Land Tenure and Forest Conservation
in the Dooars of the Eastern Himalaya

Govinda Choudhury

Abstract: Reservation of forest land led to the loss of community rights and impoverishment of forest communities in the Dooars of Eastern Himalaya. The Forest Rights Act 2006 is the first piece of legislation meant to undo the historical injustice done to forest communities. However, the manner in which the Forest Rights Act has been implemented raises questions about its role in protecting the livelihood security of forest dwellers. In the Dooars of Jalpaiguri, an argument made for denying community rights is that these forests were reserved from waste land and hence no prior community forest rights existed. This paper argues that a vibrant forest community existed prior to acquisition of these forests, and that “reserving from waste” is a colonial construct. In the Himalayan region, the livelihood needs of forest communities cannot be met from agriculture alone, but also require access to forest commons. Extraction of natural resources may be unsustainable if forests are made an open access resource. We argue that recognition of community property rights in forests can ensure conservation of the resource and also enhance livelihood security among the poor.