Trees, Forests and People (Dec 2020)
Use of composite index to critically assess the post rights recognition impact of Forest Rights Act, 2006: A case study from the tribal state of Tripura, India
Abstract
The Scheduled Tribe and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (FRA) was implemented in India in 2008, to recognize forest rights of forest-dwelling tribal communities as a historical reparation of injustices faced by them. In over a decade of implementation majority of the rights recognised are in the category of Individual forest rights (IFR), to improve the socio-economic condition and put tribal development in a sustainable pattern. But only a handful of studies assess the post rights recognition impacts of FRA. This study uses composite index to assess the impacts on the socio-economic condition of the scheduled tribes and the condition of the land vested as forest rights. The composite Indexes were constructed using the methodology given by Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The socio-economic composite index consisted of 8 parameters and 15 indicators and the Index for vegetation condition used four indicators. To validate the Index, evaluation was undertaken in the North Eastern state of Tripura. A total of 300 households and 108 vegetation plots from 12 villages were sampled to generate primary data. The evaluation successfully classified 25% of the villages as having ‘very good’ socio-economic and vegetation conditions. The status of each parameter including their inter-linkages and their impact on the overall socio-economic and vegetation conditions was also delineated. The major factor that impact the conditions were identified as size of land holding, assistance for development, household income, use of alternative sustainable practices, and lack of skill building. Analysis of the relationship between socio-economic and vegetation conditions pointed towards deterioration of vegetation condition as socio-economic conditions improved and indicated the existence of other possible factors that impact the post right conditions. This study successfully marks the advent into the sphere of post-recognition impacts of FRA. The use of Composite Index can enhance post implementation assessments and guide future policies and course of actions. Index can be adapted to uniformly assess FRA's performance in India, or any forest policy for devolution of rights around the world.
