Bengaluru: The 2018 Draft National Forest Policy though has stressed on tackling issue like climate change, but its proposal to have a public-private partnership to improve afforestation has met with derision from activists, who term it as unnecessary bureaucratic intervention. Recognising the effects of 1988 policy prescription, which led to an increase in green cover, the 2018 draft talks about air and water pollution, man-animal conflict as being the vital areas that deserve utmost attention.
“The increased concerns for biodiversity conservation and the need to enhance forest ecosystem services, through new technological advancements and the continuously declining investments in the sector present new challenges for forest management in the country,” the draft stated.
Environment activist Kshitij Urs termed the public-private partnership as disastrous. “Even the forest department staff are against it. This seems to be legalizing the occupation of the forest. The draft is reminiscent of the way British empire controlled the forest,” he added.
The Environment Ministry’s new draft has also drawn criticism for launching a parallel forest managing committee - National Community Forest Management. The 2016 draft, which was withdrawn after facing huge criticisms from activists, was also alleged to have ignored the rights of the forest dwelling communities.
“The parallel management goes against the spirit of Forest Rights Act. This enters into their cultural realm which is different from the urban culture. The forest policy draft ignores the fact,” Urs explained.
One of the long pending issues with regards to the degradation of Western Ghats is the implementation of Kasturirangan committee report which the Siddaramaiah government rejected. One of the major biodiversity hotspots in India has lost 35% of the forest cover.
However, Urs is of the opinion that though the environment is one of the least preferred priorities of nearly every government, Kasturirangan report was a compromised one. “We want the Madhav Gadgil committee report to be implemented as, despite the loopholes, it was a serious attempt towards sustainability. If the government is not serious about saving bio-diversity, people have to take control,” Urs observed.
