Reform in Forest Tenure and Livelihood Impact: Implementation of Forest Rights Act 2006 in Odisha and Jharkhand

Abstract

Based on the extensive fieldwork in selected villages of Odisha and Jharkhand, this present paper seeks to analyse the actual process of implementation and analyses the livelihood impact of Forest Rights Act (FRA) 2006. However the finding from the study showed that forest as a source of livelihood is important in all the study villages especially for the poor tribal households. The progress of implementation in Jharkhand is very slow and is not satisfactory as compared to Odisha. The progress has been slow due to a number of factors such as inadequate man power, lack of awareness among the claimants, weak legal, political and social mobilisation. There is also high ambiguity among the different implementing agencies relating to the actual process of implementation. The FRA, if implemented properly in both the states, will thus not only provide stable property rights on forest land but also enforce the entitlement of forest dwellers on forest produce such as non-timber forest products. Increased access to land and forest produce will provide them better livelihood opportunities and well-being.