The Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006 was enacted to correct historical injustice by recognizing the land, livelihood, and cultural rights of Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers. It protects both individual and community rights—especially Community Forest Resource (CFR) rights—so people can conserve, regenerate, and manage forests through the Gram Sabha.

In West Bengal and the Sundarbans, implementation still faces gaps—delays, wrongful rejections, weak Gram Sabha processes, and continuing threats of displacement. For delta communities, forest rights are also livelihood rights: fishing, crab and honey collection, and safe access to rivers and forests. Our focus is to strengthen awareness, claim-making, evidence-based documentation, and fair recognition—so communities can live with dignity and protect the forests they depend on.