Abstract: The intersection of forest rights and conservation legislations throws up one of the most complex scenarios in contemporary public policy. In the past environmental governance operated predominantly on a regulatory model that was exclusionary. However, modern legal frameworks—such as the landmark Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act 1996, Biological Diversity Act 2002, and Forest Rights Act 2006—have shifted the paradigm, recognizing that sustainability is inextricably linked to the secure tenure of local populations.
The exploration of the interface between protective statutes and community entitlements is crucial to understand the real grassroot level dynamics where conservation is not the absence of people, it in fact results from a collaborative endeavour rooted in social justice and institutional accountability.
Speaker Bio-sketch: Dr Arvind Kumar Jha, an IFS (Indian Forest Service) officer of the 1980 batch, is the Former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) and DG (Social Forestry), Maharashtra. Dr. Jha has a double Master’s (in Physics and Sociology). He has also pursued LLB, a Diploma in Environmental Management, and a PhD in Social Sciences. Dr. Jha has also worked as Commissioner (Tribal Research and Training Institute), Maharashtra, and implemented the Forest Rights Act 2006 using geoinformatics. He has been the CITES Management Authority and RDD (Wildlife) at Mumbai airport, Government of India, and also worked as APCCF(CAMPA), CF(Education), and Dy. Conservator of Forests in Maharashtra’s Gondia and Gadchiroli districts. He has published more than 75 articles and 4 books. Dr. Jha received the National e-Governance Award (Silver) for the use of geoinformatics in implementing the Forest Rights Act. Currently, he is on the advisory board of The Sacred Groves, a Community Interest Company in the UK; he is a member of the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa; and the country President of Vasundhara Emergency Management Foundation, India.