Common Land Mapping (CLM), is a tool that identifies and demarcates shared land resources through geo-referencing with a set of relevant questions such as category of land, status of tenure, current land use, community regulations, if any. The information recorded can be depicted using map based views. CLM helps mapping and recording evidences for preparation of community based conservation and management plans and supports implementation of Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDP). It also addresses the low level of documentation of land rights and helps demarcate land under Individual Forest Rights and Community Forest Rights on one platform for claiming under Forest Rights Act and recording pastures under Panchayat Assets Registers. It helps local communities debate and resolve conflicting claims with respect to customary boundaries.
Common land mapping is being used by 36 NGOs in Odisha, 30 NGOs in Andhra Pradesh and 1 NGO in Telangana and a total of 48 thousand acres of common land has been mapped across 264 villages. Common land mapping is being extensively used in villages where FES directly supports the villages.
The India Observatory, led by Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), is a collaborative action-oriented tech initiative. It aims to demystify and present comprehensive information on India’s social, ecological and economic parameters on a single spatial and temporal platform.
