Industrial tree plantations for wood, palm oil and rubber are generating an increasing number of confl icts between companies and local populations. Relying on a wide-ranging literature review, this article analyses the alleged impacts of such plantations, the protesters involved, and the modalities of the confl icts.

The main premise of political ecology is that environmental change is not a neutral process amenable to technical management. Rather, it has political sources, conditions and ramifications that impinge on socio-economic inequalities and political process.

Millions of trees in ecologically crucial areas like the Himalayas and Western Ghats have been saved by Chipko and Appiko Movement. These movements also worked for the regeneration of greenery over thousands of acres. The results can be seen in the forests of Jardhar and Piplet in Uttarakhand or the forests near Mendemane and Gubbigadde villages in Karnataka.