Equitable land-use policy? Indigenous peoples’ resistance to mining-induced deforestation

Abstract

India's centralized mining of sub-soil minerals is rapidly changing the forested landscapes. This empirical research examines two interrelated questions: how do Indigenous Peoples perceive centralized mining affecting their traditional forest rights, and what are some of the community-led initiatives to address mining governance and forest policy? Two aspects of the rights-based approach on the extreme continuum – Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) and social movements – are used for analyzing three ethnographic case studies each from India’s top three mining states, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Odisha. The forested landscapes are inhabited by a million ethnically diverse Indigenous Peoples also known as Scheduled Tribes or Adivasis, often devoid of formal recognition. The Oraon, Pando, Paudi Bhuniya, and Munda Indigenous communities face the consequences of mining-induced deforestation on their livelihoods and are excluded from land-use decisions before and after extractions. The findings compare diverse forms of social movements seeking decentralized mining and community-based forest governance. Key recommendations from the Indigenous communities for inclusive forest and land-use policy are illuminated in the conclusion.