [21]. Thus, in order
>
> to minimize evictions, a case could be made for settling the claims of
> FDSTs
> on the basis of current occupancy of forest land.
>
> * Exclusion of certain communities
>
> The Bill only recognizes forest rights of FDSTs who are defined as
> 'Scheduled Tribes who primarily reside in forests and includes the
> Scheduled
> Tribes pastoralist communities and who depend on the forests or forest
> lands
> for bona fide livelihood needs.' Other communities who depend on the
> forest
> for survival and livelihood reasons, but are not forest dwellers or
> Scheduled Tribes, for instance in large sections of Chattisgarh and forest
>
> tracts of Uttaranchal [22], are excluded from the purview of the Bill.
> This
> could lead to large-scale eviction of such people and increase social
> tension among the various forest communities.
>
> The Bill also specifies that FDSTs would be granted forest rights only in
> places where they are scheduled. However, such a clause could lead to
> denial
> of rights to tribal communities on the ground that they do not reside in
> the
> area where they are scheduled even though many tribal people have been
> displaced due to development projects and creation of protected areas
> [23].
>
> Role of Gram Sabha
>
> Although the Gram Sabha has been given the power to initiate the process
> of
> determining forest rights, the final decision rests with the DLC. The DLC
> is
> also the authority that would decide the period for which an FDST's forest
>
> rights is to be derecognized in case of repeated contravention of the
> provisions of the Act. Although the Statement of Objects and Reasons of
> the
> Bill envisages involvement of democratic institutions at the grassroots
> level, the Gram Sabha does not have the power to recognize forest rights
> or
> enforce such rights.
>
> Eviction and Relocation
>
> The Bill does not place any explicit restriction on the methods that can
> be
> used to remove non-eligible forest dwellers. This is a concern, given the
> history of cases where brutal force has been used to evict tribal families
>
> [24]. The Bill mentions that FDSTs would be relocated from core areas of
> National Parks and Sanctuaries with due compensation. However, the Bill
> does
> not clarify exactly what kind of compensation would be offered to the
> tribal
> people, what recourse they would have if such compensation is not
> satisfactory or is altogether denied.
>
> Definitions
>
> Certain terms mentioned in the Bill have not been defined. It could lead
> to
> difficulty in implementing the provisions of the Bill. Clause 3 (j)
> mentions
> 'the right to protect, regenerate or conserve or manage any community
> forest
> resource which they have been traditionally protecting and conserving for
> sustainable use.' The term 'community forest resource' is not defined, and
>
> hence, it is not clear whether these also include resources within
> government owned forests including National Parks and Sanctuaries. The
> term
> 'nuclear family' has also not been defined, though each 'nuclear family'
> has
> a right up to 2.5 hectares of forest land. FDSTs are defined as those
> 'members or community of the Scheduled Tribes who depend on the forests or
>
> forest land for bonafide livelihood needs'. The term 'livelihood needs' is
>
> not defined which leaves the scope of activities allowed open to
> interpretation.
>
> Penalties
>
> The Bill imposes a fine of Rs 1,000 on FDSTs in case of contravention of
> provisions of the Act. If the offence is repeated, the person's forest
> rights might be derecognized for such period as decided by the DLC on the
> recommendation of the Gram Sabha. However, the Bill does not specify
> whether
> an FDST has the right to appeal such a ruling of the DLC to a higher
> authority (such as the State Level Monitoring Committee) other than to a
> court.
>
> The member of a committee is also required to pay a fine of Rs 1,000 if
> found guilty of contravening the provisions of the Act. However, this
> amount
> might not be a sufficient deterrent. ⊕
>
> Kaushiki Sanyal
> <mailto:kaushiki@...,%20editors@
>
indiatogether.org?subject=Feedback:%20Legislative%20Brief%20on%20Forest%20Rights\
%20Bill
> >
> 15 Apr 2006
>
> Kaushiki Sanyal is a researcher with Parliamentary Research Service
> <http://www.prsindia.org/> , a unit of the Center for Policy Research in
> New
> Delhi. PRS is an independent initiative to make the process of law-making
> in
> India more transparent, better informed and participatory.
>
> <http://www.indiatogether.org/php/sendform.php>
> <http://www.indiatogether.org/support/>
> *  Write the author
> <mailto:kaushiki@...,%20editors@
>
indiatogether.org?subject=Feedback:%20Legislative%20Brief%20on%20Forest%20Rights\
%20Bill
> >
> *  Post a comment on this article
> <http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/apr/law-forest.htm#postnew>
> *  Forests <http://www.indiatogether.org/environment/forests.htm>
> *  Adivasis <http://www.indiatogether.org/society/adivasis.htm>
>
> Notes
>
> 1. The National Advisory Council (Chairperson: Smt. Sonia Gandhi), made
> certain recommendations, including the need for central legislation, to
> improve the condition of the tribal population (see
>
http://nac.nic.in/concept%20papers/evictions.pdf)<http://nac.nic.in/concept%20pa\
pers/evictions.pdf%29>
>
> 2. National Forest Policy, 1988 <http://envfor.nic.in/divisions/fp/nfp.pdf
> >
>
> 3. (FP1) Regularization of Encroachment (FP2) Review of Disputed Claims
> over
> Forest Land (FP3) Regularization of Pattas and Leases (FP4) Elimination of
>
> Intermediaries and Payment of Fair Wages to the Labourers on Forestry
> Works
> (FP5) Conversion of Forest Villages into Revenue Villages and Settlement
> of
> Other Old Habitations (FP6) Payment of Compensation for Loss of Life and
> Property Due to Predation/Depredation by Wild Animals.
>
> 4. In T.N. Godavarman vs Union of India (Writ Petition (C) No. 202 of
> 1995),
> the Supreme Court issued an order "restraining the Union of India from
> permitting regularization of any encroachments whatsoever without leave of
>
> this Hon'ble Court." However, a letter of Inspector General of Forests,
> dated May 3, 2002, instructs state governments to evict the ineligible
> encroachers and all post-1980 encroachers from forest land in a time bound
>
> manner. The letter refers to the SC order of Nov 23, 2001
> (see
http://nac.nic.in/concept%20papers/evictions.pdf).<http://nac.nic.in/concept%20p\
apers/evictions.pdf%29.>
>
> 5. Net Present Value (NPV) and Compensatory Afforestation are requirements
>
> associated with using forest land under the Forest (Conservation) Act,
> 1980.
> NPV of the diverted forest land is a measure of the potential value of
> such
> land. The Supreme Court, in the course of Godavarman case, mandated that
> any
> user agency, prior to diverting forest land, would have to pay the NPV of
> that land to a Court created Central Government agency called Compensatory
>
> Afforestation Management and Planning Agency. The value, which is subject
> to
> upward revision, was set at the rate of Rs 5.80 lakh to Rs 9.20 lakh per
> hectare of forest land depending upon the quantity and density of the land
>
> in question converted for non-forest use.
> (see http://164.100.194.13/allied_forclr/htmls/Guidelines/Guidelines.htm,
> and
>
http://www.elaw.org/resources/text.asp?id=2998)<http://www.elaw.org/resources/te\
xt.asp?id=2998%29>
>
> 6. Press Information Bureau, Govt. of India
> <http://pib.nic.in/feature/feyr2001/fmay2001/f240520011.html>
>
> 7. M.D. Madhusudan, "Of Rights and Wrongs: Wildlife Conservation and
> Tribal
> Bill", (Economic and Political Weekly), November 19, 2005
> <
>
http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root=2005&leaf=11&filename=9360&filetype=\
html
> >
>
> 8. Pradip Prabhu, "The Right to Live With Dignity", (Seminar), No. 552,
> Aug
> 2005 <http://www.indiaseminar.com/2005/552/552%20pradip%20prabhu.htm>
>
> 9. P.V. Jayakrishnan, "Is there a need for this Bill?", (Seminar), No.
> 552,
> August 2005
> <http://www.indiaseminar.com/2005/552/552%20p.v.%20jayakrishnan.htm>
>
> 10. Beware of Tribal Bill's Consequences: Buch, Hindustan Times, May 21,
> 2005
> <
> http://www.hindustantimes.com/2005/May/22/5922_1371612,0015002100010001.htm
> >
>
> 11. Press Release, Ministry of Tribal Affairs
> <
>
http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=16228&kwd=Recognition+of+Forest+Righ\
ts
> >
>
> 12. Bela Bhatia, "Competing Concerns", (Economic and Political Weekly),
> Nov
> 19, 2005
> <
>
http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root=2005&leaf=11&filename=9359&filetype=\
html
> >
>
> 13. Madhuri Krishnaswamy, "One Step Forward, Two Steps Back", (Economic
> and
> Political Weekly), Nov 19, 2005
> <
>
http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root=2005&leaf=11&filename=9362&filetype=\
html
> >
>
> 14. Core Areas: National Parks and Sanctuaries are required to keep
> certain
> areas inviolate for purposes of wildlife conservation. The areas may be
> determined by the Ministry of the Central Government dealing with
> Environment and Forests.
>
> 15. Mike Levien, "Narmada: Life, Struggle and Exodus", (India Together),
> August 2004 <http://www.indiatogether.org/2004/aug/hrt-narmada.htm>
>
> 16. Ghazala Shahabuddin, Ravi Kumar, Manish Shrivastava, "Pushed over the
> Edge", (Economic and Political Weekly), Aug 6, 2005
> <
>
http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root=2005&leaf=08&filename=8950&filetype=\
html
> >
>
> 17. Refer M.D. Madhusudan (Note 7)
>
> 18. Wildlife Institute of India's Executive Summary, "Wild Life Protected
> Area Network in India: A Review"
> <http://www.wii.gov.in/envis/panetworks/panetwork.html>
>
> 19. Valmik Thapar's Dissent Note in the Report of the Tiger Task Force
> (Joining the Dots) <http://projecttiger.nic.in/TTF2005/pdf/full_report.pdf>
>
> set up by the Ministry of Environment and Forest
>
> 20. Jean Dreze, "Tribal Evictions from Forest Land", March 2005
> <http://nac.nic.in/concept%20papers/evictions.pdf>
>
> 21. Refer Madhuri Krishnaswamy (Note 13)
>
> 22. Refer Madhuri Krishnaswamy (Note 13)
>
> 23. Madhu Sarin, "Scheduled Tribes Bill, 2005: A Comment", (Economic and
> Political Weekly), May 21, 2005
> <
>
http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root=2005&leaf=05&filename=8669&filetype=\
html
> >
>
> 24. Refer Jean Dreze (Note 20)
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

----- Original Message -----
   From: Jennifer Jones
   To: TILCEPA@...
   Sent: Monday, July 24, 2006 8:08 PM
   Subject: [TILCEPA] Call for Social Science at SCB 2007 (Port Elizabeth)

   Hello,

   I write to invite those of you interested in conservation issues to consider
participating in the annual meeting the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB).
I am the Secretary of SCB's Social Science Working Group (SSWG), and we are
actively seeking to network with social scientists who are either already SCB
members or who are not SCB members but whose work concerns biodiversity and its
conservation. For those of you interested in attending and participating in a
meeting of the SCB, I want to reach out to you in the hopes of widening our
network of social scientists who are doing applied work within this realm. SCB
is an 8,000-member international professional organization. SSWG is a global
community of conservation professionals interested in the application of social
science to the conservation of biological diversity. With 600 members in nearly
60 countries, the SSWG is home to social scientists (anthropologists,
economists, human geographers, political scientists, psychologists,
sociologists, and many others), natural scientists, and conservation
practitioners (governmental, nongovernmental, and private sector).
   The meeting to which I would like to invite you is the 2007 SCB annual
meeting, which is being held in Port Elizabeth, South Africa from July 1-5,
2007. The meeting's theme is "One World, One Conservation, One Partnership" - an
explicit focus on promoting interdisciplinary approaches to applied
conservation. The SSWG has been asked by the meeting's organizers to promote
collaborations between social and natural scientists and between African and
non-African social scientists interested in conservation issues that transcend
location- or case-specific application. For more information on the meeting,
please see this web site: http://compworx.isat.co.za/scb/ .

   If you are interested in attending this meeting, there are three relevant
deadlines for participating formally:

   ·        The call for proposals for symposia and workshops is now open, and
closes on October 16. For more information on submission criteria for symposia
and workshops, please see http://compworx.isat.co.za/scb/callsym.htm .

   ·        The call for proposals for short courses is now open, and closes on
November 13. For more information on submission criteria for short courses,
please see http://compworx.isat.co.za/scb/callcour.htm .

   ·        The call for individual abstracts opens on October 16 and will close
on January 8. Information on submission criteria will be posted on the meeting
web site by the time the call for abstracts opens. Check back at this site for
details: http://compworx.isat.co.za/scb/dates.htm .


   If you are interested in participating in the meeting or learning more about
collaborative possibilities with other social or natural scientists interested
in conservation, please contact Dr. Murray Rudd at mrudd@... .

   If you are interested in learning more about SCB or its Social Science Working
Group, even if participating in the meeting is not something you are inclined to
do, please cont act Rich Wallace at rwallace@....

   Sincerely,

   Jennifer Jones, Ph.D.
   (Secretary, SCB Social Science Working Group)
   International Honors Program
   Boston, MA, USA
   www.jenjones.org



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Pl. note that this note is for the Tribal Bill prior to the version proposed
by the Joint Parliamentary Committee...many of the provisions cited below
have changed.

For our commentary on the new version, pl. see www.kalpavriksh.org.

Ashish

Ashish Kothari
Member, Kalpavriksh
Co-Chair, IUCN Theme on Indigenous/Local Communities, Equity, and Protected
Areas
Apt. 5 Shree Dutta Krupa
908 Deccan Gymkhana
Pune 411004
Tel: 91-20-25675450
Tel/Fax: 91-20-25654239
Email: ashishkothari@...
Website:  www.kalpavriksh.org
----- Original Message -----
From: "Venkateswar, Sita" <S.Venkateswar@...>
To: <andamanicobar@...>
Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2006 8:33 AM
Subject: RE: [andamanicobar] Tribal Bill- what will happen in the islands?


The issues you refer to are covered in this discussion of the Forest Rights
Bill by Kaushik Sanyal:



PART B: KEY ISSUES AND ANALYSIS

The Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill, 2005, aims to
recognize and enforce the rights of FDSTs to forest land and resources. The
main challenge of the Bill is to harmonize the potentially conflicting
interest of recognizing forest rights of FDSTs while protecting forests and
wildlife resources. Lack of data

  <http://www.indiatogether.org/images/related.jpg>

  *  Ecology for the people
<http://indiatogether.org/2005/nov/rgh-ecology.htm>
  *  Forest fights, Indian style
<http://indiatogether.org/2005/sep/env-fordivide.htm>
  *  Understanding encroachment
<http://indiatogether.org/2003/jun/vup-encroach.htm>
  *  Their lands, our laws
<http://indiatogether.org/2003/mar/vu-triballands.htm>

  <http://www.indiatogether.org/images/pixels/ffffff.jpg> Although the Bill
proposes to recognize and vest forest land rights to FDSTs, there are no
reliable estimates of the number of families who will be benefiting from the
proposed legislation. Secondly, although the government estimates that there
are around 2-3 million people living inside India's protected areas
(national parks and sanctuaries) [6], there is no census of the number of
FDSTs residing within the core areas of national parks and sanctuaries [7].
Therefore, it is not possible to calculate how much forest land would be
required in order to implement the provisions of the Bill.

