Non-Timber Forest Products Exchange Programme India – A Regional Partner of NTFP Exchange Program South and South East Asia

Central India Landscape

This is picture of a central india landscape; these pictures are of the region around the Darba Ghati in Bastar, Chhattisgarh.

Denser Parts of a Sal Forest.

A picture sowing one of the denser parts of a sal forest. Climbers are often cleared in most forest management practices, which is detrimental to arboreal mammals.

Formerly Barren Land Reforested in Sandh Karmari Village in Bastar District

A 4 ha patch of formerly barren land reforested in Sandh Karmari village in Bastar district, a view after 10 years of planting. The work was done by the adivasi communities that the Legal Environmental Action Forum works with. LEAF is a partner of the NTFP EP India.

Village Youth From a Bastar Village

The picture shows the village youth from a Bastar village surveying the land they have claimed under the Community Forest Rights.

Nagchuan women gather to exercise their rights

Nagchuan village, Bilaspur District, Chhattisgarh:- Women leaders, SHG members, and women PRI members came together to discuss their Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP), demand generation for MGNREGA work and participate in their Gram Sabha to claim Community Forest Rights.

Focusing on FRA and PESA

Saraitola Village of Dhamtari District, Chhattisgarh:- Panchayat level Gram Sabha conducted with village communities to focus on the Forest Rights Act (FRA) and Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA). Tribal communities demand their rights over the Gram Sabha as per the PESA Act in the 5th Scheduled areas. Gram Sabha members demand their involvement in the village development schemes, yearly planning, MGNREGA work and community forest management.

Wild Seeds for tomorrow

Chhattisgarh:- Collection and conservation of the desi wild seeds from PRERAK’s project location. 32 varieties of traditional seeds were collected from the tribal areas in an awareness effort, and to acknowledge the yearly cycle of seed collection, to protect the plants and conserve the forest.

Leadership development and resource mapping

Gariyaband, Chhattisgarh:- Gariyaband women participated in a leadership development program organized to create awareness about the available platforms for village development, internal skill enhancement and available social security schemes. This intervention created opportunities for women to join the dialogue confidently and further their leadership skills.

Recognizing the benefits of sharing experiences and expertise, various individuals and groups working with indigenous peoples and NTFPs in South and Southeast Asia came together as an informal network. Exchange of ideas, the problems and success that emerged through their work, gradually led to the formation of the NTFP-Exchange Programme South and Southeast Asia, known as NTFP-EP, in 2003. The network in India, EP-India works in the Western Ghats, the Eastern Ghats and the central Indian states at present. Ep-India works among several tribal communities, developing and implementing local initiatives, while respecting the integrity of cultural traditions. The shared goal of the partners of EP is to empower forest-based communities to sustainably use and manage forest resources. The network is striving to engage with many more indigenous communities and NTFP issues and build a holistic view of indigenous people and the forests.