Problems and Issues of Focus: Bandugoda is a village in a Munda tribal forest, rich in forest produce and water.  It provided sufficient produce like mahuva flower, lac, sal leaves and seed and many herbal plants.  However, despite such resources, the entire village is now in the firm grip of water scarcity and starvation. Forest cover declined from 85% to 50% with the highest level of degradation during the last 10 years. This led to depletion of water sources, degradation of land, reduction of forest trees and its resources and consequently less fodder and less agricultural production. This has had an additional adverse effect on women by increasing their workload and burden. In Sinjani village, there was unlimited access to various forest products. The government’s nationalisation of some forest produce made their life miserable. The villagers are now helpless to voice their problems with the government. Hunt is another tribal village. The self-governing tribal system is now weakening in this village and is under the firm grip of timber merchants and the mafia.  Forest trees are illegally cut and sold. The traditional control system has slowly vanished under the influence of money power and muscle power of non-tribes. In the village of Kowa, the Munda tribes are suffering from starvation and hunger. Their income level has decreased more than 45% in 5 years.  92% of families are in a state of food and employment scarcity. Among these 92%, 32% are living perilously with employment and food for only 3-4 months during the year. Mehdali is a tribal woman in Sringathu. She used to depend on the forest for providing different herbs for treating diseases.  When her entire family fell ill from malaria and water born diseases, she was forced to sell her assets to buy medication. She is now assetless and suffers from severe insecurity from negative shocks of loss of forest resources. In Erky, the Munda tribe has the culture of preserving forests by reserving certain areas as religious sites (Sarna). All religious festivals and functions are performed in these sacred sites. But, this indigenous form of protection of forest is slowly disappearing because of a lack of recognition and understanding of good cultural practices by governments. Though these are burning, sticking and touching problems of the poor tribes in the local area, they are equally touching to every one of us, as these are common environmental problems. Despite living miles apart, the forests in which the tribes live are a part of the global environment that provides free services such as clean air, storing carbon and global warming. Hence their problems are closely connected with our problem too. In this inter-related and inter-related world, we can not ignore the degradation and degeneration of global commons.