Tribal Rights vs Environmental Conservation

* Differing Viewpoints

There are three main streams of thought regarding this issue. Some experts
say that tribal communities have lived in forests for centuries, and
granting them the formal right over forest land is just undoing a historical
injustice. On the other extreme, some conservationists say that certain
species of animals (such as the tiger) cannot co-exist with humans, and
there is a need to reserve at least some parts of forests to conserve these
species. They also say that increased human habitation in forests will cause
depletion of forest cover, resulting in significant ecological costs. A
third view is that traditional forest dwellers help in preserving forests,
and giving them land rights would actually help in ecological conservation
[8]. However, there does not appear to be any clear evidence to conclusively
support any of these views. Some of these issues are discussed below.

* Allotment of Land

The Bill prescribes 2.5 hectares as the upper limit of forest land that an
FDST nuclear family may be allotted. However, there is a possibility that it
might result in elimination of legal protection for forest cover, which
could lead to heavy ecological damage [9]. For instance, the possible
depletion of watershed forests of Central India, which allow penetration of
rain water into the sub soil, could lead to drying up of rivers such as
Narmada, Tapti, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, and Cauveri [10]. The
counter-argument is that the Bill only seeks to recognize the forest rights
of FDSTs who have been cultivating the forest land for generations. In any
case, the total forest land under encroachment is estimated by the
government at 13.43 lakh hectares [11], which amounts to about 2% of the
recorded forest area in the country [12].

It is also possible that confiscating forest land from the tribal families,
who possess more than 2.5 hectares of land, could lead to further
impoverishment of tribal communities [13].

* Core Areas

The Bill grants forest rights to FDSTs in core areas [14] of National Parks
and Sanctuaries provided they are relocated within five years. If relocation
does not take place within the prescribed time period, the holder would get
permanent right over forest land. Therefore, there would either be large
scale relocation of tribal communities or they would get permanent right
over land in core areas.

Given India's poor track record in relocating people affected by development
projects, such as the Narmada Dam [15], or from sanctuaries such as Sariska
and Gir [16], the possibility of large scale relocation from core areas
raises the spectre of loss of livelihood and hardship for FDSTs.

There could also be an argument against advocating coexistence between wild
animals and tribal communities. Certain species such as tigers, rhinos, and
elephants are vulnerable to pressures from human land use [17]. These
species are typically large-bodied, slow breeding, need large areas, and
vast resources for survival. Some experts argue that it might be more
realistic to identify protected areas, which consist of National Parks and
Sanctuaries (about 4.7% of India's geographical area [18]) as inviolate
while areas outside such reserves could be utilised to serve the needs of
tribal communities [19].

Coverage

* 1980 'cut-off date'

The Bill takes October 25, 1980 as the cut-off date for vesting and
recognizing forest land rights of the tribal community. However, the Bill
does not specify the kind of evidence that FDSTs would require to prove
their occupancy of forest land before 1980. Although states such as
Maharashtra have adopted more effective procedures than just documentary
evidences (oral testimonies, evidence of elders of the village etc.) for
verifying claims [20], it is not mandatory for every state to adopt such
practices. Therefore, there might be a case for specifying a set of
admissible evidences in the Bill itself.

Also, it is unlikely that FDSTs would have the required documentary evidence
to prove their occupancy over forest land before 1980 [21]. Thus, in order
to minimize evictions, a case could be made for settling the claims of FDSTs
on the basis of current occupancy of forest land.

* Exclusion of certain communities

The Bill only recognizes forest rights of FDSTs who are defined as
'Scheduled Tribes who primarily reside in forests and includes the Scheduled
Tribes pastoralist communities and who depend on the forests or forest lands
for bona fide livelihood needs.' Other communities who depend on the forest
for survival and livelihood reasons, but are not forest dwellers or
Scheduled Tribes, for instance in large sections of Chattisgarh and forest
tracts of Uttaranchal [22], are excluded from the purview of the Bill. This
could lead to large-scale eviction of such people and increase social
tension among the various forest communities.

The Bill also specifies that FDSTs would be granted forest rights only in
places where they are scheduled. However, such a clause could lead to denial
of rights to tribal communities on the ground that they do not reside in the
area where they are scheduled even though many tribal people have been
displaced due to development projects and creation of protected areas [23].

Role of Gram Sabha

Although the Gram Sabha has been given the power to initiate the process of
determining forest rights, the final decision rests with the DLC. The DLC is
also the authority that would decide the period for which an FDST's forest
rights is to be derecognized in case of repeated contravention of the
provisions of the Act. Although the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the
Bill envisages involvement of democratic institutions at the grassroots
level, the Gram Sabha does not have the power to recognize forest rights or
enforce such rights.

Eviction and Relocation

The Bill does not place any explicit restriction on the methods that can be
used to remove non-eligible forest dwellers. This is a concern, given the
history of cases where brutal force has been used to evict tribal families
[24]. The Bill mentions that FDSTs would be relocated from core areas of
National Parks and Sanctuaries with due compensation. However, the Bill does
not clarify exactly what kind of compensation would be offered to the tribal
people, what recourse they would have if such compensation is not
satisfactory or is altogether denied.

Definitions

Certain terms mentioned in the Bill have not been defined. It could lead to
difficulty in implementing the provisions of the Bill. Clause 3 (j) mentions
'the right to protect, regenerate or conserve or manage any community forest
resource which they have been traditionally protecting and conserving for
sustainable use.' The term 'community forest resource' is not defined, and
hence, it is not clear whether these also include resources within
government owned forests including National Parks and Sanctuaries. The term
'nuclear family' has also not been defined, though each 'nuclear family' has
a right up to 2.5 hectares of forest land. FDSTs are defined as those
'members or community of the Scheduled Tribes who depend on the forests or
forest land for bonafide livelihood needs'. The term 'livelihood needs' is
not defined which leaves the scope of activities allowed open to
interpretation.

Penalties

The Bill imposes a fine of Rs 1,000 on FDSTs in case of contravention of
provisions of the Act. If the offence is repeated, the person's forest
rights might be derecognized for such period as decided by the DLC on the
recommendation of the Gram Sabha. However, the Bill does not specify whether
an FDST has the right to appeal such a ruling of the DLC to a higher
authority (such as the State Level Monitoring Committee) other than to a
court.

The member of a committee is also required to pay a fine of Rs 1,000 if
found guilty of contravening the provisions of the Act. However, this amount
might not be a sufficient deterrent. ¨’

Kaushiki Sanyal
<mailto:kaushiki@...,%20editors@...?subject=Feedback:%20L\
egislative%20Brief%20on%20Forest%20Rights%20Bill>
15 Apr 2006

Kaushiki Sanyal is a researcher with Parliamentary Research Service
<http://www.prsindia.org/> , a unit of the Center for Policy Research in New
Delhi. PRS is an independent initiative to make the process of law-making in
India more transparent, better informed and participatory.

  <http://www.indiatogether.org/php/sendform.php>
<http://www.indiatogether.org/support/>
  *  Write the author
<mailto:kaushiki@...,%20editors@...?subject=Feedback:%20L\
egislative%20Brief%20on%20Forest%20Rights%20Bill>
  *  Post a comment on this article
<http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/apr/law-forest.htm#postnew>
  *  Forests <http://www.indiatogether.org/environment/forests.htm>
  *  Adivasis <http://www.indiatogether.org/society/adivasis.htm>

Notes

1. The National Advisory Council (Chairperson: Smt. Sonia Gandhi), made
certain recommendations, including the need for central legislation, to
improve the condition of the tribal population (see
http://nac.nic.in/concept%20papers/evictions.pdf)

2. National Forest Policy, 1988 <http://envfor.nic.in/divisions/fp/nfp.pdf>

3. (FP1) Regularization of Encroachment (FP2) Review of Disputed Claims over
Forest Land (FP3) Regularization of Pattas and Leases (FP4) Elimination of
Intermediaries and Payment of Fair Wages to the Labourers on Forestry Works
(FP5) Conversion of Forest Villages into Revenue Villages and Settlement of
Other Old Habitations (FP6) Payment of Compensation for Loss of Life and
Property Due to Predation/Depredation by Wild Animals.

4. In T.N. Godavarman vs Union of India (Writ Petition (C) No. 202 of 1995),
the Supreme Court issued an order "restraining the Union of India from
permitting regularization of any encroachments whatsoever without leave of
this Hon'ble Court." However, a letter of Inspector General of Forests,
dated May 3, 2002, instructs state governments to evict the ineligible
encroachers and all post-1980 encroachers from forest land in a time bound
manner. The letter refers to the SC order of Nov 23, 2001
(see http://nac.nic.in/concept%20papers/evictions.pdf).

5. Net Present Value (NPV) and Compensatory Afforestation are requirements
associated with using forest land under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
NPV of the diverted forest land is a measure of the potential value of such
land. The Supreme Court, in the course of Godavarman case, mandated that any
user agency, prior to diverting forest land, would have to pay the NPV of
that land to a Court created Central Government agency called Compensatory
Afforestation Management and Planning Agency. The value, which is subject to
upward revision, was set at the rate of Rs 5.80 lakh to Rs 9.20 lakh per
hectare of forest land depending upon the quantity and density of the land
in question converted for non-forest use.
(see http://164.100.194.13/allied_forclr/htmls/Guidelines/Guidelines.htm,
and
http://www.elaw.org/resources/text.asp?id=2998)

6. Press Information Bureau, Govt. of India
<http://pib.nic.in/feature/feyr2001/fmay2001/f240520011.html>

7. M.D. Madhusudan, "Of Rights and Wrongs: Wildlife Conservation and Tribal
Bill", (Economic and Political Weekly), November 19, 2005
<http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root=2005&leaf=11&filename=9360&filetype\
=html>

8. Pradip Prabhu, "The Right to Live With Dignity", (Seminar), No. 552, Aug
2005 <http://www.indiaseminar.com/2005/552/552%20pradip%20prabhu.htm>

9. P.V. Jayakrishnan, "Is there a need for this Bill?", (Seminar), No. 552,
August 2005
<http://www.indiaseminar.com/2005/552/552%20p.v.%20jayakrishnan.htm>

10. Beware of Tribal Bill's Consequences: Buch, Hindustan Times, May 21,
2005
<http://www.hindustantimes.com/2005/May/22/5922_1371612,0015002100010001.htm>

11. Press Release, Ministry of Tribal Affairs
<http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=16228&kwd=Recognition+of+Forest+Rig\
hts>

12. Bela Bhatia, "Competing Concerns", (Economic and Political Weekly), Nov
19, 2005
<http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root=2005&leaf=11&filename=9359&filetype\
=html>

13. Madhuri Krishnaswamy, "One Step Forward, Two Steps Back", (Economic and
Political Weekly), Nov 19, 2005
<http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root=2005&leaf=11&filename=9362&filetype\
=html>

14. Core Areas: National Parks and Sanctuaries are required to keep certain
areas inviolate for purposes of wildlife conservation. The areas may be
determined by the Ministry of the Central Government dealing with
Environment and Forests.

15. Mike Levien, "Narmada: Life, Struggle and Exodus", (India Together),
August 2004 <http://www.indiatogether.org/2004/aug/hrt-narmada.htm>

16. Ghazala Shahabuddin, Ravi Kumar, Manish Shrivastava, "Pushed over the
Edge", (Economic and Political Weekly), Aug 6, 2005
<http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root=2005&leaf=08&filename=8950&filetype\
=html>

17. Refer M.D. Madhusudan (Note 7)

18. Wildlife Institute of India's Executive Summary, "Wild Life Protected
Area Network in India: A Review"
<http://www.wii.gov.in/envis/panetworks/panetwork.html>

19. Valmik Thapar's Dissent Note in the Report of the Tiger Task Force
(Joining the Dots) <http://projecttiger.nic.in/TTF2005/pdf/full_report.pdf>
set up by the Ministry of Environment and Forest

20. Jean Dreze, "Tribal Evictions from Forest Land", March 2005
<http://nac.nic.in/concept%20papers/evictions.pdf>

21. Refer Madhuri Krishnaswamy (Note 13)

22. Refer Madhuri Krishnaswamy (Note 13)

23. Madhu Sarin, "Scheduled Tribes Bill, 2005: A Comment", (Economic and
Political Weekly), May 21, 2005
<http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root=2005&leaf=05&filename=8669&filetype\
=html>

24. Refer Jean Dreze (Note 20)



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




Yahoo! Groups Links

Dear Sita,
There is some confusion.
a) The origin of this discussion is a bill called the Scheduled Tribes
(Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill 2005 that had put the cut off date as 1980
and upper land limit as 2.5 hectares etc.
The other mail that you sent with the comments and analysis is of this earlier 
2005 bill
b) Subsequently, there was a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) that presented
its version which is the present one in discussion and callled Scheduled Tribes
and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill 2006.
The concerns that Rauf raised were with respect to the provisions of this and
this is presently the bill that is under discussion.
c) The Draft National Tribal Policy is, in my understanding, independant of the
above two and should not be mixed up - Also its a policy while the other one
would be an Act.

pankaj

C/o Kalpavriksh
Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa,
908 Deccan Gymkhana
Pune 411004, India
Tel: 020 - 25654239
Web: www.kalpavriksh.org

   ----- Original Message -----
   From: Venkateswar, Sita
   To: andamanicobar@...
   Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2006 8:14 AM
   Subject: RE: [andamanicobar] Tribal Bill- what will happen in the islands?


   Rauf, are we talking about the Sceduled Tribe Forest Rights Bill or the
   Draft National Policy on Tribals?  It is in the former that the cut off
   date was 1980 for determining who would be considered a "forest
   dweller," and changing it to 2005 in the context of the Andaman Islands
   is, as you point out, a horrifying prospect.  The National Policy on
   Tribals has a deadline of August 10th for submitting comments on the
   draft and I would urge everyone to respond to it.

   Sita


   [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Befitting progs to mark centenary celebrations of Cellular Jail at New Delhi
today
THE DAILY TELEGRAMS, Aug. 9, 2006
Port Blair, Aug 08
   As part of the centenary year celebrations of Cellular Jail, a painting
exhibition on the topic 'freedom movement' will be held at 10.30 am at the
premises of Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), Feroz Shah Road,
new Delhi tomorrow (Aug 9). Shri Manoranjan Bhakta, MP will inaugurate the
event.
   soon after this, a national seminar on 'Cellular Jail in Freedom Struggle'
will be inaugurated by the Administrator, A & N Islands, Lt. Gen (Retd), M M
Lakhera at the premises of ICHR. The Chairman, ICHR, Prof. D N Tripathi will
preside over the function. Renowned historians viz. Prof. Iqbal Hussain,
Aligarh Muslim University, Ms Benaseer, ICHR, Prof. Pramod Kumar Srivastava,
Lucknow University, Prof. Arjun Dev, ICHR, Prof. Mridula Mukherjee, Centre
for Historical Studies, JNU and Prof. J P Mishra, university of Jabalpur
will present papers on the occasion.
   The painting exhibition and the seminar are being organized by the Dept.
of Sports, Arts & Culture, A & N Administration in association with the
ICHR, Ministry of HRD, GoI.
   Meanwhile, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, GoI and the
Andaman and Nicobar Administration will jointly organize a cultural
evening - 'Samar yatra' to pay tribute to the heroes of freedom struggle and
martyrs at 6.30 pm at Sirifort auditorium, New Delhi tomorrow (Aug 09) on
the occasion of centenary year of Cellular Jail. The Union Minister for
Information & Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Priyaranjan Das
Munshi will be the chief guest while the Administrator, A & N Islands, Lt.
Gen (Retd), M M Lakhera will preside over the function.
    About 250 artists of Song and Drama Division, Ministry of Information &
Broadcasting will present a programme of light and sound show based on the
ninety years of glorious history of freedom struggle.

