As environment & forests minister Jairam Ramesh prepares to present the Rs 44,000-crore Green India Mission blueprint to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for approval, he would have to take a serious note of the concerns raised in the just-concluded public consultations on the draft mission document about the challenging target of doubling afforestation and eco-restoration areas as well as enhancing the quality of forests.
The mission, which aims to double the green cover in 10 years to 20 million hectares (ha) to store 6.4% of the country?s greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, is one of the eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) launched by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2008.
?Many stakeholders, including NGOs and even forest officials, have suggested mid-course amendments in the draft document. These relate to both quantity (forest area) and quality (forest density), among other issues,? says Sharad Gaur, regional director, Centre for Environment Education, which organised a series of consultations all over the country in the run-up to the finalisation of the mission document. The consultations engaged about 1,500 NGOs and 500 forest officials, among other stakeholders.
According to India State of Forest Report 2009, forests and trees cover 21.02% (69.09 m ha) and 2.82% (9.28 m ha) of the country?s geographical area, respectively. While 2.54% of forest area is dense, 9.71% is moderately dense and 8.77% is open forest, including mangroves. According to Yogesh Gokhale, fellow, Teri, ?Despite marginal increase since 1990s, the quality of India?s forest cover is a matter of concern. There is need to focus on it.?
The decadal (1997-2007) increase in the forest cover was 3.13 million ha (4.75%) and this has been mostly witnessed in hill and tribal districts. A quarter of the country?s forest cover is in the seven north-eastern states. In terms of overall forest cover, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Orissa rank on top. However, as a percentage of the geographical area, Mizoram (91.27%), Lakshadweep (82.75%), Nagaland (81.21%), Andaman & Nicobar Islands (80.76%), Arunachal Pradesh (80.43%), Manipur (77.40%), Meghalaya (77.23%) and Tripura (76.95%) score over the rest.
Experts attribute the increase in the forest cover mostly to policy and legal measures undertaken by the government. The Forest Conservation Act, 1980 requires the Centre’s approval for diverting forest land for non-forestry use. If forest land is to be diverted for development projects related to drinking water, irrigation, roads, railways, power, defence, or even mining, user agencies are required to undertake compensatory afforestation.
Community participation, too, is being encouraged under the joint forest management programme. An estimated 1 lakh committees are supporting state forest departments to manage 28% of the country?s forest area. The government is even engaging communities under afforestation through the Panchayat Van Yojna to undertake afforestation of vacant public lands like unutilised/underutilised non-farming village land.
According to RD Jakati,, director-general, Forest Survey of India, ?We have done a lot, but much more can be done. We need to go beyond natural forests to promote social forestry, agro-forestry, urban forestry etc. That’s the way for the future.?
The mission is not only important for environmental reasons, but also economic reasons for local communities. Noting that it is a programme in the context of climate change, Ashish Kothari of Kalpavriksh, an environment action group, says, ?It is nevertheless important to provide a clear priority to the biodiversity and livelihoods values of ecosystems over and above their carbon storage/sequestration values. These values will usually not be at odds with each other, but there may be occasions when they are, hence the need for such a clear prioritisation.?
It is important because the livelihood of 27% people or 275 million people in nearly 200,000 villages, including 89 million poor and marginalised tribals, in the country is dependent on forest services like fuel wood, fodder, small timber, non-timber forest products (NTFP) & medicinal plants, and artisanal raw material like cane and bamboo. NTFP-based small scale enterprises account for up to half the income of a quarter of the labour force in rural areas. For example, 98% sawmills, 87% plywood factories and 94% paper mills in the country are small-scale forestry enterprises (SSFEs).
Admitting that the task of striking the balance is ambitious, GS Rawat, director-general, Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education, adds, ?It’s not unachievable. It can be reached if all stakeholders, particularly states, play their role.? To begin with, it is to be seen how the ministry takes note of the consultations to strengthen the mission document.