The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, popularly known as the Forests Rights Act (FRA), was enacted in 2007 through the Ministry of Tribal Affairs to correct the ‘historic injustice done to forest-dwelling communities’. These communities were cultivating /occupying forest land and using forest produce since ages but had no tenurial security.

Forest Rights Act provides a legal framework to recognize the rights of the Scheduled Tribes and forest dwelling communities and other traditional forest dwelling communities over their forests over which they exercise traditional dependency. The Acy also empowers village assemblies (Gram Sabha) to protect, conserve and manage their resources through their traditional method of forest management. There is immense potential to intervene by building the capacity of various village assemblies, civil society organizations, various statutory bodies for the implementation of FRA, and of government officials to scale recognition under FRA.

Vasundhara has been playing a role of catalyst in the implementation of Forest Rights Act in Odisha. The claim filing process has been done through partnering with Civil Society organizations in different districts of Odisha who have direct assistance to forest dwelling communities in filing legal claims over forests. In Odisha, Vasundhara has taken lead role to facilitate the Community Rights and Community Forest Resource Rights claim filing process along with the Individual Forest Rights through working in collaboration with the Civil Society organizations, Peoples forums and District administrations in 11 districts of Odisha i.e. Mayurbhanj, Sambalpur, Sundargarh, Deogarh, Bargarh, Nayagarh, Kandhamal, Gajapati, Ganjam, Rayagada and Kalahandi.