As someone who has admired Nagarjuna’s acting, I was pleasantly surprised to see his pledge to adopt 1,000 acres of Reserve Forests for biodiversity and climate protection. Unlike Hollywood, where celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio have used their star value to promote conservation and climate change action, India’s film celebrities have in general been reticent. […]
As someone who has admired Nagarjuna’s acting, I was pleasantly surprised to see his pledge to adopt 1,000 acres of Reserve Forests for biodiversity and climate protection. Unlike Hollywood, where celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio have used their star value to promote conservation and climate change action, India’s film celebrities have in general been reticent. Given the threats posed by climate change and biodiversity loss to humanity’s future itself, it is critical that social influencers, including film stars, become more engaged with these existential issues.
It is in this context that I appreciate this pledge for environmental protection by Nagarjuna. In my mind, it would be even better if Nagarjuna and celebrities like him could adopt and support communities whose immense climate and conservation contribution has been flying under the radar in India.
Unsung Heroes
There are many unsung climate and conservation champions in India whose work needs to be highlighted and celebrated. In particular, I refer to the many Adivasi and forest dweller communities who have protected and restored forests and other common lands. As a long-term observer of these efforts, I am surprised at the lack of awareness in mainstream India about the role of Adivasis and other local communities in protecting forests and other critical ecosystems.
There are thousands of examples of sacred groves, community forest conservation, protection of wildlife and biodiversity, restoration of degraded ecosystems from across the country, where communities have protected, conserved and restored critical ecosystems, contributing to conservation and climate mitigation. The formal system for governing forests and other commons, bequeathed by the colonial rulers, has been largely unsympathetic to such initiatives by rural communities and Adivasis. It was only in the last three decades that some reforms have been taken up to provide space for citizen-led ecological conservation and restoration.
Adivasis Movement
Of these reforms, the enactment of the landmark law called the Forest Rights Act 2006 has been the most important. The law admits the historical injustices faced by Adivasis and forest dweller communities due to colonial forestry practices and provides for community forest rights of Gram Sabha (village assembly) of Adivasis and forest dwellers. It also gives the Gram Sabhas the responsibility of protecting these forests and biodiversity. Our studies show that almost half the forests in India should come under community jurisdiction through this law. The recognition of community forest rights under the Forest Rights Act has started slowly across India. Yet, the outcomes have been extraordinary.
Many Gram Sabhas across the country have shown remarkable results in conserving and restoring forests. For example, women forest dwellers in Odisha’s Nayagarh district have led the movement to restore and protest forests, turning degraded hill sides into lush, green forests teeming with wildlife. In Maharashtra, hundreds of Grams Sabhas have conserved their community forests, and some also used the income from these community forests resources to help their members survive the Covid pandemic.
Adivasi communities in the Similipal Tiger Reserve (Odisha), after recognition of their community forest rights, have started to protect both forests and wildlife and to fight against fire. The Kadar Adivasi communities in Kerala have not only protected their forests but also used the Forest Rights Act to stall the Athirapally Hydroelectric Project posing major risks to Western Ghats biodiversity.
Unfriendly Policies
This situation is not unique to India. Globally it is now an established fact that Indigenous Peoples (Adivasis) and local communities are often the best guardians of forests and other ecosystems, with multiple peer-reviewed studies confirming the same. Even the global bodies supporting Climate Change Convention and Biodiversity Convention have accepted this fact. Global studies that I have been involved in show that conservation by Indigenous Peoples, rural communities is the most efficient, cost-effective and just pathway to protecting biodiversity.
The most vulnerable and poor communities in India are thus in the forefront of fighting climate change and saving biodiversity through protecting and conserving forests. They often do this in face of great odds and often without the support of the Forest Department and the governments. Sadly, in many cases, government policies and programmes for conservation can end up directly harming these Adivasi and forest dweller communities themselves, as illustrated by the large number of conflicts arising out of official afforestation programmes.
These Gram Sabhas and communities are climate and conservation warriors who need the support of celebrities like Nagarjuna to share their remarkable stories across India and to obtain the support of policymakers. Their adopting these communities and their Gram Sabhas will not only directly encourage these communities but will also motivate many other communities to replicate their efforts, which could help spark a mass grassroots movement for forest protection and conservation across the country. India can’t fight the climate change and conservation battle without mobilising its Adivasis, forest dwellers and other rural communities, and support by celebrities like Nagarjuna can jumpstart such a movement.
(The author, based in Toronto, is an expert on land and forest tenure issues, and has worked with international NGOs and taught at University of Toronto, Canada)