Client / Financial Support: Cambridge University in association with Moving Images

Duration: 35 minutes

The Joint Forest Management movement in Harda, in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh has been termed as role model internationally. However there have been serious problems between the local communities’ adivasis and forest department staff relating to access to natural resources. In the past few years new stakeholders like Mass Tribal Organizations (MTOs) have also emerged in the region with their own agendas and issues. What started as a democratic, participatory approach between the tribal communities and the Forest Department is now in the midst of controversy.

This film documents the successes and failures of the Joint Forest Management experience in Harda. It serves as a platform to provide a comprehensible voice to the views and opinions of academicians, adivasis, MTOs and forest officials of Madhya Pradesh. It highlights the debates and seeks to capture the positive attributes of the Joint Forest Management with the concluding scenes recounting the achievements of an alternative forest management programme in the same region as a viable option.