NATIONAL SEMINAR ON EMERGING OPPURTUNITIES IN ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS


Organisers: Community Enterprise Forum International (CEFI) & Oxfam GB, New
Delhi, India
Venue: Hotel Megapod Nest, Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, India
Date: 27th - 28th August 2006
Last date of Registration: 16th August 2006
Website: www.seminar.cefi.in


Background & Rationale:

Andaman and Nicobar islands - a union territory in India identified and
isolated by the emerald blue and the accompanying mythical perceptions. What
is ignored in the process is the lurking opportunity - economic and social,
for not only the local people in the islands but also for the country as
India continues to lose the potential contribution that the islands can make
to its economic and social fabric. The opportunity lies in turning the
isolated emerald islands to the gateway to India.

Current socio economic features of the island - a sad story but the
potential cant be denied. It has to be excavated.

. A literacy rate, which is amongst the highest in the country, with more
than 60 percent of the literate population proficient in more than one
language.
. The real per capita income of the islands has stagnated.
. Unemployment is on the rise.
. 30 per cent of the local population is within the age of 25 years and
ready to enter the workforce.
. More than 85 percent of the islands employed population, engaged with the
public sector
. Total revenue receipts for year 2003-04 was 8914 lacs only. Of this 14
percent were tax revenue receipts.
. Shipping and forestry are two major sets of contributors to the economy
. Forestry is on a continuous decline in terms of an economic contributor
. Fisheries not currently in the top seven contributors to non tax revenue
in the islands
. Tourism captures a negligible share of 1.56 percent (2003-04) of revenue
earnings
. Controlling presence of A&N Island administration in all facets of the
economy of the islands
. Severe dependence on mainland India for products and services needed in
the islands
. Access to information under stringent control of the administration with
hardly any information available to local population.
. Increasing opportunity for involvement of stakeholders other than the ANI
administration to meet the livelihood needs of the islands.

While resources lie unutilised and opportunities decline, the potential that
the islands has gets neglected. The presence of the ANI administration in
all facets of the economy of the islands has led to its further
deceleration. A lack of innovativeness and strategic approach to development
of socio economic health is reflected all over the islands. Growth of
revenue in the islands continues to fall while dependence on mainland for
regular services registers an increase.

Trends in fishing which could contribute significantly to the island economy
only a 12 percent utilisation of the current potential is visible. ANI has
about 30 percent of the total EEZ in India and one fourth of the country's
coastline. A huge potential both in terms of revenue and employment
generation lies unutilised in fishing. Tourism is the other sector, which
suffers more from the lack of infrastructure in the island more than
anything else. Lack of innovative approaches to attract tourist traffic
coupled with the dearth of facilities in the island has been responsible for
a very slow growth in the sector. This again has suffered immensely from the
Tsunami of 2004. However concerted efforts on community-based tourism,
eco-tourism could change alongwith effective marketing of the existing
tourism potential can lay the ground for efficient growth in the tourism
sector. Inter island transport and accommodation facilities remain a key
constraint harming the sector irreparably. Forests, once the largest
employment opportunity in the islands, is now on a continuous decline as an
employment opportunity. Influenced by the Supreme Court judgement and in
many cases by the sheer lack of efforts of the government, income possible
from forest sources are declining. Public sector dominates heavily as far as
employment scenario in the islands is concerned. More than 85 percent of the
total employed population in the islands is involved with the public sector.
But, opportunities in that sector is also disappearing fast and
opportunities will soon have to emerge from other sectors to arrest the
employment crisis in the islands.

These opportunities lie in sustainable utilisation of natural resources,
innovative use of resources, back up infrastructure and cost effective inter
island transport coupled with improved connectivity with the mainland. This
has to work in tandem with decrease in control over all aspects of the
economy in the islands by the ANI administration.

The Seminar:

Livelihood opportunities in the island have always been restricted, more by
the lack of thought and innovation rather than resources. On one hand while
potential in most areas occur in abundance, the tools to utilise them
sustainable have been missing. A&N Islands is at a juncture of rebirth,
birth after the Tsunami which ravaged whatever little existed, took more
than 3500 lives, permanently ravaged agriculture, dealt an intense blow to a
negligible infrastructure and took away tourists.

However the aftermath of the disaster also left behind it opportunities,
glimmers of hope to be tagged, opportunities that would have to lead the way
to a renewed island.

In an effort to bring the host of experience on identifying the emerging
opportunities in the islands and supporting the growth of these
opportunities, first National Seminar on Emerging Opportunities in Andaman
and Nicobar Islands is being organized by CEFI - LRC (Livelihood Resource
Centre set up by CEFI in the A&N islands), in Port Blair on August 27 and
28, 2006.

At this juncture the island would need substantive thought, innovative
approach and concerted action

From

. People who can make change happen
. People who have proved it through their approaches and action
. People who are willing to play a key role in the renewed development of
the islands
. People who will not just share their thought but also enable them to be
put into action in the islands

This National Seminar on Emerging Opportunities in Andaman and Nicobar
Islands is where you should be.

Thematic Areas for deliberations at the Seminar:

The National Seminar would deliberate on the following sectoral themes with
relevance to the islands:

Sectoral Session I - Agriculture & Food Processing

. Value - Cash Crop
. Production & Productivity
. Value Addition Technologies & Production Systems
. Human Resource - Technical, Research, Training, Capacity Building &
Extension
. Infrastructure and resource availability (Water, Transport, Electricity,
Finance etc.)
. Quality Assurance, Certification and Environment Impact Management Systems

Sectoral Session II - Tourism & Hospitality

. Opportunities - Nature, Adventure, Eco-Tourism, Water Sports, Heritage,
History, Health-Tourism
. Human Resource - Technical, Training, Behaviour & Communication related
Capacity Building
. Infrastructure and resource availability (Water, Transport, Electricity,
Finance etc.)
. Networking - Travel Operators, Associations, Liaising agents and Hotel
Associations etc.
. Marketing - Brand building, building sector profile, marketing and
liaising agents, e-marketing and online services
. Service Quality, Certification, eco-labeling, Affiliations, and
Environment Impact Management Systems

Sectoral Session III - Information & Communication Technologies

. Opportunity for ITES - BPO, Call Centre, Data Processing services etc.
. Human Resource - Technical, Training & Capacity Building
. Infrastructure and resource availability (Connectivity, Entertainment,
Water, Transport, Electricity, Finance etc.)
. Service quality, Business development and marketing support

Sectoral Session IV - Fisheries & Sea Farming

. Production Technologies & Productivity
. Value Addition Technologies, Processing, Preserving & Storage Systems
. Human Resource - Technical, Training & Capacity Building
. Research & development support - product development and quality
improvement
. Infrastructure (Cold chain, Storage etc.) resource availability (Water,
Transport, Electricity, Finance etc.)
. Quality Assurance, Certification and Environment Impact Management Systems

Sectoral Session V - Transport & Energy

. Service quality, infrastructure - port, storage, fueling and service
support
. Green energy production systems - OTEC, Wind energy, Solar, Tidal Energy,
Micro/Pico Hydel, Bio Gas, Bio-Diesel, Bio-Methane (Biowaste energy) and CNG
. Distribution and Management - Decentralised support systems
. Human Resource - Technical, Training & Capacity Building
. Investment & Finance
. Environment Impact Management Systems

Sectoral Session VI - Forest & Environment

. Scientific Research, Eco-Tourism, Forest Camps, Adventure etc.
. MFPs, Agro -Forestry, Joint Forest Management and participatory forest
management
. Value Addition Technologies, Production Systems, product development and
quality assurance
. Human Resource - Technical, Research, Training, Capacity Building &
Extension
. Infrastructure and resource availability (Water, Transport, Electricity,
Finance etc.)

Sectoral Session VII - Credit, Investment & Financial Services

. Financial services and products - Insurance, Loan, Finance, credit
delivery, deposits and investment
. Institutional innovation - Microfinance, venture funding, industrial
activity support products
. Financial Service Delivery - Banks, Cooperative Banks, MFIs, SHGs, Post
Offices, Microfinance institutions and SHGs
. Cash Dispensing (ATMs, Correspondent Banking, Agents etc.)

Registration & Fees:

The registration process is as under:

. Your can register as new participant at our website www.seminar.cefi.in,
choose your login name and enter your profile as a new online system user /
participant.
. Those who have received our postal communication can do registration by
filling the enclosed form.
. Participant needs to identify their category for submitting registration
fee to be submitted on arrival in cash.
. After the registration, if you wish to submit a paper/presentation to the
seminar first select the thematic areas covered by the seminar
. All participants who would be selected would be informed by email.
. Last date for registering for the seminar is 16th August 2006.


The participant registration fee for the seminar is as given in the table
below. The fee (INR) is payable by cheque/DD in favour of Community
Enterprise Forum International payable at New Delhi by 15th August 2006.

. Fee includes participation fee, lodging, boarding and local travel to be
arranged by the organizers
. Travel cost would not be provided to participants, however limited travel
support would be provided for early registration
. Fee is per member, for additional members half of the fee would be
applicable

Accommodation & Logistics:

Accommodation would be provided to all participants in Port Blair from
morning of 26th August 2006 to 29th August 2006 morning. Accommodation of
choice is possible if informed previously; participants registering earlier
would be given options of first choice. Information on accommodation would
be provided on our website in due course. To get more information on
accommodation types please write to us at seminar@...

Note: Accommodations available are both AC and Non AC, please confirm
soonest to book accommodation of choice. National Seminar Secretariat would
be happy to provide you support for any help you may need.

Travel Support:

Invitees and speakers travel would be provided by the organizers.
Participants are expected to bear their own travel cost to attend the
seminar. Limited travel scholarships are available selected participants
would be provide III AC Class to/fro fare by Train to Chennai & Kolkata and
economy airfare to Port Blair. To avail these scholarships please write to
us at seminar@...

Note: Pickup and drop would be arranged from airport and seaport on prior
information and request.

Important Dates:

Important dates to be noted by the participants:

10 August 2006    Confirmation by Participants
10 August 2006    Submission of Travel Itinerary
16 August 2006    Last date for Registration
26 August 2006    Arrival
26 August 2006    Setting up the exhibits, posters, technical demo by
participants
26 August 2006    Welcome Dinner
27 - 28 August 2006    National Seminar
29 August 2006    Emerald Island Tour


National Seminar Secretariat:

Community Enterprise Forum International (CEFI)
Livelihood Resource Centre
23/25, First Floor,
Tagore Road
Middle Point
Port Blair - 744 101
Andaman & Nicobar Islands, India
Tel: + 91 3192 236888
Fax: +91 3192 243783
Email: seminar@...
Website: www.seminar.cefi.in




If you wish to unsubscribe from this service, please click here to
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Dear All,
A breif summary report of recent survey on the Nicobar megapode and
other associated coastal wildlife will be available from the followling
link.

http://wii.gov.in/publications/others/megapode_tsunami.pdf

With regards,
Siva

Rauf, are we talking about the Sceduled Tribe Forest Rights Bill or the
Draft National Policy on Tribals?  It is in the former that the cut off
date was 1980 for determining who would be considered a "forest
dweller," and changing it to 2005 in the context of the Andaman Islands
is, as you point out, a horrifying prospect.  The National Policy on
Tribals has a deadline of August 10th for submitting comments on the
draft and I would urge everyone to respond to it.

Sita


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

The issues you refer to are covered in this discussion of the Forest Rights Bill
by Kaushik Sanyal:



PART B: KEY ISSUES AND ANALYSIS

The Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill, 2005, aims to
recognize and enforce the rights of FDSTs to forest land and resources. The main
challenge of the Bill is to harmonize the potentially conflicting interest of
recognizing forest rights of FDSTs while protecting forests and wildlife
resources. Lack of data

  <http://www.indiatogether.org/images/related.jpg>

  *  Ecology for the people <http://indiatogether.org/2005/nov/rgh-ecology.htm>
  *  Forest fights, Indian style
<http://indiatogether.org/2005/sep/env-fordivide.htm>
  *  Understanding encroachment
<http://indiatogether.org/2003/jun/vup-encroach.htm>
  *  Their lands, our laws <http://indiatogether.org/2003/mar/vu-triballands.htm>

  <http://www.indiatogether.org/images/pixels/ffffff.jpg> Although the Bill
proposes to recognize and vest forest land rights to FDSTs, there are no
reliable estimates of the number of families who will be benefiting from the
proposed legislation. Secondly, although the government estimates that there are
around 2-3 million people living inside India's protected areas (national parks
and sanctuaries) [6], there is no census of the number of FDSTs residing within
the core areas of national parks and sanctuaries [7]. Therefore, it is not
possible to calculate how much forest land would be required in order to
implement the provisions of the Bill.

Tribal Rights vs Environmental Conservation

* Differing Viewpoints

	 There are three main streams of thought regarding this issue. Some experts say
that tribal communities have lived in forests for centuries, and granting them
the formal right over forest land is just undoing a historical injustice. On the
other extreme, some conservationists say that certain species of animals (such
as the tiger) cannot co-exist with humans, and there is a need to reserve at
least some parts of forests to conserve these species. They also say that
increased human habitation in forests will cause depletion of forest cover,
resulting in significant ecological costs. A third view is that traditional
forest dwellers help in preserving forests, and giving them land rights would
actually help in ecological conservation [8]. However, there does not appear to
be any clear evidence to conclusively support any of these views. Some of these
issues are discussed below.

* Allotment of Land

	 The Bill prescribes 2.5 hectares as the upper limit of forest land that an FDST
nuclear family may be allotted. However, there is a possibility that it might
result in elimination of legal protection for forest cover, which could lead to
heavy ecological damage [9]. For instance, the possible depletion of watershed
forests of Central India, which allow penetration of rain water into the sub
soil, could lead to drying up of rivers such as Narmada, Tapti, Mahanadi,
Godavari, Krishna, and Cauveri [10]. The counter-argument is that the Bill only
seeks to recognize the forest rights of FDSTs who have been cultivating the
forest land for generations. In any case, the total forest land under
encroachment is estimated by the government at 13.43 lakh hectares [11], which
amounts to about 2% of the recorded forest area in the country [12].

	 It is also possible that confiscating forest land from the tribal families, who
possess more than 2.5 hectares of land, could lead to further impoverishment of
tribal communities [13].

* Core Areas

	 The Bill grants forest rights to FDSTs in core areas [14] of National Parks and
Sanctuaries provided they are relocated within five years. If relocation does
not take place within the prescribed time period, the holder would get permanent
right over forest land. Therefore, there would either be large scale relocation
of tribal communities or they would get permanent right over land in core areas.

	 Given India's poor track record in relocating people affected by development
projects, such as the Narmada Dam [15], or from sanctuaries such as Sariska and
Gir [16], the possibility of large scale relocation from core areas raises the
spectre of loss of livelihood and hardship for FDSTs.

	 There could also be an argument against advocating coexistence between wild
animals and tribal communities. Certain species such as tigers, rhinos, and
elephants are vulnerable to pressures from human land use [17]. These species
are typically large-bodied, slow breeding, need large areas, and vast resources
for survival. Some experts argue that it might be more realistic to identify
protected areas, which consist of National Parks and Sanctuaries (about 4.7% of
India's geographical area [18]) as inviolate while areas outside such reserves
could be utilised to serve the needs of tribal communities [19].

Coverage

* 1980 'cut-off date'

	 The Bill takes October 25, 1980 as the cut-off date for vesting and recognizing
forest land rights of the tribal community. However, the Bill does not specify
the kind of evidence that FDSTs would require to prove their occupancy of forest
land before 1980. Although states such as Maharashtra have adopted more
effective procedures than just documentary evidences (oral testimonies, evidence
of elders of the village etc.) for verifying claims [20], it is not mandatory
for every state to adopt such practices. Therefore, there might be a case for
specifying a set of admissible evidences in the Bill itself.

