By Sujit Chakraborty, IANS,
Agartala : India will engage 100,000 educated youths to execute an
ambitious Green India Mission (GIM) which seeks to increase the
country's forest cover to 33 percent from 20 percent within 10 years,
says a top forest official.
P.J. Dilip Kumar, director general of India's forest department, says
that in order to cope with climate change threats, the central and
state governments have decided to raise new forest cover on five million
hectares under the GIM.
"India has to increase its present forest cover area of 20 percent
(out of the total geographical area) to 33 percent within the next 10
years," Kumar told IANS in an interview here.
"To facilitate planning, execution and monitoring of the GIM at the
village level, one lakh cadre of community foresters (CCF) would be
employed from among educated community youths," he said.
The Rs.46,000 crore ($9 billion) plan is one of the eight missions
under the National Action Plan on Climate Change announced by the prime
minister in June 2008.
The GIM document was prepared in June last year and the countrywide consultation is now on.
With 2011-12 being the preparatory year, GIM would be implemented by
the Twelfth and Thirteenth Five Year Plans (2012-13 to 2016-2017 and
2017-18 to 2021-22).
"In view of the massive urbanisation and construction of houses and
infrastructure, parks, grasslands, wetlands and open spaces across India
would be in danger. Under the GIM, these areas would be protected,"
said Kumar. "Tough laws have to be enacted for everlasting protection of
the open spaces."
According to the official, all parks, grasslands, wetlands and open
spaces will be permanently demarcated and, in suitable cases, will be
fenced by walls.
Kumar, who is also special secretary of the union forest and
environment ministry, conducted a regional workshop on GIM here Sunday.
Top forest officials of West Bengal and eight northeastern states took
part in the day-long brainstorming session.
Before Agartala, such workshops were held in Bangalore, Jabalpur and Jaipur.
"One lakh Joint Forest Management (JFM) committees, thousands of
self-help groups, gram panchayats and people's committees would be
involved in the mission," he said.
Quoting the latest Forest Survey of India (FSI) report, released in
2009, the official said during 1997-2007, three million hectares of land
had come under new forest cover across the country.
GIM also targets improvement of forest-based livelihood for about three million households living in and around forests.
"The mission is the first of its kind in India as it is aimed at the
socio-economic development of tribals and other backward people and the
protection of natural resources through the development of a
participatory management of natural resources," he said.
According to the GIM document, on account of management of shifting
cultivation areas under different agri-systems, the area under age-old
'jhum' or shifting cultivation had come down from 1.87 million hectares
in 2003 to 1.2 million hectares in 2005-06.
Tribals in the hilly terrain of northeast and other areas have for
generations been carrying out the traditional slash-and-burn method of
cultivation, which has resulted in degradation of forest land and badly
affected soil quality.
"The mission will support fallow management within the overall
framework of socio-culturally valued, fast growing species managed by
the communities," Kumar added.
GIM aims at enhancing carbon sinks in sustainably managed forests and
other eco-systems, adaptation of vulnerable species and eco-systems to
the changing climate and adaptation of forest-dependent locals in the
face of climate variability.
"Satellite-based remote sensing and geo-imagery system would also be
used for monitoring of GIM progress and implementation," he added.