A register by the people

A register by the people

Context

The draft National Forest Policy identifies threats to forests, but does not provide systems for public involvement.

Question asked

How much forest cover does India actually have?

Data: State of Forests report

Forest cover had increased in India by 0.21% in 2017 from 2015 but at the same time between 2014 and 2017, India lost, or legally diverted, 36,575 hectares of forest area towards 1,419 development projects

Losing new forests

Even if forest cover is being increased, it is also simultaneously being lost, and new forest may also be subsequently lost.

Questionable claim of new forests creation

There is a need to create mechanisms to calculate our actual forest cover and natural wealth, and this should form the basis for a forest policy e.g.  tea estates and commercial plantations, have been counted as forests

Biodiversity Management Committee

• The Biological Diversity Act, 2002, calls for setting up a Biodiversity Management Committee in each local body
• The Committee will prepare People’s Biodiversity Registers (PRBs), with tribals as members or people living in natural areas not classified legally as forest
• The Registers entail a complete documentation of biodiversity in the area — plants, food sources, wildlife, medicinal sources, etc
• They are meant to enable the creation of local biodiversity funds for conservation, and aid in decision-making.

Benefit of PBR

• A good PBR will not just be a powerful text, it can also help to trace how habitats are changing, and to understand and estimate parts of our forests
• Being a bottom-up exercise, it is also a means of understanding the overlap of cultural and natural biodiversity
• Outside protected forest areas which are under immediate threat, PBRs will help identify forests that require conservation

Draft Forest Policy should include:

• The draft identifies threats to forests but does not provide systems for community involvement
• A move towards decentralisation of forest wealth which is beyond commerce and embraces cultural values and oft-forgotten knowledge will provide transparency as well as an actual and felt recognition of our heritage.