	 Also, it is unlikely that FDSTs would have the required documentary evidence to
prove their occupancy over forest land before 1980 [21]. Thus, in order to
minimize evictions, a case could be made for settling the claims of FDSTs on the
basis of current occupancy of forest land.

* Exclusion of certain communities

	 The Bill only recognizes forest rights of FDSTs who are defined as 'Scheduled
Tribes who primarily reside in forests and includes the Scheduled Tribes
pastoralist communities and who depend on the forests or forest lands for bona
fide livelihood needs.' Other communities who depend on the forest for survival
and livelihood reasons, but are not forest dwellers or Scheduled Tribes, for
instance in large sections of Chattisgarh and forest tracts of Uttaranchal [22],
are excluded from the purview of the Bill. This could lead to large-scale
eviction of such people and increase social tension among the various forest
communities.

	 The Bill also specifies that FDSTs would be granted forest rights only in
places where they are scheduled. However, such a clause could lead to denial of
rights to tribal communities on the ground that they do not reside in the area
where they are scheduled even though many tribal people have been displaced due
to development projects and creation of protected areas [23].

Role of Gram Sabha

Although the Gram Sabha has been given the power to initiate the process of
determining forest rights, the final decision rests with the DLC. The DLC is
also the authority that would decide the period for which an FDST's forest
rights is to be derecognized in case of repeated contravention of the provisions
of the Act. Although the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill envisages
involvement of democratic institutions at the grassroots level, the Gram Sabha
does not have the power to recognize forest rights or enforce such rights.

Eviction and Relocation

The Bill does not place any explicit restriction on the methods that can be used
to remove non-eligible forest dwellers. This is a concern, given the history of
cases where brutal force has been used to evict tribal families [24]. The Bill
mentions that FDSTs would be relocated from core areas of National Parks and
Sanctuaries with due compensation. However, the Bill does not clarify exactly
what kind of compensation would be offered to the tribal people, what recourse
they would have if such compensation is not satisfactory or is altogether
denied.

Definitions

Certain terms mentioned in the Bill have not been defined. It could lead to
difficulty in implementing the provisions of the Bill. Clause 3 (j) mentions
'the right to protect, regenerate or conserve or manage any community forest
resource which they have been traditionally protecting and conserving for
sustainable use.' The term 'community forest resource' is not defined, and
hence, it is not clear whether these also include resources within government
owned forests including National Parks and Sanctuaries. The term 'nuclear
family' has also not been defined, though each 'nuclear family' has a right up
to 2.5 hectares of forest land. FDSTs are defined as those 'members or community
of the Scheduled Tribes who depend on the forests or forest land for bonafide
livelihood needs'. The term 'livelihood needs' is not defined which leaves the
scope of activities allowed open to interpretation.

Penalties

The Bill imposes a fine of Rs 1,000 on FDSTs in case of contravention of
provisions of the Act. If the offence is repeated, the person's forest rights
might be derecognized for such period as decided by the DLC on the
recommendation of the Gram Sabha. However, the Bill does not specify whether an
FDST has the right to appeal such a ruling of the DLC to a higher authority
(such as the State Level Monitoring Committee) other than to a court.

The member of a committee is also required to pay a fine of Rs 1,000 if found
guilty of contravening the provisions of the Act. However, this amount might not
be a sufficient deterrent. ¨’

Kaushiki Sanyal
<mailto:kaushiki@...,%20editors@...?subject=Feedback:%20L\
egislative%20Brief%20on%20Forest%20Rights%20Bill>
15 Apr 2006

Kaushiki Sanyal is a researcher with Parliamentary Research Service
<http://www.prsindia.org/> , a unit of the Center for Policy Research in New
Delhi. PRS is an independent initiative to make the process of law-making in
India more transparent, better informed and participatory.

  <http://www.indiatogether.org/php/sendform.php> 
<http://www.indiatogether.org/support/>
  *  Write the author
<mailto:kaushiki@...,%20editors@...?subject=Feedback:%20L\
egislative%20Brief%20on%20Forest%20Rights%20Bill>
  *  Post a comment on this article
<http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/apr/law-forest.htm#postnew>
  *  Forests <http://www.indiatogether.org/environment/forests.htm>
  *  Adivasis <http://www.indiatogether.org/society/adivasis.htm>

Notes

1. The National Advisory Council (Chairperson: Smt. Sonia Gandhi), made certain
recommendations, including the need for central legislation, to improve the
condition of the tribal population (see
http://nac.nic.in/concept%20papers/evictions.pdf)

2. National Forest Policy, 1988 <http://envfor.nic.in/divisions/fp/nfp.pdf>

3. (FP1) Regularization of Encroachment (FP2) Review of Disputed Claims over
Forest Land (FP3) Regularization of Pattas and Leases (FP4) Elimination of
Intermediaries and Payment of Fair Wages to the Labourers on Forestry Works
(FP5) Conversion of Forest Villages into Revenue Villages and Settlement of
Other Old Habitations (FP6) Payment of Compensation for Loss of Life and
Property Due to Predation/Depredation by Wild Animals.

4. In T.N. Godavarman vs Union of India (Writ Petition (C) No. 202 of 1995), the
Supreme Court issued an order "restraining the Union of India from permitting
regularization of any encroachments whatsoever without leave of this Hon'ble
Court." However, a letter of Inspector General of Forests, dated May 3, 2002,
instructs state governments to evict the ineligible encroachers and all
post-1980 encroachers from forest land in a time bound manner. The letter refers
to the SC order of Nov 23, 2001
	 (see http://nac.nic.in/concept%20papers/evictions.pdf).

5. Net Present Value (NPV) and Compensatory Afforestation are requirements
associated with using forest land under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. NPV
of the diverted forest land is a measure of the potential value of such land.
The Supreme Court, in the course of Godavarman case, mandated that any user
agency, prior to diverting forest land, would have to pay the NPV of that land
to a Court created Central Government agency called Compensatory Afforestation
Management and Planning Agency. The value, which is subject to upward revision,
was set at the rate of Rs 5.80 lakh to Rs 9.20 lakh per hectare of forest land
depending upon the quantity and density of the land in question converted for
non-forest use.
	 (see http://164.100.194.13/allied_forclr/htmls/Guidelines/Guidelines.htm, and
	 http://www.elaw.org/resources/text.asp?id=2998)

6. Press Information Bureau, Govt. of India
<http://pib.nic.in/feature/feyr2001/fmay2001/f240520011.html>

7. M.D. Madhusudan, "Of Rights and Wrongs: Wildlife Conservation and Tribal
Bill", (Economic and Political Weekly), November 19, 2005
<http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root=2005&leaf=11&filename=9360&filetype\
=html>

8. Pradip Prabhu, "The Right to Live With Dignity", (Seminar), No. 552, Aug 2005
<http://www.indiaseminar.com/2005/552/552%20pradip%20prabhu.htm>

9. P.V. Jayakrishnan, "Is there a need for this Bill?", (Seminar), No. 552,
August 2005 <http://www.indiaseminar.com/2005/552/552%20p.v.%20jayakrishnan.htm>

10. Beware of Tribal Bill's Consequences: Buch, Hindustan Times, May 21, 2005
<http://www.hindustantimes.com/2005/May/22/5922_1371612,0015002100010001.htm>

11. Press Release, Ministry of Tribal Affairs
<http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=16228&kwd=Recognition+of+Forest+Rig\
hts>

12. Bela Bhatia, "Competing Concerns", (Economic and Political Weekly), Nov 19,
2005
<http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root=2005&leaf=11&filename=9359&filetype\
=html>

13. Madhuri Krishnaswamy, "One Step Forward, Two Steps Back", (Economic and
Political Weekly), Nov 19, 2005
<http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root=2005&leaf=11&filename=9362&filetype\
=html>

14. Core Areas: National Parks and Sanctuaries are required to keep certain
areas inviolate for purposes of wildlife conservation. The areas may be
determined by the Ministry of the Central Government dealing with Environment
and Forests.

15. Mike Levien, "Narmada: Life, Struggle and Exodus", (India Together), August
2004 <http://www.indiatogether.org/2004/aug/hrt-narmada.htm>

16. Ghazala Shahabuddin, Ravi Kumar, Manish Shrivastava, "Pushed over the Edge",
(Economic and Political Weekly), Aug 6, 2005
<http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root=2005&leaf=08&filename=8950&filetype\
=html>

17. Refer M.D. Madhusudan (Note 7)

18. Wildlife Institute of India's Executive Summary, "Wild Life Protected Area
Network in India: A Review"
<http://www.wii.gov.in/envis/panetworks/panetwork.html>

19. Valmik Thapar's Dissent Note in the Report of the Tiger Task Force (Joining
the Dots) <http://projecttiger.nic.in/TTF2005/pdf/full_report.pdf>  set up by
the Ministry of Environment and Forest

20. Jean Dreze, "Tribal Evictions from Forest Land", March 2005
<http://nac.nic.in/concept%20papers/evictions.pdf>

21. Refer Madhuri Krishnaswamy (Note 13)

22. Refer Madhuri Krishnaswamy (Note 13)

23. Madhu Sarin, "Scheduled Tribes Bill, 2005: A Comment", (Economic and
Political Weekly), May 21, 2005
<http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root=2005&leaf=05&filename=8669&filetype\
=html>

24. Refer Jean Dreze (Note 20)



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

FAO Regional Tsunami Program - 2006 workshops
1) Workshop on Coastal Protection in the aftermath of hte Indian Ocean
tsusnami: what role for forests and trees? 28-31 August, Khao Lak, Thailand
2) Workshop on Coastal Area and Planning and Management in Asian Tsunami -
affected countries, 27-29 September, Bangkok Thailand
3) Workshop on post-tsunami forest rehabilitation and coastal forestry
policies in Asian tsunami- affected countries, 26 Sept. Bangkok, Thailand
For more details see weblink below and / or contact susan.braatz@...


FORESTS AND TSUNAMIS

www.fao.org/forestry/site/tsunami/en


Many of the rural communities adversely affected by the tsunami depend on
mangroves and other coastal forests and trees for their livelihoods. Trees
and forests contribute directly by providing wood and non-wood forest
products - including timber, poles, fuelwood and thatch for houses - and
indirectly through the role mangroves play in the marine food web and by
providing spawning grounds and shelter for fish and shellfish.

The extent of the damage to mangroves and other coastal forests and trees by
the tsunami is still not clear and it may take some time before the final
impacts are known, since changes in topography, soil salinity and freshwater
in-flow from upstream may adversely affect the forests in the longer term.


Much of the infrastructure destroyed by the tsunami was made of wood,
including piers, bridges, boats, houses and other buildings, and many of the
communities affected by the tsunami rely on fuelwood for heating and
cooking. This is likely to put further pressure on the remaining forests,
some of which were reported to have helped reduce the loss of lives and the
damage caused by the tsunami.

Meeting the immediate needs for wood, restoring livelihoods and
rehabilitating damaged forests are thus among some of the priority actions
needed, followed by more long-term strategies.

FAO is currently analysing available information on the damage caused, the
immediate needs for wood, and the role mangroves and other coastal forests
played in mitigating the impacts of the tsunami. A plan for a more in-depth
assessment of these aspects and for support to countries in their
reconstruction efforts has been developed. The goal is to assist countries
in the region to meet their immediate needs and to prepare and implement
strategies for restoring livelihoods and meeting the longer-term
forestry-related needs within an integrated coastal management programme.

This Web site aims to provide information on the forestry-related aspects of
the tsunami and to provide advice and assistance to those involved in the
rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts.


C/o Kalpavriksh
Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa,
908 Deccan Gymkhana
Pune 411004, India
Tel: 020 - 25654239
Web: www.kalpavriksh.org

International workshop on community based adaption to climate change

Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh
Date: 11 - 16 January 2007
Organised by: Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies

Registration and abstract submission deadline: 15 September 2006

Description
The primary aim of the workshop is to share the latest developments in
adaptation programmes, priorities and solutions, through knowledge
dissemination between participants.

The specific objectives are:
to bring different stakeholders and practitioners to share and discuss
knowledge of community based adaptation (CBA) practices from different parts
of the developing world;
to capture the latest learning from experience of CBA around the developing
world;
to enhance capacity of the most vulnerable groups and people and improving
livelihoods in developing countries and integrate these lessons into
national and international development programmes; and
to compile papers and the findings of group discussion into workshop
proceedings for further dissemination worldwide.
Registration information
Send your registration and abstract, by email if possible, to the contact
provided below. The workshop is limited to 100 participants. The
registration fee for participation is 200 Euro or US$250, which will cover
workshop materials, field visit and all meals during workshop (excluding
accommodation).

Click to here download registration form and for more details. [58KB]

Contact details
Workshop Secretariat, Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies, House 10, Road
16A, Gulshan-1, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh, Tel: 880 2 8851237 Fax: 880 2
8851417 Email: ccadaptation.workshop@...




C/o Kalpavriksh
Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa,
908 Deccan Gymkhana
Pune 411004, India
Tel: 020 - 25654239
Web: www.kalpavriksh.org

Sent by
Sudarshan Rodriguez, sudarshanr@...


GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS *

LOK SABHA **UNSTARRED QUESTION NO 88
*TO BE ANSWERED ON 24.07.2006

COASTAL HAZARD ZONE MAPPING PROJECT

   88. SHRI KINJARAPU YERRANNAIDU

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS be pleased to state:-

(a) whether the Governments has commissioned a coastal hazard zone
mapping
project;

(b) if so, the details thereof; and

(c) the action proposed to protect coastal communities and promote
sustainable coastal development?

* ANSWER*

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS(SHRI NAMO
NARAIN MEENA)

(a) and (b): The Government has assigned Space Application Centre,
Ahmedabad, Department of Ocean Development, Chennai, Centre for Earth
Science Studies, Trivendrum and Survey of India, Dehradun for
demarcating
the vulnerability mapping based on extent of flooding and shore line
changes
on a pilot scale.

(c) : The action proposed by the Government for protection of the
coastal
communities and promoting sustainable development are based on the
recommendations of Prof. M. S. Swaminathan Committee Report on Coastal
Regulation Zone Notification, 1991 which include preparation of
Integrated
Coastal Zone Management Plan. Taking into consideration the
vulnerability
line, providing bio-shields, protection and conservation of natural
barriers
such as corals, mangroves, sand dunes, etc., and promoting
developmental
activities based on the Integrated Coastal Zone Management and
Environment
Impact Assessment.


--




Sudarshan Rodriguez,
Marine Conservation Analyst
Project Coordinator,
Post- Tsunami Environment Initiative
(www.ptei-india.org)
Flat 2B, Adithya Apartments,
38 Balakrishna Road,
Valmiki Nagar, Thiruvanmiyur,
Chennai-600 041
Tamil Nadu, India.
Phone:+91 44 420 19470
Mobile: +91 9840680127
Fax: +91 44 420 19468

Email: sudarshanr@...

You are not what you do , you do what you are
One's profession and career should be their  hobby, passion and cause


C/o Kalpavriksh
Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa,
908 Deccan Gymkhana
Pune 411004, India
Tel: 020 - 25654239
Web: www.kalpavriksh.org

*The Light of Andamans ::: Issue 33, 5 August 2006*
**
*BINGOS: Big International NGOs*

** *TSUNAMI BUSINESS*

*By Mari Marcel Thekaekara*

What to write and when to hold back? As a writer, my instinct is to tell
all, do the exposé, go for the jugular. After 20 odd years in the NGO world,
I wonder though: will this help or hurt the communities I write for?

Through the 1970s, many Big International NGOs (bingos) in India funded
crucial work, supporting people's battles for human rights. Oxfam's role was
legendary, training generations of committed, highly motivated people who
still carry the flag decades later. We in ACCORD (with indigenous people in
south India) received invaluable support from ActionAid.

