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Forests for People
Dilip Kumar Periyapattanam Jayapal, Director General of Forests and Special Secretary;
Shri Radha Krishan Goel, Inspector General of Forests and Subhash Chandra, Deputy Inspector General of Forests, India
F
orests are a prominent feature of the Indian land-
scape, covering about 79 million hectares (ha) which
represents almost a quarter of the geographical area
of the country. These forests are integral to the environment,
economy, culture and history of the country. While providing
multiple tangible benefits such as timber, fuelwood, pulp-
wood, fodder, fibre, medicines, grasses and other valuable
non-wood forest products, forests also regulate the hydro-
logical cycle, protect aquifers, conserve biodiversity, enhance
carbon sequestration as a spin-off effect of forest conserva-
tion, and promote ecotourism.
In terms of land use, forestry is the second largest after agricul-
ture in India. The social forestry resources created towards the
end of the 20th century are constitutionally devolved to local
self-government for management. Agroforestry, along with trees
outside forests (TOF), has emerged as the potential area for
meeting the requirement of people and industries for forestry
products and is recognized as part of the strategy for develop-
ment of forests and forest-based industry in India. This alone
contributes to 1.6 billion m
3
growing stock as against 4.5 billion
m
3
from natural forests.
While addressing the basic needs of the increasing
population for various forestry products, agroforestry
diverts pressure from natural forests, leaving them to
rejuvenate so that they can perform their environmental
functions and provide ecological security to the country.
Policy and legal framework
The foundation of scientific management in forestry was
laid in India in 1864 by Dr D. Brandis, the first Inspector
General of Forests, through the mechanism of a working
plan which, in turn, was based upon the sound principle of
sustained yield. The policy and legal framework provides
for forests tomeet the basic needs of the local communities,
and the demands for forest produce, while emphasizing the
protective role of forests. From time to time, India has taken
to strengthen the mechanism of its vibrant National Forest
Policy, through the enactment of: Wildlife Protection
Act, 1972; Forest Conservation Act, 1980 (FCA, 1980);
Environment Protection Act, 1986; Biological Diversity
Act, 2002 and the Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional
forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006
(FRA, 2006) which provides for assigning habitation and
occupation rights to the forest dwellers in forests along
with responsibility for conservation of biological resources
and maintenance of ecological balance.
The implementation of FCA, 1980, which provides
for approval of the Central Government for diversion of
forest land for non-forestry activities, had the salutary
effect of reducing the diversion of the forest land from
4.135 million ha (1950 – 1980) to 1.14 million ha (1981
– 2010), and reducing annual deforestation from 0.13
million ha in the 1970s to 0.02 million ha.
Forest management with local people
Forests have been recognized traditionally as multipur-
pose resources for providing livelihood to a substantial
part of the population. Strategy for forest management
in the last few decades has focused on empowerment
of local communities, resulting in a paradigm shift in
the approach from regulatory to participatory mecha-
nisms with the declaration of National Forest Policy,
1988. This policy embodies many elements of sustain-
able forest management, and treats India’s forest as an
environmental and social resource. Ecological security
became the prime objective in National Forest Policy,
1988, and the focus also shifted towards addressing
livelihood needs of the forest-dependent communi-
ties, realizing that poverty is the biggest threat in
Collection of tendu leaves
Image: Ministry of Environment and Forests, India