1. Ram Wangkheirakpam www.nealliance.net
Safeguarding Forests and Forest Peoples: Lessons for safeguards from North East India  
Ram Wangkheirakpam

2. The North East Rural Livelihood Project
Locked since the beginning

3. Project Brief Project ID - P102330 300000 households 1624 villages
58 Blocks
8 Districts
4 states
Mostly Forest Jhum cultivars

4. 1. Project & Lessons for Safeguards
Non-forestry lending! but it will affect forest directly
Creation of New sustainable institution, governance & funding for livelihood
Reorienting the agro-forestry/jhum activities into cash crop plantations
Term-Degraded forest has to be read much carefully jhum areas are treated as degraded/wasteland
SG-Non recognition of community and forest relations
SG-requires clear recognition of the rights & relations betwn Communities and their forest.
SG-Leave community used forest/jhum land cycling in the ambit of Degraded- fear of bringing in plantations

5. 2. Project & Lessons for Safeguards
Project is largely in IPs territories
And hence IPs Pol triggered and IPDP prepared
Claims that FPICon with Broad Community Support obtained in all villages!
Few people have idea of about project.
Broad Community Support! Who all! With project people and govt.
Lack of recognition of IPs rights in its full sense
UNDRIP and FPIC (consent)