Then came the tsunami. Standing on the beach near the most devastated
patches of Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, exactly six months later was surreal.
There was an eerie, mournful air about the place. The magnitude of the
disaster was still visible – smashed boats, flattened houses, victims in
deplorable temporary shelters.
Yet I was struck by the community's resilience. We watched the complicated
haggling after the boats came in and auctioning began for the catch. Small
children who darted in and out were given a fish or two. Old women sat on
the fringes, selling sweet-and-sour chutney, mangoes, biscuits, sweets. The
kids came to them to trade fish for whatever caught their fancy.
These exchanges were not about money. They provided the old women with a
dignified way to support themselves. The kids went home happily munching
treats. Their mothers carried baskets full of fish for sale. People were
getting on with their lives.
The tsunami unleashed an unprecedented wave of generosity. Not through
earthquake, flood or famine in the past 30 years has there been anything
quite like it. The money poured in from ordinary people, mostly routed
through bingos. Together with local NGOs, they played a pivotal, positive
role in the first few days, when relief was crucial. Babu Matthew, Country
Director for ActionAid India, noted: 'The NGOs delivered money to dalits and
non-fishing communities which government failed to reach. They also provided
a very large network of good psycho-social support. Save the Children, for
example, did excellent work with orphaned kids. There was a common platform
of NGOs which exposed the Government attempt to displace the poorest
fisherfolk from their beaches. This huge consensus forced the Government to
withdraw its secret circular ordering the evacuation of the beaches.'
As time passed, however, a crescendo of criticism began. And with good
reason. Hordes of experts were flown in. They appeared in droves – taking
pictures, doing rapid assessments and flying off again. They were promptly
dubbed 'the disaster tourists'. I personally watched a European crew posing
for interviews and retaking shots even before the corpses were removed. They
were concerned about their film. Nothing else. The victims' misery didn't
exist for them. It was not a pretty sight.
The question which haunts the relief process is: 'Are the people getting
this money?' Vanita, a bright-eyed 19 year old, provided the obvious
response: 'How can we answer that? No-one ever tells us how much money comes
in!'
Which brings us to the crux of the problem. The tsunami victims want
information. How much money actually went to the victims? Insiders know that
many bingos have devious ways of hiding high administrative costs: they get
moved to projects, pushing lavish expenses on to unsuspecting communities. I
came across a joke doing the rounds about a major bingo's appeal for
donations. Spend $500 to fly in Northern experts, have them drive around in
$30,000 Landrovers using $1,000 laptops and mobile phones to distribute
goats costing $30. Unfortunately, few people seem to think there's anything
wrong with this.
Obscene and patronizing
The tsunami tossed up unnecessary, conspicuous, vulgar spending. From the
outset there was a shocking, unseemly rush to get there first and stick up a
board or banner displaying the 'brand'. Then they were everywhere, falling
over each other to spend their millions, poaching staff from small NGOs,
inflating wages astronomically.
This messed up the most important need – immediate shelter. The terrible
temporary houses still stand there, testimony to the mismanagement of
tsunami money. SIFFs, the South Indian Federation of Fishermen, preferred to
put up traditional coconut-palm structures. They let in air and are cool in
the scorching summer. Few bingos accepted their advice.
The fishing community has a strong governance system. There are complex
rules directing how the natural resource is exploited – to ensure equitable
distribution and prevent over-fishing. There is a delicate balance between
the number of people who own boats and the number who work as crew; between
the number of traditional wooden catamarans and modern fibreglass boats with
outboard motors.

Bingos chose to ignore these traditions and decided to distribute boats to
the people they thought were the poorest – the ones without boats. The
bingos – and, indeed, local NGOs – entered this community for the first time
and decided they knew better. Disastrous decisions continued to be made in
Chennai, Delhi, London, Geneva, New York and Washington. Only time will tell
how much damage has been caused by this folly.
The voluntary sector has fought governments and vested interests for human
rights, democracy and transparency. Yet when it comes to themselves, few
bingos put these values into practice.
The tsunami tossed up unnecessary, conspicuous, vulgar spending. From the
outset there was a shocking, unseemly rush to get there first and stick up a
board or banner displaying the 'brand'
Ravindran (name changed) has worked in Indian villages since the 1970s.
Social work and development then was not about careers – it was about
justice, the right of communities to live in dignity and pride. His deep
anguish was evident when he spoke to me.
'
Bingos are full of their own importance... They come in, employ builders,
buy the materials. This indicates a lack of faith in the community... They
say they can't give the money to the community – they'll drink it up. The
same chap who's accusing fishermen of drinking goes to his hotel, spends
three times as much drinking expensive whiskies. But his position allows him
to be judgemental. They rush around collecting "stories" about the great
work their bingo is doing. Branding is mandatory. Each one wants to show
they were there. To get photo ops, be on TV. So the names, logos, banners
are there at the sites, in front of the houses, on their SUVs and jeeps...
'One chap flew from Europe. Checked into a five-star hotel to attend a
one-day meeting with government officials on policy issues. I was
embarrassed for my staff to pick him up. His room cost more than a social
worker's monthly salary. It breeds cynicism in our teams here.
'
The value addition of these "experts" is highly suspect... Totally
unsuitable training programmes are shoved down the throats of local
projects. It's creating work for the experts. They are condescending and
patronizing. We thought we'd changed these approaches in the 1970s, but it's
coming round full circle again... It's pretty obscene. I feel quite sick
when I look back at the role of the majority of the bingos in the tsunami.'
A major accusation was that bingos failed to recognize the maturity of the
Indian voluntary sector, the capacity of the Government and the generosity
of local communities. Within two days a group with disaster experience from
Gujarat, the Andhra cyclone and Bangladesh was in Nagapattinam working with
the Tamil Nadu Government. An exceptional team of civil servants managed the
relief operation in Nagapattinam brilliantly, putting the NGOs to shame.
Vivek Harinarain, the senior civil servant overseeing the Government's
relief operation, had a ringside view allowing him to comment with some
authority.
'It was evident that hordes of them [bingos] came in as part of the disaster
tourism package... I must say, towards the end of January I was becoming
rather uneasy at the state of the NGO scenario.'
Unfortunately, so were we all. So were we all.
Unless bingos spend poverty money ethically – rhetoric notwithstanding –
they will be judged as morally corrupt as the Swiss-bank-account-toting
tinpot dictators we so despise. If they can't clean up their act, they may
as well pack up and go home. The poor will cope, as they always have.
*(Courtesy: New Internationalist)*



--
Zubair Ahmed
Tel: +91-3192-246191
Mb: +919932081771


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

*The Light of Andamans :::  Issue 33, 5 August 2006*

*LOA Features:*

*An Old Man's Fight for Justice*

By *Zubair Ahmed*

It was awe-inspiring to watch the Kamal Hassan movie "Indian", in which an
INA veteran launches a lone war against the corrupt and the criminals and;
within three hours, erases all the ills and evils that have besieged free
India.

But have you ever wondered, there are living characters, who rekindle our
hopes to fight our own wars, without fatigue and desperation.

Meet Mr. PNS Nair, a WWII veteran. At the age of 88, he was in Delhi, to
meet the PM and the President, to apprise them about the neglect and
mistreatment of tsunami and earthquake victims of these islands. But the
story of Mr PNS Nair is not the one that has a happy ending with the
protagonist winning the final battle.

This hero, whose fight for justice started in 1936 and is still continuing
without any end to it, will captivate you for many reasons. There is no
corridor of power he has not approached and no stone left unturned in his
quest for justice. He still fights for what he was denied in 1940s and
1960s. Although, he has not achieved anything, the will and determination to
fight for the genuine rights still keeps this spirited heart to carry on and
on.

Now he is a frail, disabled, ripened and crippled 88 year old man, leaning
on a walking stick in one hand and a jute bag on his shoulders, with a bulky
file containing documents that will astonish anybody. He was a soldier, who
fought for the Independence of this country, responded to the call of Gandhi
and got enlisted in the army and went to Burma fighting the enemies of the
nation. During WWII, he was rescued from the clutches of Japanese forces by
Capt. Lakshmi Saigal. Later, he joined the INA and fought British forces.
After the war, he remained in Burma and married a Karen lady, who he
rechristened Madhavi, a typical Malayali name. When he got repatriated to
his motherland, he wandered across Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and other southern
states searching for livelihood. Perchance, he saw the Central Government
notification on Andaman Settlement Scheme, applied and came down to Andamans
in 1957 as an Artisan Settler.

He was provided a small site for shelter without any documents in Anarkali.
Later he joined the APWD and served as a Construction Supervisor. At the age
of 31, he turned towards agriculture and purchased 28 acres of land in 1957
at Beadonabad and started a plantation, for which he is yet to get the title
deed. He grew everything - coconuts, arecanut, beetel leaves, sugarcane and
even purchased a diesel powered sugarcane crusher and produced brown
jaggery. As Mr. Nair says, "When Mr Riazuddin, the then Tehsildar, visited
my farm in 1958, he was astonished to see me in the plantation, working on
my crusher, and he immediately offered me a 28-acre tract of land in
Chidiyatapu. Nair instantly paid Rs 650/- for its registration, but he was
again denied the tenancy rights for 10 acres. He started coffee plantation
and paddy cultivation there.

When his farm was ready for harvest, elephants of Forest department entered
the fields and destroyed the crop. For a long time, no action was taken and
finally when a compensation of Rs 6000/- was released, half of the amount
was to be paid as kickbacks to Revenue Officials. Mr Nair never went to
claim the compensation.

He was instrumental in starting Andaman Mahila Samajam, in 1982. It boasts
of more than 1200 members from Andaman District. The administration had
provided sewing machines to the Samajam. But Mr. Nair holds the
administration accountable for the closure of the Mahila Mandals and
Anganwadis, due to inconsistency and irregularity in financial support.

Tired of the attitude of the officials, he sold his land at Beadonabad and
shifted to Webi Basti, Mayabunder in 1972 and purchased 2.5 acres of land.
He built a double storey wooden building and planted hundreds of trees. He
had also used the building to run the Samajam. The earthquake in 2004 razed
the building to ground.

He proudly shows the entry tickets to Parliament, PMO, Rashtrapathi Bhavan
as well as South and North Blocks and letters from various cabinet ministers
promising assistance. He had attracted the attention of national media when
he staged a satyagraha in front of Boat Club in New Delhi on 15 August 1988.
He had also approached the Legal Services Cell of Supreme Court to fight his
case against neglect from Administration. But the plea was rejected for lack
of supporting documents.

Recently, Mr Nair submitted his grievances before Justice Mr K J Sen Gupta,
Senior Judge, Calcutta High Court. He had complained that despite BPL card,
he has been denied food item on subsidized rates. He is puzzled, why old age
pension is also denied to him in spite of making all necessary formalities.

Mr Nair now lives in a state of penury, and his small wooden house in
Mayabunder collapsed during the earthquake of 2004. He lives in a one-room
shop, and still vents his anger on the inability of the administration in
allotting the land at Mayabunder in his name.

He is tired, exhausted but not defeated. His motto: never say die.


--
Zubair Ahmed
Tel: +91-3192-246191
Mb: +919932081771


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

*The Light of Andamans :::  Issue 33, 5 August 2006*

*Govt. Job Imbroglio: Ire against non-islanders gathers momentum*

By* Staff Reporter*

Port Blair: Shrinking job market in government sector had already started
ringing warning bells amongst the unemployed youth of the islands. To add
insult to injury, after 14 years the bureaucrats have suddenly woken up to
the Supreme Court order in Sanjay Pant case and opened the floodgates to
candidates from all over the country to compete with the local candidates
for jobs under the A&N Administration.
This move of the administration has set the cat among the pigeons. The
unemployed youth is concerned and worried. But their parents and well
wishers are agitated over the issue to such an extent that they formed
Island Protection Forum specifically to raise the issue of influx and
unemployment.
The Island Protection Forum has been trying various methods to champion the
cause; by holding meetings, protests march etc.
They held an all party meeting on July 26, 2006 at Tamizhar Sangh inviting
members of parties, unemployed youth and representatives of various
associations from all the sections of the society to highlight the twin
issue of influx and unemployment vis-à-vis jobs to outsiders in the islands.
The attempt was to garner support for the cause from all quarters.
Instead of cobbling up a support for the common cause, it proved to be a
free for all. Each of the participants was seen singing in his tune and for
the political parties in particular, it afforded a convenient platform to
propound their philosophies. Instead of patching up the divide, more
fissures were exposed as one stressed the need for Schedule caste while the
other demanded scrapping of OBC.
The meeting went on well past 10.00PM with a common resolution being
reached. It was addressed by M/s. Marudhavanan, DMK, BP Ray, BJP, Hamid Ali,
INC, KG Das, CPM(I), Nair RCPI, tribal leaders M/S Rasheed and Henry Samuel
apart from various local organisations and unemployed youth. Local Born
Association was conspicuous by its absence.
All the local associations except Andaman Mopla Service Association seemed
to be begging the political parties for support. AMSO on the contrary
threatened them of dire consequences if they failed to support the twin
cause of stopping influx and ensuring employment only to local youth.
The gathering did not exceed 150 and that included mostly grey hairs, the
invitees, the scribes and the watchers on. The section of the population for
whom the bell tolled: the unemployed youth; there are forty thousands of
them on the live register of the employment exchange, were nowhere to be
seen.
The programme was ill conceived and lacked finesse in its management. No
wonder, nothing tangible could come out of it.


--
Zubair Ahmed
Tel: +91-3192-246191
Mb: +919932081771


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

*The Light of Andamans ::: Issue 33, 5 August 2006*

*Under utilisation of a desalination plant*

*From CAG REPORT*

APWD's failure to conduct requisite survey regarding requirement of user
population and availability of adequate power supply resulted in production
of desalinated water at only 1.22 per cent of actual capacity, after
investing Rs. 19.68 lakh.

In order to alleviate the acute problem of drinking water at Chowra Island
in Car Nicobar and to improve the existing water supply system consisting of
ground water in open wells and stored water in rainwater harvesting tank in
the island, the Andaman Public Works Department (APWD) prepared, in November
1995, a preliminary estimate for Rs. 29.47 lakh for supply, erection and
commissioning of a 20 ton capacity desalination plant based on reverse
osmosis system. The Andaman and Nicobar Administration accorded
administrative approval and expenditure sanction to the estimate in January
1996.

The Executive Engineer, Construction Division, Car Nicobar, awarded the work
in February 1997, to a firm at a cost of Rs. 18.85 lakh. The installation of
the plant, scheduled to commence in March 1997 and be completed in August
1997, was completed in February 1999. The final bill of Rs. 18.85 lakh was
paid to the firm in March 1999. Incidental works relating to installation of
the plant were executed between September 1995 and May 1999 at a cost of Rs.
0.83 lakh

A test check conducted by Audit in February 2003 revealed that:-
The desalination plant, which has an effective life of not less than 10
years, requires 15HP, three-phase, 370 - 390 volts uninterrupted power
supply and has a stated capacity to produce 20,000 litre of treated water
per day at the rate of 1,000 litre per hour. Before installation, APWD had
not carried out an initial survey to ascertain the suitability of the plant,
availability of existing sources of drinking water, deficiency in supply of
water, local demand for treated water, acceptability of desalinated water
among local population, capacity requirement of plant, availability of
adequate power supply etc. It was noticed in audit that the requisite power
supply of 370-390 volts was not normally available from the existing
powerhouse at Chowra. The powerhouse could ensure power supply for only
three hours a day during the period from February 1999 to February 2003.
APWD did not explore any alternative power supply arrangement to maintain
uninterrupted power supply to the plant, for reasons neither on record nor
stated. To keep the plant operational, it was run only three hours a day,
since it was not to be kept idle according to instructions the supplier.
Consequently, the output of desalinated water from the plant was poor. The
local population preferred well water to desalinated water.

