Women and Community Forests in Orissa: Rights and Management

In Orissa a large number of villages have been protecting and managing state forests lands as a common resource through elaborate community arrangements. Rural communities involved in forest management have also been demanding secure rights over these forests. Vasundhara and Sanhati, an alliance of NGOs in Orissa, recently facilitated a broad-based consultation process with village people and NGOs on the issue of community rights over forests. This discussion brought forth the intricacies involved in operational details relating to community rights over forests, and how women's concerns and priorities tend to get marginalised in these debates. This paper tries to capture the discussion and debate on community rights over forests. It reflects on how women define their relationship with forests, how this is in contradiction with the 'rights regime' and the property-based view of forests from which it emanates, and how this could lead to conflicts over non-timber forest produce.