We need to lose our elitist perspective on Forest Rights

“Pinning their hope on only islands of PAs, some conservationists and foresters are trapped in an obsolete paradigm. Unhinged passion for wildlife conservation leads such scholars and wildlife activists to obfuscate the reality around the implementation and impacts of the FRA. Questions raised on gram sabhas and the collective wisdom of lakhs of traditional forest-dwellers, inadvertently strike at the democratic foundations of the institution. It reveals a starkly colonial and elitist perspective of many such people. Scholarship on conservation in the Global South has alerted us against such thinking as well as against the pitfalls of alienating local communities in conservation efforts.”