The reasons behind poor utilization of the desalination plant were
inadequate power supply and lack of demand for treated water from the local
population. Since February 1999, the plant was only run for 3,468 hours,
against 29,820 hours available, which indicated poor utilization of
11.63per cent of available hours. The plant never reached the rated
capacity of
1,000 litre an hour, as it could produce treated water at the rate of
104.78litre only per hour
i.e. 10.48 per cent of stated capacity.

Thus, during the 49 month period from February 1999 to February 2003 the
plant could produce only 0.36 million litre of treated water for consumption
against the desired capacity to produce 29.6 million litre, at the rate of
20,000 litre a day. The outturn was only 1.22 per cent of the total capacity
available. Inspite of this poor output, the Executive Engineer submitted, in
January 2000, an estimate for Rs. 7.53 lakh for providing piped water supply
from desalination plant to five villages. However, approval to the proposal
was awaited as of March 2003.

The Executive Engineer while confirming the facts stated in March 2003 that
efforts would be made to maximize the utilization of the plant. The reply
however, was not convincing, as half the plant's life had already expired.
Moreover, the optimum utilization of the plant would be largely dependent on
adequate power supply by the Electricity Department, generation of greater
demand for treated water, improvement in the plant's present capacity and
installation of proper distribution system. The Executive Engineer further
stated in November 2003 that the performance of the plant was affected by
low voltage power supply, variation in quality of beach well water and
non-availability of a skilled operator for maintenance of the plant. He
added that at the time of installation of the plant i.e. in February 1999
for 19 hours of running, the plants output was 10,800 litre. The treated
water was supplied through a hydrant with a pipeline from fresh water
collection tank.

Thus, lack of proper planning by APWD regarding adequacy of power supply and
assessment of demand for treated water, resulted in under-utilisation of the
plant and consequential injudicious expenditure of Rs. 19.68 lakh, apart
from running and maintenance cost of Rs. 2.14 lakh till March 2003.



--
Zubair Ahmed
Tel: +91-3192-246191
Mb: +919932081771


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Housing and Land Rights Network
New Delhi

PRESS RELEASE

3 August 2006


Report Reveals Violations of Tsunami Survivor's Human Rights to Housing, Land
and Livelihood in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands




"Battered Islands" - a report on a fact-finding mission to the tsunami-affected
areas of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands by the Housing and Land Rights Network,
New Delhi - highlights the dire situation with regard to human rights of tsunami
survivors in the Islands. A fact-finding team visited several affected islands
in January and February 2006, a year after the tsunami, to study the situation
of the affected and their living conditions.



It is tragic that even after a year and a half after the December 2004 tsunami,
people continue to live in makeshift shelters and are yet to be adequately
rehabilitated. The situation in the Islands typifies what happens once the early
enthusiasm and activity surrounding an emergency dies down. The report points
out the pervading sense of neglect and betrayal among survivors and a feeling of
fatigue, as patience and endurance levels are repeatedly tested and tried. It
focuses on the shelter and housing component of rehabilitation in the Islands
through the lens of human rights. A situational analysis revealed that
intermediate shelters constructed across the Islands do not meet international
human rights standards of "adequate housing." Instead the small tin structures
are largely uninhabitable due to their tendency to trap heat and humidity. A
woman from Great Nicobar Island is quoted in the report as saying the shelters
are like "toasters." They also threaten privacy and safety, especially of women,
since they are built in lines with common partitions that do not reach the
ceiling. Sanitation and solid waste management facilities are largely absent in
most sites while drinking water shortages are acute.



Across the Islands, the report reveals that rehabilitation is slow and
consultation with people has been minimal. Though the Administration has
recently finalised designs for permanent housing, local communities have not had
any say in the final plans, which continue to be rife with controversy. Wastage
of resources are rampant, be it through the construction of defunct toilets, the
provision of unnecessary wheelbarrows for garbage collection, or the
transportation of non-durable pre-fabricated construction sheets from the
mainland.



Shivani Chaudhry from the Housing and Land Rights Network, one of the members of
the fact-finding team asserts, "The remoteness of the Islands can in no way
condone the obvious disrespect for the human rights of the survivors. While
rehabilitation is conducted in a very top-down manner with no space for
community participation, critical issues such as housing and livelihood are
still not being given the priority they require."  Enakshi Ganguly Thukral, a
child rights activist working with HAQ: Centre for Child Rights, another member
of the team, mentioned the severe and long-lasting impacts on children and
negligence on part of the authorities in providing them with the systematic
attention they deserved.



While several actors are involved in rehabilitation work and most of them
well-intentioned, coordination between them in most areas is insufficient.
"Relocation of displaced communities, especially tribals evacuated to other
islands, is a major concern as people have not been consulted and have been
forced to settle in areas predetermined by the Administration", says the report.
Another egregious issue with post-tsunami rehabilitation is that women's needs
have not been adequately considered. The authors express concern about the
"gender-neutral" nature of resettlement and rehabilitation processes and plans,
thus leading to specific concerns of women remaining unaddressed.




Recommendations made to government and non-government agencies as well as other
involved actors such as funders, include the need for participatory and in-depth
consultations with communities, immediate recognition of the inadequacies of
intermediate shelters and urgent redressal of persistent housing problems;
incorporation of human rights standards of "adequacy" into any plans for
permanent housing; provision of special facilities for women and children,
including the establishment of functional Child Welfare Committees. The report
urgently calls for all involved agencies to adhere to internationally accepted
human rights standards and develop a strong human rights-based approach to
long-term rehabilitation work. The authors assert that "the right to
humanitarian relief and rehabilitation must be recognised and upheld as a basic
human right and cannot be viewed as charity."



For more information, including to request a copy of the report, please write
to: schaudhry@...

or call  (011) 2435-8492.



The report will soon be available as a pdf file on www.hic-sarp.org



***********************************
Housing and Land Rights Network
South Asia Regional Programme
B-28 Nizamuddin East
New Delhi - 110 013
INDIA
Telefax: 91- (0) 11-2435-8492
www.hic-sarp.org


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi all,

I recently saw a copy of the modifications to the
tribal bill proposed by the Joint Parliamentary
Committee. Four major changes to the original bill
have been proposed:

1. The bill does not apply only to tribals, but to all
"forest dwellers", defined as anybody who lives in or
near forests.

2. The cut off date for deciding who is a " forest
dweller" is now 2005 and not 1980.

3. The limit of 2.5 ha of land to be allotted has been
removed.

4. The ultimate decision making authorities are the
gram sabhas.

I can't help thinking how this might work for the
Andamans. All the encroachers near Jarawa Reserve
would now be forest dwellers, and would be able to
hang onto the land they encroached. The gram sabha
would gleefully ratify all this. The Jarawas & Onges
would be the losers, as the politicians run all the
way to the vote bank.One of them was particularly
vociferous in getting these changes made to the bill,
no prizes for guessing who.

Of course, it means that all the Shekhar Singh
Commission - Supreme Court recommendations would go
out of the window.

Of course, now a little bird tells me that these
amendments were just proposed to scare the
'environmental/ wildlife' lobby. If these amendments
are dropped, it is expected that they will drop their
original objections to the bill, and the original
version, which is also pretty damaging, will sail
through.

Somebody please tell me I'm wrong.

Rauf Ali








__________________________________________________________
Yahoo! India Answers: Share what you know. Learn something new
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/

Dear Bivash and Aarthi,
                           This is a very useful narrative and
intermittant
reminder of our concern for conservation and it is this zeal in our
society
that has helped in conserving many species despite heavy odds. Keep
it up.

A few points which may be of use to you all

1 Laws and policies can be effective only when the society accepts
them. Once
they accept it, they respect it.

2 In this particular case of Olive Ridley - We need full support of
Coast
Guards, fishers, Foresters, Media and general public. The Fisheries
Act and
WLPA are mutually opposed to each other and thus counterproductive to
conservation.

3 Forest Department is not technically equipped for offshore
patrolling and
they must financially support Coast Guards for having more vessels
in the areas
to keep away at least boats coming from WB and Bangladesh for
fishing in Orissa
water. One can be waylaid while dealing with these fishermen. Even
CG take
adequate precaution.

4 WLPA must be enforced onshore at all cost. You can lodge legal
complaint
against the erring official under the WLPA.

5 FD Orissa and others- Train the younger generation of these
fishing community
in tourism. Open the nesting sites to restricted tourism; High sea
tourism (
during congregation). Appreciate that fishermen catch fish for
livelihood
security alone. A suitable alternative in the form of high sea and
beach
tourism may be useful for both.And for this we need private sector
partnership.



This much for now

best wishes
aseem












--- In andamanicobar@..., "Aarthi yahoo"
<aarthisridhar@y...> wrote:
>
>             A shift in conservation approach from Orissa, India
>
>             Source: Aarthi Sridhar, Ashoka Trust for Research in
Ecology and the Environment
>
>             Photos: Bivash Pandav and Aarthi Sridhar
>
>
>       Full text in http://www.ioseaturtles.org/pom_detail.php?id=47
>
>
>       The narrative on sea turtle conservation and fisheries in
India is introduced with varying style, intent and tenor depending
on who tells the tale. The imagery left behind is usually varied.
Sometimes magical - consider thousands of hatchlings emerging from
hundreds of nests at the three olive ridley mass nesting sites of
Gahirmatha, Devi or Rushikulya on the east Indian coast. Or the
truly amazing sight of thousands of gravid female turtles waddling
ashore to nest en masse under a fast brightening midnight sky.
>
>
>       This is matched by a more sordid visual. Endless beach with
endless rotting turtle flesh, carcasses and carrion, over a hundred
turtles entangled in a large gill net, a trawler in a turtle
congregation area hauling aboard a dreaded mishmash of turtles, fish
and struggling bottom dwelling creatures. However, these have stayed
constant in the account on turtle conservation. What remains obscure
is the picture from another occupant on the coast - fisherfolk and
their fishery. Is it the ordinary business of turtle
conservationists to project the image of a despondent fishery? Of
empty hands grabbing small worthless fish as fisherwomen abandon
their patient wait ashore? Of trawlers devoid of turtles in their
nets?
>
>       The visuals in the public mind are reflective of where the
attention on conservation has been trained. Has the time come for
these voices of conservation to give fresh accounts? To project
visuals of a marine realm that varies between turtle and fishery
seasons, with fishing practices, with types of conservation efforts,
with kinds of fishers?
>
>       Reluctant emergence . turtle science
>
>       Only a few facts about the olive ridley sea turtles of
Orissa are known and are now perhaps more than well known. What we
understand seems significant and we do not know a whole lot more,
and perhaps this is the reason we repeat our tales. The olive
ridleys are protected under the Indian Wild Life (Protection) Act
(WLPA), 1972 which prohibits all hunting and trade of the species.
Since scientists discovered three olive ridley mass nesting beaches
at Gahirmatha, Devi and Rushikulya in 1975, 1991 and 1994
respectively, many more scientists have documented several aspects
about these elusive creatures such as nesting numbers, hatching
success, inter-beach nesting, size-class characteristics of nesting
populations, offshore reproductive congregations among others. Yet
all of this has revealed very little about the life of these
creatures. Their habitat and behaviour ensure that they make
difficult study subjects. Learning about shy animals that spend
almost all their life in water and migrate large distances spanning
a few seas can be somewhat of a challenge. Ironically, the status of
this elusive animal as a scheduled species under the WLPA makes it
harder for non-government researchers to obtain permits and navigate
various cumbersome official procedures. Despite this, several
research attempts did materialise and a few parts of the ridley
puzzle reluctantly now fall into place.
>
>       Bivash Pandav has studied nesting and mortality of the olive
ridleys of Orissa extensively and he reports in a 1994 report of the
Wildlife Institute of India that olive ridley turtles nest
sporadically almost all along the coastal beaches of Orissa besides
the three mass nesting beaches, one of which (Rushikulya)
he 'discovered' in the course of his surveys. His work between 1993
and 2000 reveals that the mortality of sea turtles is the result
of 'incidental capture' by illegal mechanised fishing trawlers and
also by mechanised boats operating gill nets. The most abundant
statistic relates to turtle mortality. This data is collected
fervently by local conservation groups, supervised in some instances
by scientists such as Pandav, but is also collected somewhat less
industriously by guards of the Orissa Forest Department.
>
>       Though figures on mortality between agencies are often
varied, Pandav's doctoral work reports an average mortality figure
of about 10,000 per year for the last decade. A review of data by
Kartik Shanker and his colleagues in Biological Conservation in 2004
suggests that population sizes may be in the range of 150-200,000
nesting females per year and that this population may be on the
verge of a decline, based on evidence from the failure of arribadas
in recent years, a decline in adult sizes and high fishery related
mortality.
>
>       Findings from genetic studies published in Molecular Ecology
(Shanker et al. 2004) show that there is no genetic difference
between the turtles nesting in each of the three mass nesting
beaches. Importantly, the results also revealed the distinctiveness
of the population on the east coast of India, and suggested that
they may be ancestral to populations in the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans. This established the significance of this population.
>
>       Compared to the information we have on the turtles'
behaviour on land, we know little about their behaviour in the
water. Nearshore surveys have shown that sea turtles occur in
discrete areas, termed as 'reproductive patches'. These reproductive
patches have been located off the coasts of Gahirmatha and
Rushikulya and are expected to occur in the offshore waters of other
mass nesting beaches such as Devi River mouth. The patches are about
50 - 75 km2 in size, and extend to a distance of about 5 - 6 km
offshore. Satellite telemetry studies conducted in 2001 confirm
anecdotal evidence that turtles do migrate over large areas within
the Bay of Bengal right up to Sri Lanka.
>
>       Science and conservation
>
>       The growing international and national interest in the
ridleys, led the Orissa state government to intermittently introduce
turtle conservation measures in the state. But has all the science
mentioned above been able to inform these conservation laws? The
consistent scenario of high turtle mortality and poor fishery catch
illustrates that there are problems with marine conservation laws in
the state.
>
>       In 1997 the Orissa government declared a large offshore
region near the Gahirmatha nesting beach as the Gahirmatha Marine
Sanctuary (GMS). This area measures about 1435 sq km and extends
about 20 kilometres into the sea. The core area of this sanctuary
(extending 10- kilometres offshore) remains a no-fishing zone even
for traditional fishing throughout the year. This stands in stark
contrast to the scientific information on the turtles - they are
highly migratory, the congregation patches they form may be only
about 75 sq km and is formed in the near shore area within 6
kilometres. Aside from the dissonance with science, there are other
problems with the GMS. The Orissa Forest Department has openly
stated several times that it is virtually impossible for them to
patrol the large GMS. The declaration of the GMS and its various
rules was not planned through a process of consultation or public
participation, merely because the law did not mandate it. There is
now widespread violation of the norms of the GMS. Traditional
fishermen, venture into the southern region of the core area and
trawlers fish without impunity throughout the region and even
through congregation patches.
>
>       A recent event nearly cemented the views of fisherfolk
against all turtle conservation efforts. In 2003, the Orissa
government briefly banned the operation of all gill nets in the
three sites based on interim orders of the Supreme Court's Central
Empowered Committee (CEC). Most of the fishing in Orissa is carried
out by gill nets and not all of these are responsible for turtle
mortality. Complying with such a ban would be suicidal for the
fishers. After strong agitation by the fisherfolk and repeated
appeals to the CEC on the matter, the CEC revised its orders and has
prohibited only certain gill nets. However, despite this revision,
there are incidents where the guards of the forest department
wrongly detained traditional boats carrying permitted nets.
>
>       There appears to be a clear correlation between the process
of conservation and compliance. Little was done in the past from all
quarters to facilitate a positive attitude towards turtle
conservation. Some say it may be too late, since the process of
exclusion has already created an unfavourable attitude in the minds
of the fishers. Awareness programmes do not appear to have impacts.
People maybe aware, but to make a difference, people need to care.
>
>       Kartik Shanker, a biologist who been associated with
conservation and research efforts in Orissa for years now
says, "perhaps too much attention has been focused on the turtles in
a manner that has really not served its purpose."
>
>       Much prior to turtle conservation laws, Orissa introduced
marine fisheries laws. The 1982 Orissa Marine Fisheries Regulation
Act states that the near shore waters of Orissa up to 5 kilometres
from the shore are reserved for the traditional fishing sector and
mechanised fishing including trawling are banned in these waters.
This incidentally is the region where most of the offshore
congregations are located. Researchers such as Bivash Pandav have
stated that the limited resources of the government could be geared
towards protecting the congregation patches as a priority, rather
than attempting to protect large regions such as the GMS. Such
focussed attention would considerably reduce turtle mortality.
>
>       Kartik adds, "If conservationists and governments focused on
the proper implementation of fisheries laws alone, we would have
done the job of protecting the interests of the traditional
fisherfolk and incidentally also protected the turtles. We need to
shift focus from 'incidental capture' to the idea of 'incidental
conservation'." His statement is more than an innovative string of
words; it is telling of Orissa's need. 'Incidental conservation'
demands an attitudinal change from conservationists. It calls for
conservationists to engage with a task that is not their ordinary
business. To make their own conservation concerns
appear 'incidental'. Implementation of fisheries laws is a complex
affair and working towards it means more than blowing the whistle on
an unwilling or inept state force. It is a job that calls for active
collaboration with fisher communities. It involves organising the
communities and restoring their right to manage their marine
environment. Importantly, it requires us to change vantage points
while viewing matters such as the conservation of endangered
creatures such as turtles or dolphins. Incidental conservation is
not the same as accidental conservation. The former involves the
application of a deliberate process while the latter is largely the
outcome of random actions.
>
>       The idea of adopting fisheries management approaches rather
than a species-centric conservation plan can seem like changing
horses midstream. However, in the Indian context it makes sense. The
approach of fisheries management is to ensure the survival of
fisheries, an anthropocentric goal notwithstanding, one that carries
more appeal than the esoteric need to save marine turtles. Further,
as in Orissa, compliance with marine conservation norms will require
conservationists to undertake Herculean efforts at gaining the trust
of many fishing communities.
>
>
>       Orissa is still far from seeing these new approaches in
action. Only recently, in 2004 did various national, and local
conservation groups, fisher unions, scientists, and NGOs come
together to form the Orissa Marine Resources Conservation Consortium
(OMRCC). The OMRCC (www.omrcc.org) is an important platform to
debate these new approaches and ideas, to discuss ways forward and
to work collaboratively from these new starting points. Members of
the OMRCC are currently undertaking an exercise to document the
fisheries in the state, to gather information on the threats to
fisheries, problems with the implementation of fisheries laws etc. A
campaigns office is also being set up to address the issues that
threaten the fisheries and coastal environment of the state such as
large commercial ports and oil and gas exploration. Already the
experience of working on these issues is acquainting some of us with
the many realities of the coast.
>
>
>       Wherever the efforts towards fisheries management
or 'incidental conservation' take us, the images from this journey
will be more complete. We hope that isolated images of turtle
mortality or fish scarcity can give way to complete ones where the
magic of the turtles shares a space with the magic of fishing.
>
>       The author is from the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology
and the Environment and is a member of the OMRCC
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

