Dr. VK Bahuguna
Deputy Inspector General of Forests,
Ministry of Environment and Forests,
Government of India, Room No.102,Paryavaran Bhawan,
CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-10003.
Tel: 0091 11 4360379 / Fax
0091 11 4360379 / email: bahugunaifs@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
Forests are the most
valuable natural resources available to the mankind on planet earth. On the one
hand, they are the essential source of livelihood for the poor and marginalised
sections of the society; on the other hand they provide furniture and other
items of desire for the rich. After
years of neglect, forestry is acquiring international dimensions. The role of forests in the environmental
amelioration and peoples life assumed global significance after the 1992 Rio
Summit. The saga of deforestation in
the developing countries on account of rising population and consequent poverty
has attracted global attention of scientists, resource managers and law
makers. To reverse the degradation in
resources, action programmes for conservation and development of forest
resources have taken shape in most of the countries. This paper present the perspective of India in achieving balance
in the forest management practices with regards to protection, production and
participation with a view to achieving sustainable forest management. The paper starts with a note on global
forest cover vis-à-vis Indian achievements in monitoring its forest areas, and
then moves on to discuss the Indian Forest Policies evolved over the last 125
years ever since scientific forestry was initiated in India in 1864 listing out
the major events and initiatives in forest conservation and development
efforts. The paper discusses the degradation of forests, its causes and extent
and initiatives taken by the Government and people to rehabilitate the degraded
forests and extend tree cover through joint efforts and to bring legal and
institutional changes to secure conservation of forests. Paper discusses the role of uniquely
successful Joint Forest Management programme and recent steps taken to
strengthen it. Through JFM around 10
million ha of forests are being managed by the forest department jointly with
around 36,000 JFM bodies at the village level. After dealing with the Indian scenario, the paper discusses
management principles of sustainable forestry which encompasses the approach on
protection, production and participation.
Situational analysis and the National Forestry Action Programme are
discussed for achieving the goals of Sustainable Forest Management. The paper concludes by seeking a balance in
these efforts for the benefit of present and future generations.
Introduction: Forests of the world are a most valuable renewable natural resource
for the mankind and have been providing goods and services since the human race
appeared on the planet earth many millions years ago. Be it a living room of a
citizen of a developed nation or a tribal hamlet in some developing country in
the tropics forest products will find a sizeable space and use; though the
level and type of use would vary significantly between the rich and the poor
people. Whereas, forests are essentially source of livelihood for the poor and
marginalised sections of the society, they provide luxurious items for the
rich. On the ecological frontiers the protective and productive influence of
forests transcends the geographic boundaries of nations and maintains the
genetic basis of life and the over all environment. A good forest is a resource
base for all other life sustaining resources. Forest occupied central stage in
the global negotiations after the Rio summit in 1992 when the future of our
environment and development was linked to the sound and efficient management of
forest resources. This has given an opportunity to all the countries of the
world for evolving global perspective in forest management practices and
policies in order to meet the objectives of Rio summit.
Though the people since time
immemorial managed forests, the modern forestry practices started only during
the last 200 years or so as an enterprise in Europe and later on introduced by
the colonial powers in the Asia, Africa, Latin America and other countries of
the world. In fact, the science of business management found early application
in forestry. Forestry as land use survived on commercial lines through the
sustained yield concept for the maximization of return from timber. To ensure
this legal systems were created which met these objectives. The economic growth
in developed nations and the land tenure systems that were developed to sustain
this proved a major reason for the success of forestry in these countries. On
the contrary in developing countries the forestry practices, notwithstanding
the timber bias also perforce focussed on the larger interests of the country
reflected in adopting ecologically and socially sensitive policy
declarations. In the following paras,
the issues in forest management are discussed with reference to Indian
situation and developing world scenario.
The United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED) provided, a formal comprehensive endorsement of the
Principles of Sustainable Development.
