Cadasta is proud to provide grant and technical support to PRADAN and KESAN as they work to document and protect Indigenous land and forests in India and Myanmar. Generously funded by the UK aid under Cadasta’s Land for Climate and Forests Rights initiative, these grants are at the core of our mission to drive meaningful change by documenting and safeguarding Indigenous people’s and local communities’ land and resource rights.
Leveraging Cadasta’s financial and technical support, Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN) aims to enhance land tenure security, empower communities, and advance climate protection efforts in Odisha, India. This initiative combines Cadasta’s GIS-based mapping technology, mobilization efforts, and capacity building to provide vital evidence for individual and community land claims under the Indian Forest Rights Act (FRA).
Working with communities in Odisha, PRADAN seeks to map and document 50,000 hectares across 400 communities to safeguard the rights of 200,000 individuals and 40,000 Indigenous families. This endeavor will establish a data-supported foundation for protecting land, forest, and resource rights while enhancing community livelihoods and resilience in climate-related challenges.
In Myanmar’s Kawthoolei region, the Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN) will use Cadasta’s grant funds and technical support to map and document the land rights of family farm plots. Covering a vast area of 186,000 hectares across 7 districts and 27 townships, the goal is to strengthen community land rights for 270,000 individuals, leading to community-issued land titles for landowners by the local ethnic government body. With data and land certificates, these communities can better protect, manage, and monitor their community land. Additionally, this initiative aims to map 3,500,000 hectares of ecologically valuable forest lands to enable Indigenous communities to receive land certificates and more accurately monitor and protect these vital ecosystems.