Foundation for Ecological Security

“As ‘ecological security’ is the foundation of sustainable and equitable development, the Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) is committed to strengthening, reviving, or restoring, where necessary, the process of ecological succession and the conservation of land, forest, and water resources in the country.”

With a focus on the interconnected issues of improving access and security of tenure of rural households over Commons, strengthening local governance, and restoring degraded land and water bodies, FES has paved the way for better environmental stewardship of 5.5 million acres of forest, pastures, and wasteland and 2.5 million acres of adjoining farm land, leading to improved economic opportunities for more than 8.7 million rural people in 32 districts across 8 states of India.

FES is recognized for its work on:

• Bringing an ecological leaning to the dominant views of ‘natural resource management.’

• Advancing the ‘Commons paradigm’ in the governance of natural resources.

• An interdisciplinary approach with equal emphasis on ecological well-being, social justice, and access to economic opportunity.

While there is some headway made in recognizing community-led collective action as critical space in governance of shared natural resources such as forest, pastures, and water bodies; there is an urgent need to elevate the debate and influence widespread action to go beyond incremental changes to transformative social action.

Given the challenges, FES’ future plans take a three-pronged strategy focusing on:

1. Accelerating momentum on the ground through direct engagement and partnerships supported by Prakriti Karyashala (Rural Colleges).

2. Elevating the debate through knowledge generation and exchange for a multiplier impact on community-led governance of shared natural resources.

3. Public Education through improving access to data (India Observatory - an open source IT platform) and insights (Commons Initiative Panel - to provide leadership towards building a broader legal and regulatory framework of Commons).

Learn more about Foundation for Ecological Security at fes.org.in