The Conference also
adopted, along with
Agenda 21, a
statement of Principles for a
Global Consensus on
Management, Conservation and
Sustainable Development of “forests” the Convention on Biological
Diversity, and the Framework Convention on Climate Change (Anonymous,
1998). UNCED follow-up has resulted in
burgeoning interest in conservation forestry stemming from the global
environmental awareness and international publicity for controversial natural
resource issues. Issues have been
globalized, the stakeholders multiplied and long held beliefs of forest science
have been questioned.
Global events in forestry
will have a far reaching policy implication for all countries particularly the
role of forestry in the climate change. The warming of earth is responsible for
global climate inconsistencies. In
India, according to one estimate by 2050, the country will be at least 3
degrees Celsius hotter, many of its rivers would have dried up, floods and
droughts would be regular, cyclones more intense and there will be severe water
and food shortage (Kaul, 2000). There
has been intense rainfall variation in India during 90s. State like Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana
have got 40-80% more rain. The Orissa
cyclone came with wind speeds of 250 km/hr. The disappearance of mangrove
forests played a key role in destruction of life and property. Rapid
deforestation has added to the excess heat on earth. World community especially
the political leadership and intellectual class in the developing countries
should act and take mitigating steps to control the global warming. The protective and productive role of
forests in this regard assumes importance.
After several rounds of discussions in the Inter-governmental Forum on
Forests, it was decided in the year 2000 to have a separate forum on forests
within the machinery of the United Nations to deal with emerging forest issues
in a holistic comprehensive and integrated manner. This reflect the importance
of forests in the global climate change negotiation. In view of these changes
at the global level, the management of forests in every country has to be
thought of in global perspective and acted upon locally.
Global Forest Cover:
According to
the State of World Forests 1999 published by FAO (Anonymous, 1999-a) the
position of the various regions of the world regarding percentage of forest
cover, per capita forests and annual loss between 1990-1995 is given below in
Table-I.
Table-I
|
No. |
Region/ Country |
% of Forest Cover to land
area |
Per capite forest |
Annual change between
1990-1995 (in thousand ha) |
|
1 |
World |
26.6 |
0.64 |
-11269 |
|
2 |
Asia |
16.4 |
0.1 |
-2901 |
|
3 |
Africa |
17.7 |
0.7 |
-3748 |
|
4 |
Europe |
41.3 |
1.3 |
+519 |
|
5 |
China |
14.3 |
0.1 |
-87 |
|
6 |
Pakistan |
2.3 |
Non-significant |
-55 |
|
7 |
Nepal |
33.7 |
0.2 |
-55 |
|
8 |
Bangladesh |
7.8 |
Non-significant |
-9 |
|
9 |
Sri Lanka |
27.8 |
Non-significant |
-20 |
|
10 |
Indonesia |
60.6 |
0.6 |
-1084 |
|
11 |
Malaysia |
47.1 |
0.8 |
-400 |
|
12 |
Philippines |
22.7 |
0.1 |
-262 |
|
13 |
Japan |
66.8 |
0.2 |
-13 |
|
14 |
USA |
23.2 |
0.8 |
+589 |
|
15 |
India |
19.27 |
0.08 |
+7 |
India is one of the few
developing countries, which has arrested the loss of forest cover as reflected
by the above figures in the table.
Table II
Class
|
Area in Sq. Km |
Percentage of geographic area |
|
Dense Forests Open Forests
Mangrove ________________________ Sub- Total Scrub
Non-
Forests
Total
|
377,358 255,064 4,871 637,293 51,896 2,598,074 3,287,263 |
11.48 % 7.76% 0.15% 19.39% 1.58% 79.03% 100.00% |
The total forest cover of
the country has been estimated to be 63.73 million ha. which is 19.39% of the
geographic area. The dense forests (with crown density more than 40%) and open
forests (crown density 10 to 40 %) occupy about 11% and 8% of the geographic
area respectively. Mangrove forests occurring along the inter-tidal coastal
region. occupy 0.15 % of the geographic area.
