Everyday Forest Rights: Claiming Territories and Pastoral Livelihoods in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, India

This article explores the multiple processes of maintaining access and asserting user rights to forest space among the Van Gujjar pastoralists in North India. In particular, the Forest Rights Act of 2006 (FRA) has created an opportunity for forest dwellers across India to seek legal means to forest...

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Autores principales:	Pierre-Alexandre Paquet, Elizabeth Kuroyedov
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2021
Materias:	governance citizenship forest rights land rights pastoralism van gujjars fra Ecology QH540-549.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/e62fac47066a44099d7426ac6a9daf1d
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:e62fac47066a44099d7426ac6a9daf1d2021-11-19T10:59:17ZEveryday Forest Rights: Claiming Territories and Pastoral Livelihoods in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, India0972-492310.4103/cs.cs_20_123https://doaj.org/article/e62fac47066a44099d7426ac6a9daf1d2021-01-01T00:00:00Zhttp://www.conservationandsociety.org/article.asp?issn=0972-4923;year=2021;volume=19;issue=4;spage=236;epage=247;aulast=Paquethttps://doaj.org/toc/0972-4923This article explores the multiple processes of maintaining access and asserting user rights to forest space among the Van Gujjar pastoralists in North India. In particular, the Forest Rights Act of 2006 (FRA) has created an opportunity for forest dwellers across India to seek legal means to forest rights. Conducting ethnographic fieldwork, organising workshops on forest rights, and mapping traditional territories among the Van Gujjars, we observed that complex cultural performances are necessary for the Van Gujjars to claim access to forest areas and resources—legal or otherwise. These performances include, but are not limited to, litigation, supporting emergent leaders, and caring for cattle and kin under constant threats of evictions. Drawing on recent scholarship on the everyday formation of territorial governments, we examine how communities maintain, contest, or reinvent cultural practices and governance in the context of their struggles for access inscribed as forest rights. In contrasting cases among two groups of Van Gujjars seeking rights to forest spaces in the two neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, we shed light on the repercussions that formally or informally engaging the FRA can have for communities of forest dwellers. Based on ethnographic research completed between 2012 and 2019, we find that 1) the Van Gujjar territorial governments carrying on these claims are more diverse than the law recognises, and that 2) not all communities see it worthy to organise a territorial government claiming formal rights under the FRA. Fundamentally, we discern that more immediate threats to Van Gujjar livelihoods result in a greater shift in their cultural practices towards organising a territorial government seeking forest rights through the FRA.Pierre-Alexandre PaquetElizabeth KuroyedovWolters Kluwer Medknow Publicationsarticlegovernancecitizenshipforest rightsland rightspastoralismvan gujjarsfraEcologyQH540-549.5ENConservation & Society, Vol 19, Iss 4, Pp 236-247 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	governance citizenship forest rights land rights pastoralism van gujjars fra Ecology QH540-549.5
spellingShingle	governance citizenship forest rights land rights pastoralism van gujjars fra Ecology QH540-549.5 Pierre-Alexandre Paquet Elizabeth Kuroyedov Everyday Forest Rights: Claiming Territories and Pastoral Livelihoods in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, India
description	This article explores the multiple processes of maintaining access and asserting user rights to forest space among the Van Gujjar pastoralists in North India. In particular, the Forest Rights Act of 2006 (FRA) has created an opportunity for forest dwellers across India to seek legal means to forest rights. Conducting ethnographic fieldwork, organising workshops on forest rights, and mapping traditional territories among the Van Gujjars, we observed that complex cultural performances are necessary for the Van Gujjars to claim access to forest areas and resources—legal or otherwise. These performances include, but are not limited to, litigation, supporting emergent leaders, and caring for cattle and kin under constant threats of evictions. Drawing on recent scholarship on the everyday formation of territorial governments, we examine how communities maintain, contest, or reinvent cultural practices and governance in the context of their struggles for access inscribed as forest rights. In contrasting cases among two groups of Van Gujjars seeking rights to forest spaces in the two neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, we shed light on the repercussions that formally or informally engaging the FRA can have for communities of forest dwellers. Based on ethnographic research completed between 2012 and 2019, we find that 1) the Van Gujjar territorial governments carrying on these claims are more diverse than the law recognises, and that 2) not all communities see it worthy to organise a territorial government claiming formal rights under the FRA. Fundamentally, we discern that more immediate threats to Van Gujjar livelihoods result in a greater shift in their cultural practices towards organising a territorial government seeking forest rights through the FRA.
format	article
author	Pierre-Alexandre Paquet Elizabeth Kuroyedov
author_facet	Pierre-Alexandre Paquet Elizabeth Kuroyedov
author_sort	Pierre-Alexandre Paquet
title	Everyday Forest Rights: Claiming Territories and Pastoral Livelihoods in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, India
title_short	Everyday Forest Rights: Claiming Territories and Pastoral Livelihoods in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, India
title_full	Everyday Forest Rights: Claiming Territories and Pastoral Livelihoods in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, India
title_fullStr	Everyday Forest Rights: Claiming Territories and Pastoral Livelihoods in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, India
title_full_unstemmed	Everyday Forest Rights: Claiming Territories and Pastoral Livelihoods in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, India
title_sort	everyday forest rights: claiming territories and pastoral livelihoods in uttar pradesh and uttarakhand, india
publisher	Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/e62fac47066a44099d7426ac6a9daf1d
work_keys_str_mv	AT pierrealexandrepaquet everydayforestrightsclaimingterritoriesandpastorallivelihoodsinuttarpradeshanduttarakhandindia AT elizabethkuroyedov everydayforestrightsclaimingterritoriesandpastorallivelihoodsinuttarpradeshanduttarakhandindia
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Everyday Forest Rights: Claiming Territories and Pastoral Livelihoods in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, India

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