Overview
Over a quarter of India’s poorest people, many of whom are indigenous people, depend on forests for part of their livelihoods. But, almost half the country’s forests have been degraded, and their average productivity is a third of potential. A new World Bank report, "Unlocking Opportunities for Forest-Dependent People in India" by Grant Milne, suggests that if national and state level reforms are introduced and forest productivity improved, rural poverty can be reduced significantly and government revenues increased. Globally, many governments are increasing the rights of forest communities to use and manage forest resources. This has raised communities’ incomes and has improved forest cover.

Recommendation 2
Introduce stronger forest management systems. This includes the provision of more reliable maps of forest tenure, computerized databases of forest resources, monitoring systems that track forest and livelihood changes, and market information for timber in national and global markets.

Recommendation 4
Build capacities and strengthen local governing institutions. This can help all community members to benefit equitably from commercial forestry. Forest department field staff can benefit enormously from training in new approaches to community forest management. Greater investment and training in forest monitoring and regulation will help support conservation.