A shift in conservation approach from Orissa, India

             Source: Aarthi Sridhar, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the
Environment

             Photos: Bivash Pandav and Aarthi Sridhar


       Full text in http://www.ioseaturtles.org/pom_detail.php?id=47


       The narrative on sea turtle conservation and fisheries in India is
introduced with varying style, intent and tenor depending on who tells the tale.
The imagery left behind is usually varied. Sometimes magical - consider
thousands of hatchlings emerging from hundreds of nests at the three olive
ridley mass nesting sites of Gahirmatha, Devi or Rushikulya on the east Indian
coast. Or the truly amazing sight of thousands of gravid female turtles waddling
ashore to nest en masse under a fast brightening midnight sky.


       This is matched by a more sordid visual. Endless beach with endless
rotting turtle flesh, carcasses and carrion, over a hundred turtles entangled in
a large gill net, a trawler in a turtle congregation area hauling aboard a
dreaded mishmash of turtles, fish and struggling bottom dwelling creatures.
However, these have stayed constant in the account on turtle conservation. What
remains obscure is the picture from another occupant on the coast - fisherfolk
and their fishery. Is it the ordinary business of turtle conservationists to
project the image of a despondent fishery? Of empty hands grabbing small
worthless fish as fisherwomen abandon their patient wait ashore? Of trawlers
devoid of turtles in their nets?

       The visuals in the public mind are reflective of where the attention on
conservation has been trained. Has the time come for these voices of
conservation to give fresh accounts? To project visuals of a marine realm that
varies between turtle and fishery seasons, with fishing practices, with types of
conservation efforts, with kinds of fishers?

       Reluctant emergence . turtle science

       Only a few facts about the olive ridley sea turtles of Orissa are known
and are now perhaps more than well known. What we understand seems significant
and we do not know a whole lot more, and perhaps this is the reason we repeat
our tales. The olive ridleys are protected under the Indian Wild Life
(Protection) Act (WLPA), 1972 which prohibits all hunting and trade of the
species. Since scientists discovered three olive ridley mass nesting beaches at
Gahirmatha, Devi and Rushikulya in 1975, 1991 and 1994 respectively, many more
scientists have documented several aspects about these elusive creatures such as
nesting numbers, hatching success, inter-beach nesting, size-class
characteristics of nesting populations, offshore reproductive congregations
among others. Yet all of this has revealed very little about the life of these
creatures. Their habitat and behaviour ensure that they make difficult study
subjects. Learning about shy animals that spend almost all their life in water
and migrate large distances spanning a few seas can be somewhat of a challenge.
Ironically, the status of this elusive animal as a scheduled species under the
WLPA makes it harder for non-government researchers to obtain permits and
navigate various cumbersome official procedures. Despite this, several research
attempts did materialise and a few parts of the ridley puzzle reluctantly now
fall into place.

       Bivash Pandav has studied nesting and mortality of the olive ridleys of
Orissa extensively and he reports in a 1994 report of the Wildlife Institute of
India that olive ridley turtles nest sporadically almost all along the coastal
beaches of Orissa besides the three mass nesting beaches, one of which
(Rushikulya) he 'discovered' in the course of his surveys. His work between 1993
and 2000 reveals that the mortality of sea turtles is the result of 'incidental
capture' by illegal mechanised fishing trawlers and also by mechanised boats
operating gill nets. The most abundant statistic relates to turtle mortality.
This data is collected fervently by local conservation groups, supervised in
some instances by scientists such as Pandav, but is also collected somewhat less
industriously by guards of the Orissa Forest Department.

       Though figures on mortality between agencies are often varied, Pandav's
doctoral work reports an average mortality figure of about 10,000 per year for
the last decade. A review of data by Kartik Shanker and his colleagues in
Biological Conservation in 2004 suggests that population sizes may be in the
range of 150-200,000 nesting females per year and that this population may be on
the verge of a decline, based on evidence from the failure of arribadas in
recent years, a decline in adult sizes and high fishery related mortality.

       Findings from genetic studies published in Molecular Ecology (Shanker et
al. 2004) show that there is no genetic difference between the turtles nesting
in each of the three mass nesting beaches. Importantly, the results also
revealed the distinctiveness of the population on the east coast of India, and
suggested that they may be ancestral to populations in the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans. This established the significance of this population.

       Compared to the information we have on the turtles' behaviour on land, we
know little about their behaviour in the water. Nearshore surveys have shown
that sea turtles occur in discrete areas, termed as 'reproductive patches'.
These reproductive patches have been located off the coasts of Gahirmatha and
Rushikulya and are expected to occur in the offshore waters of other mass
nesting beaches such as Devi River mouth. The patches are about 50 - 75 km2 in
size, and extend to a distance of about 5 - 6 km offshore. Satellite telemetry
studies conducted in 2001 confirm anecdotal evidence that turtles do migrate
over large areas within the Bay of Bengal right up to Sri Lanka.

       Science and conservation

       The growing international and national interest in the ridleys, led the
Orissa state government to intermittently introduce turtle conservation measures
in the state. But has all the science mentioned above been able to inform these
conservation laws? The consistent scenario of high turtle mortality and poor
fishery catch illustrates that there are problems with marine conservation laws
in the state.

       In 1997 the Orissa government declared a large offshore region near the
Gahirmatha nesting beach as the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary (GMS). This area
measures about 1435 sq km and extends about 20 kilometres into the sea. The core
area of this sanctuary (extending 10- kilometres offshore) remains a no-fishing
zone even for traditional fishing throughout the year. This stands in stark
contrast to the scientific information on the turtles - they are highly
migratory, the congregation patches they form may be only about 75 sq km and is
formed in the near shore area within 6 kilometres. Aside from the dissonance
with science, there are other problems with the GMS. The Orissa Forest
Department has openly stated several times that it is virtually impossible for
them to patrol the large GMS. The declaration of the GMS and its various rules
was not planned through a process of consultation or public participation,
merely because the law did not mandate it. There is now widespread violation of
the norms of the GMS. Traditional fishermen, venture into the southern region of
the core area and trawlers fish without impunity throughout the region and even
through congregation patches.

       A recent event nearly cemented the views of fisherfolk against all turtle
conservation efforts. In 2003, the Orissa government briefly banned the
operation of all gill nets in the three sites based on interim orders of the
Supreme Court's Central Empowered Committee (CEC). Most of the fishing in Orissa
is carried out by gill nets and not all of these are responsible for turtle
mortality. Complying with such a ban would be suicidal for the fishers. After
strong agitation by the fisherfolk and repeated appeals to the CEC on the
matter, the CEC revised its orders and has prohibited only certain gill nets.
However, despite this revision, there are incidents where the guards of the
forest department wrongly detained traditional boats carrying permitted nets.

       There appears to be a clear correlation between the process of
conservation and compliance. Little was done in the past from all quarters to
facilitate a positive attitude towards turtle conservation. Some say it may be
too late, since the process of exclusion has already created an unfavourable
attitude in the minds of the fishers. Awareness programmes do not appear to have
impacts. People maybe aware, but to make a difference, people need to care.

       Kartik Shanker, a biologist who been associated with conservation and
research efforts in Orissa for years now says, "perhaps too much attention has
been focused on the turtles in a manner that has really not served its purpose."

       Much prior to turtle conservation laws, Orissa introduced marine fisheries
laws. The 1982 Orissa Marine Fisheries Regulation Act states that the near shore
waters of Orissa up to 5 kilometres from the shore are reserved for the
traditional fishing sector and mechanised fishing including trawling are banned
in these waters. This incidentally is the region where most of the offshore
congregations are located. Researchers such as Bivash Pandav have stated that
the limited resources of the government could be geared towards protecting the
congregation patches as a priority, rather than attempting to protect large
regions such as the GMS. Such focussed attention would considerably reduce
turtle mortality.

       Kartik adds, "If conservationists and governments focused on the proper
implementation of fisheries laws alone, we would have done the job of protecting
the interests of the traditional fisherfolk and incidentally also protected the
turtles. We need to shift focus from 'incidental capture' to the idea of
'incidental conservation'." His statement is more than an innovative string of
words; it is telling of Orissa's need. 'Incidental conservation' demands an
attitudinal change from conservationists. It calls for conservationists to
engage with a task that is not their ordinary business. To make their own
conservation concerns appear 'incidental'. Implementation of fisheries laws is a
complex affair and working towards it means more than blowing the whistle on an
unwilling or inept state force. It is a job that calls for active collaboration
with fisher communities. It involves organising the communities and restoring
their right to manage their marine environment. Importantly, it requires us to
change vantage points while viewing matters such as the conservation of
endangered creatures such as turtles or dolphins. Incidental conservation is not
the same as accidental conservation. The former involves the application of a
deliberate process while the latter is largely the outcome of random actions.

       The idea of adopting fisheries management approaches rather than a
species-centric conservation plan can seem like changing horses midstream.
However, in the Indian context it makes sense. The approach of fisheries
management is to ensure the survival of fisheries, an anthropocentric goal
notwithstanding, one that carries more appeal than the esoteric need to save
marine turtles. Further, as in Orissa, compliance with marine conservation norms
will require conservationists to undertake Herculean efforts at gaining the
trust of many fishing communities.


       Orissa is still far from seeing these new approaches in action. Only
recently, in 2004 did various national, and local conservation groups, fisher
unions, scientists, and NGOs come together to form the Orissa Marine Resources
Conservation Consortium (OMRCC). The OMRCC (www.omrcc.org) is an important
platform to debate these new approaches and ideas, to discuss ways forward and
to work collaboratively from these new starting points. Members of the OMRCC are
currently undertaking an exercise to document the fisheries in the state, to
gather information on the threats to fisheries, problems with the implementation
of fisheries laws etc. A campaigns office is also being set up to address the
issues that threaten the fisheries and coastal environment of the state such as
large commercial ports and oil and gas exploration. Already the experience of
working on these issues is acquainting some of us with the many realities of the
coast.


       Wherever the efforts towards fisheries management or 'incidental
conservation' take us, the images from this journey will be more complete. We
hope that isolated images of turtle mortality or fish scarcity can give way to
complete ones where the magic of the turtles shares a space with the magic of
fishing.

       The author is from the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the
Environment and is a member of the OMRCC



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Myanmar conducts marine turtle research on Coco Island
25 Jul 2006
http://www.ioseaturtles.org/feature_detail.php?id=144

  A series of research programs on marine turtle conservation have been
conducted by Myanmar's Department of Fisheries, in collaboration with the
Marine Fisheries Resources Development and Management Department of the
Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center.

Data collection on tissue samples of green turtles for population genetic
and tagging studies was conducted by research team from the Department of
Fisheries at Coco Island from March to April 2006. During their stay on the
island, the researchers also organized a Marine Turtle Conservation Training
Workshop for fishermen, government staff and local authorities.

BACKGROUND
Myanmar is a signatory to the IOSEA Marine Turtle MoU, which was developed
under the aegis of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species
of Wild Animals (CMS). Since its adoption of IOSEA, Myanmar has accelerated
her momentum on the conservation of marine turtles and their habitats.

COCO ISLAND RESEARCH

Coco Island lies 260 miles from Yangon and is a well-known and important
area for turtle nesting in Yangon Division.  Many green turtles nest on the
beaches of the island, which has two main areas for nesting: a two mile
stretch on the northern part of the island and a three mile stretch along
the southern part.

The geographical location of the port of Coco Island is Longitude 93 22.21'
4" E and Latitude 14 08.39' 6" N.  The western turtle beach is Longitude 93
21.55' 6" E and Latitude 14 06.24' 4" N. Water salinity is between 24 ppt to
28 ppt.


In recognition of the importance of Coco Island to green turtles,
researchers from the Department of Fisheries conducted a marine turtle
conservation survey at the nesting areas from 27 March to 4 May 2006. Prior
to this, Coco Island had never been surveyed for marine turtle conservation
by Department of Fisheries due its remote location and the lack of
transportation and communication on the island. The survey found in the
areas an estimated 150 sea turtles nesting and between 90,000 and 100,000
hatchlings and juveniles.




