All trees are not woods

All trees are not woods

Context

Natural forests have multiple ecosystem functions, none of which can be provided by commercial plantations

What has happened?

The latest Forest Survey of India report has changed the calculation method for India’s forest cover to include plantations on private lands. It is common knowledge that private plantations of teak, eucalyptus and poplar are undertaken to earn incomes. Such plantations can’t be substitutes for natural forests with their wildlife and immense biodiversity. Natural forests have multiple ecosystem functions, none of which can be provided by commercial plantations

The reason

Revenue generation seems to be an objective, but perhaps more important, the scope to siphon off a large amount of money in the name of plantation

No need for profit seeking

• Protecting and restoring natural forests is one of the best ways to mitigate climate change
• In this perspective, replacing forests with plantations raised by the private sector, as proposed in India’s just-circulated Draft National Forest Policy, is a terrible strategy
• There is no need for profit-seeking private investments in forests as more than $7 billion of public compensatory afforestation funds are lying unused

Encouraging people to protect forests

• To marshal people to tackle climate change through forests, we need to work with these communities and turn protection and restoration of India’s forests into a forest rights-based movement of gram sabhas and local communities
• The $7 billion compensatory afforestation fund should be given to the gram sabhas of the forest dweller and tribal communities empowered to protect and restore forests through the Act
• This will help restore forests and mitigate the impact of climate change, while also meeting India’s international climate obligations.