ABSTRACT
Legislation has been passed and institutional structures erected to protect India’s rich biodiversity. But they often conflict with the livelihoods of people living in and near forests, unless managed imaginatively caring for both biodiversity and livelihoods. Have the conservation policies and their implementation managed to do this in India? This is the theme of this chapter. There has been no coherent policy to resettle forest people. Despite severe restrictions on them which limit livelihood opportunities, many of them continue to live in or near forests. With all the restrictions, the forest authorities have not succeeded in the task of protecting biodiversity. There has been invasion of exotic weed species like Lantana camara and Eupatorium. The potential of tribal settlements in fighting the invasion of such exotic species and in general taking care of both biodiversity and their own livelihoods does not seem to have been realised. Both people living in the forests and the Forest Department are still looking for viable solutions to resolve the conflict.
