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Forestry and Development
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“Forestry can only be encouraged by active participation of the people but in certain areas government intervention is a must.” Comment.
Forests play a vital role not only in maintaining the ecological balance but also in rapid economic development of the country. With increasing population pressure on the Earth, more particularly in a country like India, pressure on forests is increasing with every passing day. Community needs of fuel, fodder and timber are required to be fulfilled through scientific exploitation of forests. In addition to catering to the above three needs, the forests also provide several valuable products like raw material and herbs.
In India, 23 per cent of the total geographical area is under the forest cover but out of this 41 per cent of the forests are degraded. For environmental sustainability and meeting the needs of the economy for various purposes forests are not only required to be protected but also to be regenerated. During the past few decades, social forestry has emerged as an important branch of forestry capable of meeting the demands of the community and regenerating forests in a short span of time. With a view to achieve the goals of afforestation and forest protection in general and those relating to social forestry in particular, there is an urgent need for people’s participation and involvement.
Community thus has a larger role to play, as it may not be possible for the government to protect each nook and corner of forests. People have to realise that the forests are needed for their well being and the degradation of the forests would threaten the very existence of humanity.
Awareness of people about healthy environmental and forest exploitation practices is essential. This is the reason that all the new schemes aimed at forest generation, protection and scientific exploitation being framed by the Union government and the State governments depend heavily on people’s participation.
But there are certain compelling reasons due to which government intervention in this regard would continue to be important. Some of the reasons are as under:
(a) During the last about one decade, agro-forestry in the rain-fed and semi-arid regions has assumed importance in India. Most of the marginal and waste lands in India can be used appropriately for social forestry so that some pressure on the forests is reduced.
(b) The government would continue to play an important role in forming social forest cooperatives, joint forest management groups and involving the Panchayati Raj Institutions in forestry by the community. Even in the new plantation, the government would continue to act as a catalyst.
(c) Women have an important role to play as forest managers, as they are actively involved in collecting forest produce and acting as wage earners. Protecting the women’s traditional usufruct rights and enabling them to collect and market the forest produce in a scientific manner would also result in their empowerment. Government will have an important role to play in dovetailing this with the forestry development practices.
(d) The government will have to reduce and gradually stop the practice of auction of timber and bamboo to the industry so that the farm forestry is encouraged, reducing considerably the pressure from the traditional forests.
(e) Government has to take deliberate action to gradually stop traditional plantation and change the forestry policy by shifting attention from timber to floor management and production of more gatherable bio-mass.
(f) Forest fire prevention and controls to reduce forest losses must be pursued by all the State governments.
(g) Conservation and development of herbs and medicinal plants should be patronised by the government to meet the requirement of local drug industry as well as that for exports.
(h) Development of watersheds, river valleys and wastelands should be appropriately looked after by the government to protect and regenerate the forests.
(i) The government has a greater role to play in research and technological development, providing improved marketing, value addition and employment generation in forest management.
(j) Government will have to evolve an integrated system for addressing the issues of ecology, safety and commercial exploitation of forests.
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