Publication

Abstract : Nations inherited and adopted policies to control and preserve forest areas from colonial laws, consequently separating people from nature, and anticipated sources of food and livelihood. India is not an exception, forest policies were used to evict Jenu Kurubas tribe and creation of Nagarhole National Park. The article examines forest policies relating to the creation of forest areas, eviction, and resettlement of these tribes in Rangayana Koppalu village. It identifies management and rehabilitation programme policy gaps and advises filling them. We performed FGDs and in-depth interviews with 50 participants, selected through purposive sampling, to gather information. Participants were chosen based on their experience and familiarity with pertinent policies, with the elderly being the primary target because they are the repository of historical rehabilitation information. Critical review of literature, and narration of incidents quoted by respondents and mapping of those incidents. Forest policies were instrumental in the formation of protected forest and national parks, but these laws are skewed towards conservation and silent on rehabilitation procedures. Rehabilitated families suffer from food insecurity and subpar livelihoods. Some rules had provisions for a participatory approach to forest management that may have been used to involve communities in forest management and avoid displacement. Implementation of policies is not coordinated among ministries. It is necessary to keep forests, wildlife, and tribal affairs all under one ministry to overcome the problem of each ministry's jurisdiction and achieve sustainable forest management. Create forest policies that take the local community's reliance on the forests into account, promoting the preservation of the forest and the community's continued usage of it.