99
On the basis of these initiatives, the Tingandem issued an initial joint statement to protest the illegal
gold mining and were able to successfully drive them away. Since this was just a symptom of a deeper
issue, the Tanchara community has begun to engage with external actors such as government officials in
order to clarify community procedures and decision-making processes for any proposed activities that
may affect their lands, sacred groves and sites, and livelihoods. Such actions are critical steps towards
redressing the typical power imbalance between governments and companies as project proponents
and communities as passive recipients of pre-made decisions.
B.
NATIONAL AND SUB-NATIONAL LAWS AND POLICIES
KEY TOOLS
E-learning modules on relevant legal
frameworks
Activity monitoring table
Assessing key opportunities and threats
Framework for research and action
Identifying key actors
Understanding relationships between key
actors
Forum theatre
Multi-stakeholder role play
Legislative theatre
Identifying appropriate forms of resource
mapping
Community biodiversity registers
Participatory video
Photo stories
Audio interviews
Identifying relevant social media tools
Every country has a number of national laws that are relevant to Indigenous peoples, local communities,
and their territories and areas, including biodiversity, forests, agriculture, and protected areas. These laws
and other relevant policies are developed through a range of decision-making processes such as councils
or multi-stakeholder committees. They are implemented by specific government agencies, often through
a number of subsidiary bodies at the sub-national and local levels. For example, India’s Biological Diversity
Act (2002) is implemented through the National Biodiversity Authority, State Biodiversity Boards, and
local-level Biodiversity Management Committees (see Figure 20). Understanding the relevant frameworks
in your country is a very important part of effectively using a biocultural community protocol.
National
Biodiversity
Authority
National level
State level
Local level
State
Biodiversity
Board
Biodiversity
Management
Committee
Biodiversity
Management
Committee
State
Biodiversity
Board
Biodiversity
Management
Committee
Figure 20: Government bodies established to implement India's Biological Diversity Act (2002) at the
national, state, and local levels
Engaging with government can be very time-consuming and frustrating due to high levels of bureaucracy,
lack of political will, and lack of understanding amongst government officials of community concerns.