The comparative assessment
of the forest cover and changes therein over a period of past 12 years is given
in the following table III
Table III
COMPERATIVE
FOREST COVER OF INDIA
(1987
TO 1997 ASSESSMENTS)
(Area
in sq.km)
|
Assessment
Year |
Period
|
Forest
Cover |
Percentage
of Total geographical area |
|
1987 |
1981-83 |
642041 |
19.52 |
|
1989 |
1985-87 |
640134 |
19.47 |
|
1991 |
1987-89 |
639182 |
19.44 |
|
1993 |
1989-91 |
640107 |
19.47 |
|
1995 |
1991-93 |
639600 |
19.46 |
|
1997 |
1993-95 |
633397 |
19.27 |
|
1999 |
1995-97 |
637297 |
19.39 |
It is seen from the table
that the forest cover in India during the past 12 to 13 years has remained in
the vicinity of 19% of the geographic area. As compared to 1997 assessment the
forest cover as per the recent assessment has increased by 3896 Sq. Km. The
dynamics of change revealed that the dense forests has increased by 10,098 Sq.
Km. and Mangrove by 44 Sq. Km. On the other hand the open forest cover has
decreased by 6,246 Sq. Km. The increase in forest cover is largely
attributed to inclusion of large block plantations, practice of JFM, protection
efforts and natural regeneration. However, the forest cover has also declined
in 12 (out of 28) States mainly due to shifting cultivation, encroachments and
uncontrolled removals from the forests without adequate regeneration
Taking into account the tree
cover existing outside the Government controlled forests (around 17 million
ha), the total geographical area under forest/tree cover is around 24%.
India’s Forest Policies
The era of
scientific forest management in India began in 1864, which marked a break in
the old indigenous practices. Since then in India forest policies have been
enunciated in 1894, 1952 and 1988. The
implementation of these policies has had a major influence on forest management
strategies and methods. The Forest Policy of 1894 subordinated
forest conservation to the promotion of agricultural interest. The policy clearly stated that whenever
forestland was required for agriculture it should be excised without
hesitation. Forest ecology and conservation in those days though were
considered inconsequential but nevertheless, did aim at soil and
moisture
conservation. Further this policy
stated that the consideration of forest income should be subordinated to the
needs of the local people.
Major forestry related events
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1864
Appointment
of D. Brandis as Inspector General of Forests.
1865
1st
Indian Forest Act enacted
1878
2nd
Indian Forest Act was enacted
1894
First
Forest Policy of India.
1927
3rd
Indian Forest Act enacted
1952
Second
Forest Policy of India
1972
Wildlife
Protection Act enacted
1976
Social
Forestry Programme initiated
1977
Forestry
transferred from the State List to the Concurrent
List through 42nd Constitutional Amendment.
1980 Forest
Conservation Act enacted
1988
Present
National Forest Policy enunciated
1990 Joint Forest Management instituted
(Source: Bahuguna & Raghavan, 1999)
The National Forest Policy 1952 was adopted after independence and was
recognized as an excellent scientific policy document. It rejected the belief that forestry should
be restricted to residual lands not required for any other purposes. The policy proposed that 60% of the land
in the hills and 20% in the plains and over all 1/3rd of the total
geographical area should be under forest/tree cover. This policy also stated the need for checking denudation on the
hills, soil erosion and invasion of sand from deserts and coastal areas. The establishment of tree lands to
ameliorate conditions and promote well being of the people and to maximise
annual revenue in perpetuity consistent with the fulfillment of all the other
conditions was also stated. Most
provisions of the policy could not be implemented mainly due to the problems of
increasing human and livestock population and chronic food shortages.
The new National Forest Policy was enacted in 1988. The primary
objective is to ensure environmental stability and ecological balance. In this policy, derivation of direct
economic benefits is to be subordinated to this principal aim. This policy emphasizes the need to meet the
domestic demands of the tribal and rural people for forest produce and also the
need to involve them in protection and management of forests. The first charge on forest produce would be
the domestic requirement of the people living in and around the forests but
this fulfillment should be restricted to the carrying capacity of the
forests. Conservation and protection
of existing forests and restoration of productivity on degraded forests has
been prioritised. This policy also
emphasis the need for strengthening the Protected Area Network for overall gene
pool resource protection and conservation.
