16.12.24
Scaling Community Forest Resource Rights in Jharkhand: A Multi-Level Training Approach
The training saw the participation of over 125 officials, including representatives from the Departments of Forest, Environment & Climate Change, and Revenue, Registration & Land Reforms; Public Policy in Action (PPIA) Fellows; e-District Managers; and members of various civil society organisations (CSOs). The Initiative on the Forest Economy (IoFE) team from the Indian School of Business (ISB), represented by Ms Augustina and Mr Shiv from Simdega, played a key role in facilitating the technical sessions.
From 13–15 December 2023, a three-day training for Master Trainers on the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006—commonly known as the Forest Rights Act (FRA)—was conducted under the Abua Bir Abua Dishom (ABAD) Abhiyan, meaning ‘Our Forest, Our Country’, at the Shri Krishna Institute of Public Administration (SKIPA), Ranchi. This initiative aims to equip officials and grassroots facilitators with the technical expertise to support Community Forest Resource Rights (CFRR) claims across Jharkhand.
Training Structure and Key Sessions
Upon completion, the trained Master Trainers will train Bir Bandhus—panchayat-level volunteers who assist forest-dependent communities in managing and protecting their forest rights. These Bir Bandhus will, in turn, assist Forest Rights Committees (FRCs) in filing CFRR claims via the JharFRA mobile application.
Simultaneously, a separate batch of 20 Technology Trainers has been trained to provide digital support and troubleshooting assistance to Master Trainers across various districts.
This training is part of a broader campaign to advance FRA implementation under Jharkhand's Aapki Yojna, Aapki Sarkar, Aapke Dwar initiative. The immediate focus is on resolving pending FRA claims, with new claim generation expected to commence following the state-level Training of Trainers (ToT) sessions, tentatively scheduled for the second week of December.
The Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) is developing a structured three-day training module, which will be delivered across three classrooms at SKIPA, accommodating 120–150 participants from all 24 districts of Jharkhand. Each district will send 4–5 representatives from the Departments of Forest, Environment & Climate Change and Revenue, Registration & Land Reforms, as well as from CSOs.
This multi-tiered training approach marks a significant step towards scaling FRA implementation across Jharkhand. By strengthening technical capacity, fostering local expertise, and promoting digital adoption, this initiative will help ensure that forest-dependent communities can effectively access and exercise their CFRR, as guaranteed under the FRA.