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Conservation scientists fear more than one-quarter of forests in India could lose legal protection under controversial legislation that the nation’s Parliament could approve as early as this week.
The legislation amends India’s flagship 1980 Forest Conservation Act. The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi says it will help India meet its commitments to combat climate change by planting trees, and “eliminate ambiguities” in rules that govern how officials legally define forests and regulate their use.
But researchers and others worry the measure—which has triggered nationwide protests—will irrevocably transform India’s landscape. They say the amendments will open forests to development, harm biodiversity, and weaken the rights of Indigenous people.
The legislation “is ecocide,” says conservation biologist Ravi Chellam, CEO of the Metastring Foundation, which makes policy-relevant data publicly available. “People are gobsmacked by the brazenness of it all.”
Since Modi’s government first floated the legislation in 2021, it has attracted widespread criticism. Conservationists oppose provisions that would remove protection from vast swaths of forest that have not been officially recognized in government documents. They say the proposal would also make it easier to mine in protected areas and build infrastructure related to ecotourism, including zoos and resorts.
Human rights activists have decried language that would reduce the need for developers to consult with or gain prior consent from forest-dependent communities, including Indigenous groups. Advocates also raised alarm about provisions allowing the government to waive reviews of projects that are within 100 kilometers of India’s border and deemed critical to national security. In some border states with high biodiversity, that exception would cover nearly all forested land.
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Evergreens grow in India’s North Sikkim region. A new law would reduce protection of the nation’s forests.PUNEET VIKRAM SINGH/GETTY IMAGES
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