She mounted her steps gingerly over a red carpet spread thin and wide on the forest floor since dawn. Jija Bambare, 25, and the group of young women gram sevaks make their way through the tangle of trees and creepers, and carefully collect, one by one, the distinctive red seeds of Rati Gunj (Abrus Precatorius) strewn across the forest path. An alert Bambare cautions the group on the poisonous qualities of the red seed, while explaining its medicinal use in treating common cough and cold amongst local tribes. Just three micrograms of the seeds could kill. “They have a uniform weight of 1/10 of a gram, and used by traders as standard weights in the past. But these are best avoided by human touch because of their poisonous qualities,” she cautions while marking the trunk of the plant with a unique identity number of its own.
These botanical qualities are neatly documented by the gram sevaks in a giant register, alongside other 231 listed variety of herbs, trees and creepers unique to this forest belt, first in the close proximity of Mumbai to receive the Community Forest Rights (CFR) and complete a People’ Biodiversity Register (PBR), a comprehensive information on availability and knowledge of local biological resources, flora and fauna. The 150- hectare green patch, granted CFR in April, 2015, comprises four hamlets of the Vikramgarh taluka, a backward tribal pocket located 125-kms north of Mumbai. The hamlets are: Doyacha Pada, Kas Pada, Kalam Pada and Aliv Pada.
The Warli and Koli tribal inhabitants here could well earn the distinction of the being the first to map their biodiversity in the state. There completed PBR will be submitted to the Maharashtra State Biodiversity Board (MSBB) end of this month, and, if passed and stamped, will be the first officially approved biodiversity map in the state. Ironically, even the first village to receive CFR in the country, Mendha Lekha in Gadchiroli is yet to complete and pass it PBR via the board, nearly ten years after it made history in the state.
Of the total 1,200 Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) at the village level in Maharashtra, none have so far received an official stamp of completion from the state board. In nearby Jawhar taluka, only four of the 51 gram panchayats have started work on PBR but are far from completing the exercise. In Vikramgarh, of the 27, Doyacha Pada and rest three have collectively completed a PBR, first in the taluk. It is the first completed PBR as stipulated under the rule of Biodiversity Act, 2002 since the formulation of the state board in 2012.
Six months after the padas collectively received the CFR, including ownership on the forest produce, control over grazing of cattle, cutting of trees and passing of vehicles, tractors and bullock carts through the forest, the villages have imposed a fine of Rs 500 for cutting trees, Rs 5,000 for trespassing or violation of hamlet committee rules, are being imposed to ensure local biodiversity is protected at all costs. “For the all the knowledge our forefathers possessed on the rich biodiversity of the forest, they did not have the documentary evidence to back the same. Much of the forest has since disappeared and if we don’t increase and map it now, nothing will be left. Two generations of future children will curse us for not leaving anything behind,” says Shiv Ram, while marking a large Baheda tree, its fruit used in making of Triphala Churna.
Mendha Lekha Example:
Ten years after Mendha Lekha, a village in remote Gadchiroli became the first in the country to secure CFR after the passing of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) in 2006, its inhabitants are yet to get a PBR approved from the MSBB. Board officials say there is little incentives for the locals to participate in the process while few activist groups work in the sector of forest rights. “It (making of a PBR) is a continuous process carried out with the help of the local people and non profit organisations in the area. Not many NGOs are working in the area of forest rights and biodiversity conservation. In Maharashtra, not a single PBR has received a stamp from the board while other states such as Uttarakhand have completed over 100,” said Rahul Mungikar, a senior researcher appointed on the MSBB.
Hanuman Ubale, who runs a drama troupe that informs village folks of the success of 1800-hecatre Mendha Lekha forest through song and dance, has brought a study group from villages in Akola to learn and emulate the success of the padas. All of them keen to son claim rights over 287 hectare of their forest in Akola, above all to reconnect with the forest and map their diversity.
“The British laws turned us indigenous tribals as encroachers on our own land we cultivated. But nothing has changed since. While we have made 900 ‘private’ forest land claims in the last two years, the battle has been raging with the forest officials to claim our rights. We too must prepare a PBR and claim community rights,” he said.
Irresponsible government:
The settlement of individual and community forest claims has been dragging in Maharashtra, even as village gram sabhas and activists try their best to conserve forest with limited funding or help coming from the government. Activists claim funds disbursed by the forest and tribal departments are not reaching the indigenous people, who are dependent on the forest produce and sale to ultimately fund the conservation and prepare a PBR. “If these people have to remain in the democratic set up of this country, the grants have to reach right to the bottom. Not only PBR activities, but even construction of small check dams and storage tanks is being done by way of donation of labour or private borrowings,” said forest rights activist Milind Thatte.
A village crowd is seated on ground listening to frail and bespectacled Bable Kaka, head of the village gram sabha. A meeting is in progress to explain to those part of the study group benefits of mapping the diversity as an intellectual property right. “We believe in peaceful change, and we will protect out forest at any cost. Think of it: if this is destroyed, what will be left.”
Across Maharashtra FRA has not been implemented properly despite rules being framed earlier than other states. The implementation of CFR, appointment of BMCs and documenting bio diversity in the form of a PBR has been nothing but abysmal. “In term of strengthening forest conservation and local forest governance, the objective of FRA has not been achieved with the CFR process not even taking off the ground in most parts of state. The government must do everything to bridge the growing gap,” said Thatte.
