It is an irony that we often need multilateral institutions like the World Bank to remind us of our own resources and their economic potential. This happened again when a World Bank report released on Monday pointed out that the country's total forest income could swell to a whopping $2 billion per annum by 2020 if only we followed the joint forest management route to unlock the true productivity potential of forest land. Indeed, India is fortunate to have vast stretches of forest land, measuring nearly 641,130 sq km, or 22 per cent of the total area, making it the second largest land-use after agriculture. A sizeable proportion of the rural population, especially the tribals""who are among the poorest and the most vulnerable section of society""relies on forests for livelihood. The productivity of forests is woefully low because there is no proper legal and institutional framework to ensure effective management of forests. The forest sector's contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) is about 2 per cent now. And what is worrying is that the demand for fuel wood and timber is rising, putting greater pressure on the already stressed forests. There has also been no expansion of employment and income-generating opportunities from forest-based activities. This has led to growing discontentment among the communities that live near forests, as reflected in the resurgence of Naxalism in some tribal belts. | |
| The question is what needs to be done to put this vast land mass to productive use. The obvious answer is improved forest management. And the best way to do it""as recommended by Indian forestry experts and now endorsed by the World Bank ""is to encourage community-based forestry through a joint forest management approach. This has been found to be a relatively effective way of optimising exploitation of the economic potential of forests. The advantages of such an approach are many, ranging from ecological improvement to increased availability of fodder, timber and fuel wood, apart from employment and income generation. It would also reduce the demand for fossil fuels which are not environment-friendly and are more expensive. This apart, if the communities go in for activities aimed at value-addition of the forest produce, the gains could be far more substantial. |
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| However, a good deal needs to be done by way of reforms in forest and related policies. The community-based joint forest management concept is already in operation in about 27 per cent of the national forest area across different states, with encouraging results. But its spread has been slow and uneven for want of adequate policy support. A serious impediment is the lack of secure tenure and management rights for forest dwellers. This deters much-needed investments by the local communities in forest conservation and productivity enhancement. Moreover, forest communities have not been linked to the commercial economy and, therefore, are forced to confine their activities to livelihood earning alone. It is time the forest departments took a re-look at their role. They should facilitate forest development through the joint forest management bodies rather than thwarting such initiatives, as is the case in most states at present. Only then can the forests be transformed into valuable economic assets. |
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