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This CO
2
removal is enough to neutralize 11.25 per cent of India’s
total greenhouse gas emission at 1994 level. Hence, there is a need to
scientifically develop sound methodology for estimation of ecologi-
cal services in order to arrive at realistic monetary contribution of
tangible and intangible benefits of forests to the country’s GDP, as
there are wide variations in existing estimates for quantification of
ecological services provided by forests
The National Mission for a Green India (GIM) is one of the eight
missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).
This mission recognizes that climate change phenomena will seriously
affect and alter the distribution, type and quality of natural resources
of the country and the associated livelihoods of the people. Its main
objectives are to increase forest and tree cover on 5 million ha of land
and improve quality of forest cover on another 5 million ha to enhance
annual CO
2
sequestration by 50-60 million tons up to 2020.
Urban areas in India witness a high level of air pollution affecting
ambient air quality, which has an adverse effect on health. The realiza-
tion that forest cover acts as the green lungs of the city, besides acting
as a filter for suspended particulate matter (SPM), has resulted in a
shift towards urban greening in metro cities and towns. As a result
cities like Delhi, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Hyderabad have been
able to increase forest cover manifold through innovative manage-
ment interventions and campaigning strategies. The forest and tree
cover of Delhi has increased from 25 km
2
in 1995 to 300 km
2
in 2007
(India State of Forest, 2009). Such success stories have been replicated
in Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Bangalore and Gandhinagar.
Wildlife management
While India has only 2.5 per cent of the world’s land area it supports
around half of the global population of tiger, Asiatic elephant, one-
horned rhino, Indian gaur and snow leopard and it is the last bastion
of Asiatic lion. There is a network of 661 Protected Areas (PAs) encom-
passing about 4.8 per cent of the geographical area of the country
forming the nucleus of the biodiversity conservation
strategy of the country. Two major flagship programmes,
namely Project Tiger (1973) and Project Elephant (1991)
were implemented to conserve these species along with
their habitats and corridors besides addressing man-
animal conflict. The latest tiger census report, released in
March 2011, has estimated the tiger population at 1,706 as
compared to 1,411 in 2008 while wild elephant population
is estimated at around 27,694.
Despite the fact that forests in India are managed for
ecological security and addressing livelihood needs of
forest-dependent communities, it is a matter of great
satisfaction and pride that India is one of the few coun-
tries in the world where forest and tree cover has not
only stabilized but rather shown an increase of 3.13
million ha between 1997 and 2007 apart from main-
taining the habitat in PAs for management of wildlife
in the country.
Women collecting Mahua flowers
Image: Ministry of Environment and Forests, India
NTFP development in Orissa, India
Sanjog, a small NGO at Kantabanji in Balangir district,
Orissa state, has promoted many enterprise-based rural
development activities. It has established formidable
non-timber forest produce (NTFP) based enterprises with
initiatives for sustainable regeneration of resources.
The enterprises are registered as cooperatives in district
industries centres (DIC), which receive Government
subsidies.
Lac insect rearing
can yield more from just three trees
than an acre of paddy farm. This is because each Kusum
(
Shleichera oleosa
) tree earns the owner about Rs.1,650
net in just six months. The lac is sold at Ranchi, Jharkhand
state or Gondia in Maharashtra or Jaipur, Rajasthan where
it used in bangle and jewelry making. Training is provided
by the Indian Lac Research Institute, Ranchi.
Stitching leaf plates
from Siali/Mahul
(Bauhinia vahlii
)
climber leaves earns 200 tribal women about Rs.3,600
yearly (over 8 months) in the Mohangiri mountains of the
Kalahandi-Balangir border. They now earn 20 per cent
more as a result of collective sales through ‘Banashree’
federation which has DIC registration. This is also partly
due to access to remote and profitable markets of Tirupati
temple by Sanjog through Andhra traders, rather than
depending only on the local traders. Climber planting is
necessary to maintain stock and avoid loss due to bark
stripping for rope making.
Image: Ministry of Environment and Forests, India