NATIONAL AFFORESTATION AND ECO-DEVELOPMENT
BOARD (NAEB) FAVOURS RELEXATION IN FELLING AND TRANSIT RULES FOR
FOREST PRODUCE FROM PRIVATE LANDS
The National Afforestation
and Eco-Development Board (NAEB) has decided to ask State Governments
to relax felling and transit rules for forest produce derived
from non forest and private lands to encourage people to grow
trees on their land. The decision was taken at the 9th
meeting of the NAEB here last evening under the chairmanship of
Shri T.R. Baalu, Minister of Environment and Forests. Addressing
the board members who were meeting after a gap of three years.
Shri Baalu stressed the need for evolving a strategy which aims
at effective coordination and synergy in the endeavours of people,
voluntary agencies, NGOs, industries and all Government Departments
both at the Center and State levels. "The National Afforestation
Programme launched by the Ministry has grown into a National Mass
Movement", Shri Baalu said.
The Minister said
that the emphasis of the Ministry of Environment & Forests
is to ensure gender equity, encouraging local species, promoting
medicinal plants and bamboo in all schemes and programmes. "We
have advised the State Governments to earmark 10% of the area
for medicinal plants and bamboo plantation activities", he
said.
The members of the
Board louded the achievements of the National Afforestation Programme
in the 10th plan period which is being implemented
by a de-centralized system of Forest Development Agency (FDA)
at the forest division level and joint Forest Management Committees
at the village level. Members suggested that the FDA coverage
should be enhanced. In the last three years the Board has supported
381 such agencies throughout the country, except the States of
Goa, Meghalaya and Delhi where the state governments are yet to
formalize people’s participation in forest management.
The Board also discussed
the Thrust Area of the Ministry dealing with interventions required
for achieving the goal of increasing forest and tree cover to
25% by the year 2007 and 33% by the year 2012. For the first time
in recent decades, the country has witnessed an increase of forest
cover from 19.39% to 20.55% between the 1991 and 2001. The total
forest and tree cover of the country in 2001 stood at 23.03%.
However, to increase the total forest cover to 33%, an additional
33.60 million hectares of lands have to be brought under forest
and tree cover. Since such additional lands in the recorded forest
area is only limited to 4.73 million hectares, Shri Baalu the
Minister exhorted all members of the Board to think of innovative
ways in which small and marginal farmers and the rural poor could
be gainfully associated in increasing the tree cover on non-forest
lands. Echoing similar concerns, Member, Planning Commission Dr.
DN Tewari stressed that stronger linkages should be developed
between the Thrust Area of the Ministry and the Bamboo Technology
Mission, and plantation of bio-fuel and medicinal plants which
could enhance the livelihood security of the rural poor.
Environmentalist
Ms. Sunita Narain spoke of the basic issues relating to enhanced
and appropriate benefit sharing principles in joint forest management
to sustain people’s participation.
A need was highlighted
to organize interaction of NABARD with State Forest Development
Corporations, State Forest Departments, Forest Development Agencies
and SC & ST Financial Corporation.
