Resources

African Civil Society Organisations boycott World Bank consultation in Nairobi. Position Statement of African Civil Society Organisations for the IFC Safeguard Policy Review Consultation in Africa, November 29-30, 2004

We, the undersigned African civil society organizations, working on and interested in extractive sector issues have decided not to officially participate in the IFC consultative process for Africa, held on November 29 and 30, 2004 in Nairobi, Kenya because of insufficient time and information on the process.

Thumbnail

Implementation of international commitments on traditional forest-related knowledge: indigenous peoples’ experiences in Central Africa

The existing legal and policy provisions of central African countries, and the way they have been implemented in practice, have hitherto done little to stem the loss of indigenous peoples' traditional forest-related knowledge (TFRK). Focusing on the indigenous and traditional communities of eight central African countries, this detailed report examines the issues surrounding TFRK and assesses the progress made to date by the governments who have given their endorsement to reform.

Village Forest Protection Committees in Madhya Pradesh: an update and critical evaluation

Introduction

Formalised by the Government of Madhya Pradesh in 1991 and funded by the World Bank from 1994 to 1999, Joint Forest Management (JFM) in Madhya Pradesh has been the subject of great controversy within Adivasi, activist and academic circles, and has lead to strong Mass Tribal Organisation opposition to the project at state level. Although JFM claims to promote greater participation and benefits to communities, in many cases its underlying objective has been to reduce the dependence of Adivasi communities on the forests they have managed for centuries, and to curtail their rights to their lands and resources. Its implementation rests on the formation of Village Forest Protection Committees, through which government and development aid funds are channelled for ‘forest management’ and village-level development works. Since Bank funding ended in 1999, the Village Forest Protection Committees (VFPCs) in Madhya Pradesh have been largely non-functional. Nevertheless the JFM policy and project have left a legacy of Adivasi disempowerment and community-level divisions [documented in reports such as Sarin et al, 2003 [1] , the Summary Report of Jan Sunwai (Public Hearing) on Forest Rights at village Indpura, Harda District, 26 May 2001, etc.] which are still affecting communities.

Subscribe to resources with these filters applied.