Since Coco Island is isolated from the mainland, communities on the island
mainly rely on traditional fishing activities such as diving for sea
cucumber and trochus shell, trapping fish, etc. Due to the rich resources of
the marine turtle, the illegal collection of marine turtle eggs also occurs.

During a survey trip to Coco Island, the DOF researcher team organized a
one-day training workshop in collaboration with the island authorities to
educate and share knowledge on marine turtle conservation with the island
communities. Talks on the importance of marine turtle conservation were made
by U Cho Hla Aung, the research team leader, and photo and video shows were
conducted by his team members.

There was also an exchange views and a discussion on marine turtle
conservation between the researchers and interested people from the
communities. Although the training workshop period was short, it seemed that
the fishermen and community gained some knowledge on the importance of
marine turtle conservation for sustainable fisheries development in their
respective areas.


Text source and photos:

Maung Maung Lwin
Senior Fisheries Officer
Myanmar Department of Fisheries
Email: fisheries@...

Culture & Commerce in the Indian Ocean
http://www.himalmag.com/ads/ccIndian_cean.htm
This project examines trade cultures in a region which was the hub of the
major world economic system in the pre-colonial period, and is now
restrengthening. It thus links the earliest global system with current
globalisation studies, giving those analyses historical depth. It is the
first cultural studies project in Indian Ocean studies, and it aims to match
new theory to the empirical diversity of the region, analysing the way
cultural forces add value to commodities, while creating diverse forms of
transnational culture and identity. The project will make major
contributions to cultural/historical and postcolonial thought, with the
potential to create a new field of study. The project has room for new
researchers, and is in partnership with the Asia Research Institute in
Singapore for the planning of an international conference in 2006.
Forthcoming Conference
CULTURE AND COMMERCE IN THE INDIAN OCEAN
25th - 27th September, 2006 LEIDEN
LEIDEN UNIVERSITY & UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SYDNEY
Conference Registration
CREW
STEPHEN MUECKE
Trans/forming Cultures
University of Technology, Sydney
Email: stephen.muecke@...
Professor Stephen Muecke is Professor of Cultural Studies, Australian
Professorial Fellow, and Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.
He has a long-term research interest in Indigenous Studies, transnational
cultures and new ethnography. He is co-editor, with Chris Healy, of the
Cultural Studies Review.
He took his Masters from Paris VIII working on the sociolinguistics of
verbal parody performances, and has since worked (for his PhD) on the
narratology of Aboriginal stories from the West Kimberley (WA). He has also
researched Aboriginal philosophy (Ancient & Modern: Time, Culture and
Indigenous Philosophy, UNSW Press, forthcoming, 2004), fictocritical
writing, travel writing and the life and work of David Unaipon. With
Devleena Ghosh and Michael Pearson he is engaged on a major new project:
Culture and Commerce in the Indian Ocean.
DEVLEENA GHOSH
Trans/forming Cultures
University of Technology, Sydney
Email: devleena.ghosh@...
Dr Devleena Ghosh works and teaches across a range of disciplinary areas and
with a variety of methodologies. Currently, she is involved in a project on
culture and commerce in the Indian Ocean region with Professor Stephen
Muecke and Professor Michael Pearson as well as another on the impact of
information technology on rural and urban communities in South India. She is
particularly interested in the enmeshing of cultures and technologies, in
ideas of borders and space and in the constructions of migrant cultures and
identities. Her supervisory experience has included mixed race narratives in
Fiji, being Ovambo in Namibia, historical biographies set in colonial India,
multimedia works about multi-cultural identities, Beirut cityscapes and
Jordanian immigrants in Sydney.
She also has a deep interest in performance, having been cultural advisor to
the performance project Suburban Masala: from Mumbai to Marrickville
(Sidetrack Theatre, 2002) and was a participant in india@... (Urban
Theatre Project, Carnivale, Riverside Theatre, 2003). Currently, she is
advising on an Australian Council funded project on the interaction between
Indian and Middle-Eastern youth.
MICHAEL PEARSON
Adjunct Professor
University of Technology, Sydney
Email: mpearson@...
Michael Pearson is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Technology
Sydney. Michael was born in New Zealand and received his Ph.D. at the
University of Michigan before taking up a position at the University of New
South Wales where he taught from 1975 to 2001. Michael has published 14
books and over 70 articles and book chapters on Indian history. His
particular interests are the Portuguese in India, trade and cultural
relations between India and East Africa and pilgrimage. His first book,
Merchants and Rulers in Gujarat: the Response to the Portuguese in the
Sixteenth Century, won the Watamull Prize for the best book on Indian
history published in the USA. Michael wrote the volume on The Portuguese in
India for the New Cambridge History of India and has also published two
books on the hajj - Pious Passengers: the Hajj in Earlier Times and
Pilgrimage to Mecca: the Indian Experience. Most recently he has written on
Port Cities and Intruders: the Swahili Coast, India and Portugal in the
Early Modern Era and has published two volumes on the Indian Ocean -The
Indian Ocean in Routledge's "The Seas in History" series and The World of
the Indian Ocean, 1500-1800: Studies in Economic, Social and Cultural
History for the Variorum Collected Studies Series.
LOLA SHARON DAVIDSON
Research Assistant
Indian Ocean Project
University of Technology, Sydney
email: Indian.Ocean@...
Lola Sharon Davidson is the Research Assistant for the Indian Ocean Project.
Lola studied Anthropology and History in Paris and Sydney. Her doctoral
thesis concerned the religious and intellectual history of the European
Middle Ages. Her most recent publication is a history of Westpac,
Australia's oldest bank. She is currently researching the cultural
implications of the textile trade in the Indian Ocean.

From The Statesman, Kolkata, 31 July 2006

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=14&theme=&usrsess=1&id=12
4765
<http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=14&theme=&usrsess=1&id=1
24765>

Draft National Tribal Policy: A new approach

The following are excerpts from the Draft National Tribal Policy,
recently announced by the Tribal Affairs Ministry, which has sought
responses from the public, civil society groups, scholars and
specialists. We take this opportunity to publish the first of a series
of extracts which we hope will help disseminate this critical issue and
enable a wider debate, in the public interest. The draft policy is a
detailed 23-page document and has been made public, after much
discussion and review. It is a well-drafted and designed statement of
intent which is worth thought because it touches a vast range of
concerns of nearly 10 per cent of India's population where poverty,
insurgency, violence, discrimination and the plunder of natural
resources are extensive. We anticipate strong discussions on its views
on forest dwellers among the tribals and its clear support for jhum
cultivation, perhaps the first time a Government of India policy
document has taken such a bold stand. SH

The dilemma in preparing any policy for the Scheduled Tribes in India is
how to strike, the right balance between preservation of tribal
identity, culture and values, protecting the tribes from being swamped
by mainstream lifestyles, while increasing and ensuring their access to
mainstream education, health care and income generation so that the
quality of their life is improved... Not only is the number of
individual tribes scheduled under the Constitution quite large (standing
today at nearly 700 State specific Scheduled Tribes), but also because
the heterogeneity is immense. Each tribe is quite distinct from the
other with, usually, separate languages and dialects, customs, cultural
practices and life styles. To preserve this immense diversity is an
enormously difficult task, particularly since, in bringing the benefits
of development to them in education, health and income generation, a
significant amount of mainstreaming, and consequent loss of diversity,
is inevitable. .. Over the last 60 years or so, many of the Scheduled
Tribes appear to have evolved into two, more or less distinct, groups:
those who have been able to take advantage of the protection and
benefits guaranteed to them under the Constitution and under various
Acts and schemes and have been able to decrease the gap in development
between them and others; and those Scheduled Tribes whom such programmes
and protection have failed to reach and who, therefore, still exist at
subsistence level with poor health, education and income levels. By and
large, however, improvements in the socio-economic conditions of
Scheduled Tribes measured in increased literacy rates, reduction in
poverty... have not been proportionate to the investments made.

As compared to other sections of Indian society, the tribal population
has the lowest Human Development Index (HDI). In addition, they suffer
from geographical and cultural exclusion, which are not captured in the
HDI. Similarly, lack of empowerment to make choices for themselves is
also not accounted for. A large segment of the tribal population lives
below the poverty line and suffers from a high infant mortality rate,
severe malnutrition, various communicable diseases, lower literacy rates
and an extremely slow pace of development. Under-development coupled
with lack of access to proper administrative and judicial machinery in
tribal areas further increases their deprivation... Since Independence,
tribal areas have had less favourable initial infrastructure endowment.
The social and physical infrastructure in the tribal areas is inadequate
and at a much lower level than the rest of the areas, resulting in the
low capacity of the tribal economy to meaningfully absorb funds ,
including institutional finance. The gap between the infrastructure in
the rest of the country and the tribal areas has moreover been widening
steadily... Ownership of land signifies livelihood, culture and identity
in a tribal economy. The STs usually possess lands which are infertile
uplands. But even such as they are, these lands have also been going out
of tribal possession on account of appropriation by exogenous forces.
Poor land record systems in tribal areas coupled with the illiteracy,
poverty and ignorance of tribals and the greed of others have resulted
in the continuous transfer of resources from tribals to non-tribals for
several decades. Diminishing access to natural resources, and
dispossession have led to their exclusion and economic impoverishment
often reducing them to the status of migrant labour, rickshaw pullers
and head-loaders, and socio-psychologically setting them adrift.

To compound the problem further, displacement or forced eviction of
tribals from their lands and natural habitats due to various
developmental activities has for long been a serious problem.
Displacement takes place on account of development projects which
include large irrigation or hydro projects, coal and other mines,
thermal power plants and mineral based industrial units. De jure
displacement is accompanied by extensive de-facto displacement from a
much wider area commonly referred to as the zone of influence. While the
STs lose their land, livelihoods and community way of living, others
reap the benefits of the development often financed from the public
exchequer, that follows in the entire zone of influence. Inadequate
rehabilitation of the displaced tribals compounds their woes making them
asset-less and unemployed, trapped in debt bondage...

The National Tribal Policy shall have the following objectives:

Regulatory Protection

u Providing an environment conducive to the preservation of traditional
and customary systems and regime of rights and concessions enjoyed by
different ST communities, and reconciliation of modes of socio-economic
development with these;

u Preventing alienation of land owned by STs and restoring possession of
wrongfully alienated lands;

u Protection and vesting of rights of STs on forest lands and other
forest rights including ownership over minor forest produce (MFP),
minerals and water bodies through appropriate legislation and conversion
of all forest villages into revenue villages;

u Providing a legislative frame for rehabilitation and resettlement in
order to minimise displacement, ensure that affected persons are
partners in the growth in the zone of influence, provide for
compensation of social and opportunity cost in addition to market value
of the land and rights over common property resources ~ the concept of
net present value (NPV); u Empowerment of tribal communities to promote
self-governance and self-rule as per the provisions and spirit of the
Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996;

u Protection of political rights to ensure greater and active
participation of tribals in political bodies at all levels.

Socio-Economic Empowerment

u Reducing and removing the gap in the HDI of the tribal population and
the general population to bring them at par by 2020;

u Reduction in the drop out rate at primary level by a minimum of five
per cent and at secondary level by a minimum of three per cent every
year, to bring STs at par with the rest by the end of the Eleventh Plan;


u Ensuring food security to all ST families below the poverty line,
providing 25 kg of food grain per ST family per month, and transferring
management and ownership of PDS to the community;

u Providing livelihood opportunities in addition to the guaranteed
employment of at least 100 days by improving the production capacity of
the natural resource base so as to reduce the number of ST persons below
the poverty line by a minimum of two percent every year and bring STs at
par with the rest by 2020...

(to be continued)



***********************************************************************
Sita Venkateswar
Programme Coordinator,

Social Anthropology Programme
Massey University
Private Bag 11-222
Palmerston North
Aotearoa/New Zealand

Ph:64-6-3505799 ext.2515
Fax:64-6-3505689

http://anthropology.massey.ac.nz/staff/venkateswar/index.html



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BBC
NEWS<http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/printer_friendly/news_logo
.gif>
Indigenous people 'worst-off world over'

		 By David Loyn
BBC Developing World correspondent

The health of indigenous people worldwide is much worse than that of
other communities, even the poorest communities in the countries where
they live.

This is among the findings of a major investigation launched by the
medical journal The Lancet into indigenous communities.

The relatively poor health of aboriginal people in the United States,
Canada, Australia and New Zealand has been well-documented.

But this study finds that indigenous communities are much worse off than
other poor people in Asia, Latin America and Africa as well.

Looking at infant mortality among the Nanti tribe in Peru, the Xavante
in Brazil, the Kuttiya Kandhs of India and the Pygmy peoples of Uganda,
researchers found much worse figures than in the "host" communities.

And the gap between these indigenous communities and the wider community
was even greater than between the two groups in countries like the US
and Australia.

Caste distinctions

In India for example, 25% of the population live below the poverty line,
but among so-called "Scheduled Tribes" the figure rises to 45%.

	 Colonialism [created] an image of indigenous peoples as
primitive, backward and deliberately obstructive to modernity
Lancet study

The concept of "indigenous" is a complex one, particularly in India and
Africa.

The Indian government acknowledges the existence of "tribals", or
"adivasis", adhering to pre-Hindu animist faiths.

It is among these "tribals" that India's biggest current security
concern, the Maoist Naxalites, recruit and operate.

Lancet researchers record even more difficulty in defining indigenous
people in Africa, blaming colonial persecution - inherited by other
dominant groups since the end of Empire - for the poor health of some
marginalised communities who live outside the mainstream.

Colonial blame

Colonialism began the decline in health for indigenous peoples by
introducing unknown diseases, and displacing them from their ancestral
lands.

"Colonialism impacted as profoundly in a conceptual sense - creating an
image of indigenous peoples as primitive, backward and deliberately
obstructive to modernity," says the study.

Many of the indigenous people surveyed shared a sense of the loss or
pollution of tribal lands, as mining, and other industries came in.

Unemployment, alcoholism, and drug dependency came along with their
proximity to "civilisation". Homicide is a much more common cause of
death among Australian aboriginal women than among the general
population.

UN goals 'divert attention'

The biggest concern of the Lancet researchers, led by Dr Carolyn
Stephens from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, is
that the health of indigenous people does not register on world
statistics at all.

The current priority in development funding is to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), targets set during the UN Summit in 2000. But
the report says: "The MDGs could be achieved even if indigenous peoples
disappear from our world."

Dr Stephens says the focus of the MDGs on "headline-capturing big
numbers has an [negative] impact on indigenous peoples - both in terms
of their international visibility, and in fund allocation".

Rich heritage

The cultural traditions and knowledge of herbal medicine of indigenous
people predate the collective knowledge of globalisation, and the Lancet
researchers believe that we could lose much if these people are allowed
to die.

"Globally, indigenous peoples represent a demographic minority and they
are amongst the world's most disenfranchised peoples," says the study.

"Despite this, they have lived in and protected our most precious
ecosystems and many of their ideas are vital to the survival of the
ecosystem on which we ultimately all depend."

The authors quote approvingly the words of Mexican poet Octavio Paz:
"The ideal of a single civilisation for everyone implicit in the cult of
progress and technique, impoverishes and mutilates us. Every view of the
world that becomes extinct, every culture that disappears, diminishes a
possibility of life."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/5019582.stm

Published: 2006/05/26 12:09:17 GMT

(c) BBC MMVI



***********************************************************************
Sita Venkateswar
Programme Coordinator,

Social Anthropology Programme
Massey University
Private Bag 11-222
Palmerston North
Aotearoa/New Zealand

Ph:64-6-3505799 ext.2515
Fax:64-6-3505689

http://anthropology.massey.ac.nz/staff/venkateswar/index.html




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