Industrial requirements for raw material will not be met from the
natural forests but from the farm forestry and agro forestry sector through tie
up between farmers and industry. The
objective of the 1952 policy of having 33% of the geographical area under tree
cover has been reiterated and seeks the expansion by afforestation of the
wastelands. The poor people have always been treated as liabilities by the forest
managers due to their dependence but this policy through peoples’ participation
in forest management converted this liability into an asset for the
conservation.
The policy is based on the
following principles (Anonymous, 1988)
-
Maintenance
of environmental stability through preservation and, where necessary,
restoration of the ecological balance that has been adversely disturbed by
serious depletion of the forests of the country.
-
Conserving
the natural heritage of the country by preserving the remaining natural forests
with the vast variety of flora and fauna, which represent the remarkable
biological diversity and genetic resources of the country.
-
Checking
soil erosion and denudation in the catchment areas of rivers, lakes, reservoirs
in the interest of soil and water conservation, for mitigating floods and
droughts and for the retardation of situation of reservoirs.
-
Checking
the extension of sand-dunes in the desert areas of Rajasthan and along the
coastal tracts.
-
Increasing
substantially the forest/tree cover in the country through massive affoestation
and social forestry programmes, especialy on all denuded, degraded and
unproductive lands.
-
Meeting
the requirements of fuelwood, fodder, minor forest produce and small timber of
the rural and tribal population.
-
Increasing
the productivity of forests to meet essential national needs.
-
Encouraging
efficient utilisation of forest produce and maximising substitution of wood.
-
Creating
a massive people’s movement with the involvement of women, for achieving these
objectives and to minimise pressure on existing forests.
Forest Degradation:
India is the second most
populous and seventh largest country in the world having population over 1
billion with only 1.8% of the world’s forest cover. The forests of India are sustaining the needs of 16.7% (as per
latest Census of March, 2001) of the
world’s human and 18% of the livestock population. The degradation of forests
in India and other developing countries is primarily due to following reasons:
Uncontrolled
and thus unsustainable removals (due to increased pressures) without adequate
and commensurate investments and other inputs leading to erosion in the growing
stock and qualitative decline in the productivity of forests over time.
Land-use change on account of diversion of forestland to non-forestry uses
resulting in disappearance of forests in certain areas leading to quantitative
decline in the forest. The
unsustainable withdrawals are due to wide gap in demand and supply. In 1996, the wood budget of India was as
under.
(million tonnes) 201
Forest 17 86
Non-forest 98
Timber
64 Forest 12 21
(million Cum) Non-Forest 31
The gap of timber is being
met largely through imports. The wide gap in demand and supply of fuelwood is
causing degradation. Similarly , in
the absence of adequate productive pasture lands, the forests are the major
source of grazing and fodder. Out of
the total 450 million cattle in the country, an estimated 270 million graze in
the forests and cause damage to the regenerating seedlings. Another cause of degradation is the
practice of shifting cultivation particularly in the North-Eastern States. An area of about 2 million ha is subjected
annually to shifting cultivation. Over
the years, due to increase in tribal population and decrease in productivity,
the shifting cultivation cycle has been reduced from 20 years to about 4 to 5
years causing ecological imbalance.
The bio diversity of the country is severely threatened by forest fires
also. An area of about 3 million ha is
annually affected by forest fires causing a loss very moderately estimated
(replacement cost of the seedlings) at Rs.440 crore (US$ 100 million)
(Bahuguna, 1999).
Forestry Development
(a)
Government Initiatives
During seventies several popular movements especially the “Chipko Movement” brought awareness in the forefront for the conservation of forest and environment. Several policy and legal initiatives were taken to check deforestation and degradation of forest cover. These were: The Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 was enacted for protecting and conserving the bio-diversity of the country. Project Tiger was launched to protect the dwindling habitat of tigers and its population. The F