Forest Land Diversion for Mining and Indigenous Tribes in India – Screening of ‘Kabza’ and Discussion

Dr Purabi Bose, Senior Lecturer, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)

Note: Internal event not open to external attendees.

Kabza (meaning “capture” in Hindi & Urdu) is a documentary produced and directed by Purabi that depicts how forest land diversion for mining has impacted indigenous tribes in India. This film brings to the fore stories of indigenous and other forest dwelling communities narrated in their own voices discussing issues of land tenure and extractivism. It focuses on coal and bauxite mining in the Central Indian region. As per Government of India data, since 2015, over 25,000 hectares of forest land has been diverted in the name of development, i.e., mining, thermal power plants, dams, road, railways, and irrigation projects etc. Kabza assembles stories of the impacts of these projects that destroy vast swathes of forests, often within indigenous territories. This film is one among 4 films created by Purabi’s non-profit initiative, ‘Landing Together’ that is dedicated to documenting indigenous and pastoralist stories.

Dr. Purabi Bose is a social anthropologist and environmental scientist who has worked extensively on forest and land rights of indigenous peoples, climate adaptation and food security in Asia, East Africa and Latin America. Prior to working at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), she was with CGIAR institutes like CIFOR in Indonesia and CIAT in Colombia among other affiliations working on forests, farm smallholders and land-use change interface. In 2019, at the 25th IUFRO World Congress, Purabi gave a keynote speech titled - Communicating with ‘people’ in scientific forestry discourse - in Curitiba, Brazil. For IUFRO, she is the Gender in Forestry Research working party Coordinator, and the Deputy Coordinator of Social Aspects of Forests and Forestry Division. Purabi is currently a member of a Project Advisory Board on Forest Governance, Markets and Climate for Chatham House, UK.

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