Contact: April Thomas, 206.321.3850, april.thomas@sierraclub.org
Washington, D.C. -- Earlier today, the Supreme Court of India was set to hear petitions in response to their February 13 order directing state governments to evict over one million Adivasis Indigenous and forest dwelling people from forests in 17 states.
The Supreme Court’s February order to evict Indigenous peoples came in response to a petition from hardline conservation groups. The Forest Rights Act was passed in 2006 in response to a 2002 removal order impacting over 150,000 families. Hardline conservation groups claim that recognising the land and other rights of forest dwelling communities will undermine wildlife conservation. Following the February ruling, several wildlife scientists and conservationists in India, called the order "unjust" to the tribals as well as against the interest of wildlife conservation in India. Other domestic and international conservation groups, including Sierra Club, are speaking out in defense of the Forest Rights Act and in opposition to the removal of Indigenous peoples from their lands.
In response, Sierra Club International Environmental Justice Representative Neha Mathew-Shah released the following statement:
“Sierra Club rises in solidarity with Indigenous peoples and the forest dwelling communities of India who face forcible removal from their ancestral lands in the wake of the Supreme Court’s eviction order. The forest dwellers are being unfairly scapegoated for the actions of corporate polluters, and face grave danger from the forcible removal order. In 2002 an estimated 150,000 families were forced from their homes and dozens of people were killed as a result of a similar Supreme Court order. Carrying out these evictions would undermine conservation efforts in India by further isolating potential Indigenous conservation partners, and by playing into the false idea that conservation can only be achieved by excluding forest-dwelling communities from their lands. Indigenous and Native peoples across the world, including in the U.S., hold traditional knowledge of lands and wildlife that is crucial to include in conservation efforts. We hope that the Supreme Court of India will uphold rather than undermine the Forest Rights Act.”
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The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.