Environment Ministry postpones forest policy indefinitely

•  The Environment Ministry has indefinitely postponed an ambitious plan to update India’s forest policy. It has also decided to abstain from committing to a timeframe by which it would have a third of India’s land under forest or tree cover, a key promise of the forest policy.
• This was the first time that the policy was being re-looked since 1988 as it wanted to update the several changes in the forest laws and provide a forward-looking policy that talked about increasing India’s forest cover and tackling the effects of climate change.
• The organisation had submitted its report in June this year. However, the report was later rejected by the government.

Highlights of the draft report:

• This policy proposed to levy the green tax for facilitating ecologically responsible behaviour, supplementing financial resources essential to address forestry woes.
• This policy proposes to launch a new Community Forest Management Mission, bringing government, community and private land under the new proposed management system.
• Special communities at the gram sabha (village council) level be created to take over management of forests. The plans prepared by the gram sabhas for their forestlands would also have to be vetted by the forest department based on rules prepared for the same, such as wider management plans the forest department prepares
• NFP is an overarching policy for forest management to bring a minimum one-third of India’s total geographical area under forest or tree cover
• The new policy will replace the existing one that has been guiding the government to manage forests since 1988.
• The budget of the forestry sector should be appropriately enhanced so that the objectives enshrined in this policy can be achieved. Environmental cess, green tax, carbon tax etc. may be levied on certain products and services for facilitating ecologically responsible behaviour, garnering citizen’s contribution and supplementing financial resources.
• The policy will guide the forest management of the country for the next 25-30 years.
• Forest land diversion projects related to mining, quarrying, construction of dams, roads and other linear infrastructure needs to adopt special caution. Use of state-of-the-art technology which causes minimum pollution and damage should be promoted.”
• The draft policy also called for developing “sound eco-tourism models” with the focus on conservation while supplementing the livelihood needs of local communities. “
• The policy envisages that a national implementation framework be put in place within six months of the notification, to deliver on the commitments. It also urged states to formulate their forest policies and prepare an implementation framework.
• The policy also emphasized on large-scale expansion of agro-forestry and farm forestry through incentives and operational support systems such as lowering input costs and enabling access to reasonably priced quality planting material.
• Other ecosystems such as alpine meadows, grasslands, deserts, marine and coastal areas should be protected and managed as well
• Policy also asks for management plans for community forests, parks, garden and woodlands to be brought to manage urban forest cover and to nurture and sustain urban health, clean air and related benefits.
• National forest ecosystems management information system should be developed and made operational using the latest information and communication technology to ensure regular flow of comprehensive and reliable information. This web-based system should be available for public use. 

By: Vishal