Common Property Resources

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August 21, 2022 Floods are not feared, but rather welcomed by the Mishing communities from Majuli island in Assam as they bring bountiful fish- a rich source of food, nutrition and livelihood for the community.
The Majuli island, a haven for fish (Image Source: Usha Dewani, India Water Portal)
January 13, 2022 The water structures constructed during the Gond period continue to survive the test of time and provide evidence of the water wisdom of our ancestors.
Kundeshwar lake, Kundam in Jabalpur (Image Source: K G Vyas)
September 1, 2021 The experience of the Foundation for Ecological Security in tribal Mandla, Madhya Pradesh
Fish harvesting by Changariya fishing cooperative, Mandla, Madhya Pradesh (Image: Foundation for Ecological Security)
August 19, 2021 Use of digital tools for implementing natural resources management at scale in rural India
Digital planning tools like CLART can go a long way in achieving better land-use outcomes (Image: Foundation for Ecological Security)
December 4, 2019 To adapt well & build resilience, climate change strategies need to factor in efforts towards water security, writes Vanita Suneja, Regional Advocacy Manager (South Asia), WaterAid.
Image credit: WaterAid/Prashanth Vishwanathan
December 2, 2019 Water stewardship is an approach predicated on the concept that water is a shared resource and so water risks are also shared risks that everyone in a catchment will face
Picture credit: Romit Sen
Wetlands conservation and sustainable management in the Nilgiris - Final project report and local management plan by Keystone Foundation
This document presents the final report of the Keystone Foundation’s Small Wetlands Programme of IUCN-The Netherlands Committee. Posted on 02 Aug, 2011 07:48 PM

The initiative on hill wetlands in the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve is supported through this. The area is located at the junction of the Eastern Ghats and the Western Ghats, or Sahyadris, the two prominent mountain ranges that run almost parallel to the coastlines of Peninsular India and is home to indigenous forest people and is a rare repository of mountain biodiversity.

The Nilgiris is home to unique wetlands that are the source of sustenance of numerous animals and human communities. Wetlands are among the more important reservoirs of biodiversity that nature has painstakingly crafted over millions of years.

Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules (2011)
One of the major provisions under the new Rules is the explicit recognition of the role of waste pickers. Posted on 28 Jul, 2011 08:21 AM

This document  on the Ministry of Environment and Forests site includes the Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules replaces the earlier Recycled Plastics Manufacture and Usage Rules,1999 (amended in 2003).

Kailash sacred landscape conservation initiative - Feasibility assessment report by ICIMOD
The project attempts to recognise and strengthen local capacity for community-based participation in conservation and sustainable development. Posted on 25 Jul, 2011 03:19 PM

CoverThis publication by International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) deals with Kailash Sacred Landscape Conservation Initiative (KSLCI), a project that seeks to conserve and sustainably manage a highly unique and special landscape through the application of trans-boundary ecosystem management approaches.

This region, like much of the rest of the Hindu Kush-Himalayas, faces many challenges, not the least of which are global warming, globalisation and environmental degradation. The Kailash region is considered sacred to five major religions and to a large number of people in Asia and throughout the world. This area is historically, ecologically, and culturally interconnected and is the source of four of Asia’s most important rivers.

The KSLCI is an attempt on the part of the three neighbouring countries of India, China and Nepal to join hands to help preserve the unique biological diversity, the many ecosystem goods and services, and the value-based cultural heritage of one of the most revered and sacred landscapes in the world.

Indus Equation' report by Strategic Foresight Group - Provides clarifications on the water issues between India and Pakistan
Strategic Foresight Group, a political think tank based in Mumbai-India, has released a report called ‘Indus Equation’ that provides clarifications on the water issues between India and Pakistan.The Pakistani media is full of reports claiming India is encroaching on their water supply but a close examination of the facts reveals that the controversy over water is much ado about nothing and easily avoidable. Posted on 13 Jul, 2011 04:38 PM

Release of 'Indus Equation' report

Measures to mitigate agrarian distress in Idukki district of Kerala : A study report by MSSRF
This study report by the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation deals with the measures to mitigate agrarian distress in Idukki district of Kerala. Posted on 10 Jul, 2011 07:38 PM

Idukki Although Idukki is generally perceived as a ‘spices district’ and a ‘plantation crop district’, about 95 per cent of the farmers here are small with tribal farmers constituting a substantial component. Public investment in agriculture in this district is very poor and this hampers agricultural progress and rural livelihoods in many ways.

As a result of high cost of production of major crops and its volatile prices, small farmers who constitute the majority of the farming population have accumulated debt burden exceeding 700 crores. More than eighty per cent of this debt is due to crop loans to small and marginal farmers.

The recommendations in this report are made after giving due consideration to ongoing programmes and resources being made available thereof. These are mainly focused on the small, marginal and tribal farmers and other economically disadvantaged sections. The stress is on sustainability of agricultural production systems and strengthening the regional ecology.

National Water Policy - An alternative draft for consideration by Ramaswamy R Iyer - Economic and Political Weekly
This paper in the Economic and Political Weekly presents the contours of an alternative water policy document by Ramaswamy R Iyer. Posted on 10 Jul, 2011 08:31 AM

The paper sets forth for consideration a broad national perspective on the nature of water and on its prudent, wise, sustainable, equitable and harmonious use. The Ministry of Water Resources is at present engaged in revising the National Water Policy 2002. Iyer is of the opinion that instead of trying to make changes in the 2002 Policy, the Ministry should put it aside and draft a new policy, starting from first principles.

Optimal water resource management in water stress condition : A Newsletter of AFPRO Volume 2, Issue 2 of July 2011
Action for Food Production (AFPRO) newsletter - Volume 2, Issue 2 of July 2011, focuses on water scarcity, drought and salinity, which are among the most important environmental constraints related to food security in rainfed agriculture systems. Posted on 07 Jul, 2011 11:29 AM

AFPROSmall and marginal farmers are most affected from water stress situations, and need simple, sustainable and effective measures for water conservation and management.

Sharing the wealth of minerals – A report by Centre for Science and Environment on profit sharing with local communities
The Center for Science and Environment’s report on profit sharing in mining with local communities comes out in support of government’s recent proposal to share 26 per cent net profits Posted on 03 Jul, 2011 08:57 AM

CoverThe report submits the idea that proposal will go a long way in reducing poverty and deprivation in the mining affected areas. It states that the mining industry’s opposition to the proposal has no basis - statistics prove that sharing profits will not dent the industry’s profitability.

The central government has come out with a draft Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2010 (MMDR Bill) to replace the 1957 Act. The draft bill which has been vetted by a GoM, includes this provision of sharing benefits. The CSE analysis comes out in strong support of this proposal, and clearly establishes how timely and necessary this provision is.

Mining companies and industry in general have been opposing the government’s recent proposal. Their contention is that this provision, if passed by Parliament, would drastically dent their profitability. 

"Pocketful of forests" - Legal debates around compensation and valuation of forest loss in India - A new publication by Kalpavriksh (2011)
This book is valuable for those interested in matters of forest conservation and forest governance Posted on 23 Jun, 2011 02:15 PM


Pocketful of forests

Desh bachao - Desh banao' – Public convention to save democracy, National Alliance of People's Movements, June 27, 2011, New Delhi
Posted on 22 Jun, 2011 01:55 PM

National Alliance of People's MovementsOrganizer: National Alliance of People's Movements

Venue: Constitution Club, Rafi Marg, New Delhi

Description:

This public convention is an attempt to once again allow all of us to join the dots that link our struggles against deeply entrenched structures of oppression and corruption in our society with a view towards total revolution.

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