Protected Area Network in Orissa - Vasundhara

communities and particularly for states like Madhya Pradesh. This poses a conflictingpicture vis-a-vis forest and wildlife laws.Mainly legal issues are emerging from rights, control and access over resources. Ourwildlife laws and policies limit the access of local people over resources, which createmajor conflict. Around 60% of India’s PAs are inhabited by humans. Almost 4 millionpeople inside India’s protected areas most of them belonging to families that havelived in these areas before the protected areas were notified. All these people aredependent on local resources for fulfillment of basic needs. All the people livinginside protected areas and in regions adjacent to the protected areas are dependent onlocal resources for fuel, fodder, medicines, non-timber forest produce, fish and otheraquatic produce, livelihoods, water, cultural sustenance, and myriad other criticalresources. In many cases collection of non-timber forest produce contributes to morethan 50% of each household’s earnings; more importantly, up-to 100% of the dailyrequirements of such families comes from forest or aquatic produce. Thus thesepeople are primary stakeholders of Protected Area Management. But they are neitherconsidered Protected Area Management nor their basic needs are dealt. Local peopleare closely linked with resources so they have great potential in wildlife conservation.But in our conservation approach local people are always considered as threat toconservation therefore restricts access of local people over resources, it is completelyignoring the social aspect of natural resource management, and excluding humanfrom nature. Thus converts potential allies into poachers causing depletion ofresources, which are not only affecting humans but also our conservation goal.Many times due to improper survey and settlement processes these villagers areconsidered as encroachers. Many times conflict between forest official and localpeople arises due to restriction on accesses to the resources, which were enjoyed fromhundreds of years. But situations differs from location to location, it depends uponvarious factors. Various tribes are becoming accustomed with modern forces ofglobalization. But Various PTGs are still maintaining their relations with nature, asthese were century before.In comparison with other nations, wildlife laws in India are considered among the‘progressive’ in the world, but they have failed to stop the drain of nature. The131