The forest land
under participatory management has doubled during the last four
years signifying the popularity of this approach. This was stated
by the Environment and Forests Minister, Shri T.R.Baalu at the
meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee of the Ministry,
here today. The Minister informed that the forest area under
the Joint Forest Management (JFM) which provides for sharing
of the benefits of the forest conservation with the local communities
has increased from 7 million hectares in 1998 to 14 million
hectares in 2002. The village Forest Protection Committees have
also increased from 33,000 to 63,622 conserving and managing
19 per cent of the country’s forest cover. Twenty-nine lakh
families are involved in JFM of which 49 per cent are scheduled
tribes and 29 per cent are scheduled castes.
Shri Baalu informed
that there are 1,70,000 villages in and around 32 million hectares
of degraded forests in the country accounting for 300 million
people. Baalu said JFM programme is all the more relevant in
such a scenario since most of these people are poor and heavily
dependent on forest resources for their livelihood. Shri Baalu
said all the forest villages are proposed to be brought under
Joint Forest Management by 2007.
The Minister said
JFM Committees will be further strengthened and their viability
increased by ensuring that a minimum of 50 per cent of the revenue
from forest produce is shared with the committees. Stating that
sharing of revenues currently ranged from 25 per cent of in
case of West Bengal to 100 per cent in case of Andhra Pradesh,
Shri Baalu said the Ministry will take up with the state governments
to ensure a minimum of 50 per cent sharing.
During the presentation
on the impacts of Joint Forest Management it was stated that
JFM was primarily responsible for increase in forest cover 3896
sq. km. during 1997-99. In case of Andhra Pradesh which has
lost 4945 sq. km. of forest cover during 1989-93, the forest
cover increased by 939 sq. km. after introduction of JFM. In
West Bengal, each forest protection committee received Rs.70,000
as share in timber revenue in 2001.
The Members who
attended the meeting include Shri Anant M. Gudhe and Shri Tara
Chand Patel from Lok Sabha and Shri H.K.Javari Gowda and Shri
Abrar Ahmed from Rajya Sabha.
