Relevance:
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s recently released report titled “Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Forestry Report”, integrating biodiversity into such ‘production forests’ is paramount.
Mainstreaming Biodiversity is the process of embedding biodiversity considerations into policies, strategies, and practices of key public and private actors to promote the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.
Barriers and threats to biodiversity mainstreaming:
- Deforestation – 10 million ha. per year especially in lower income tropical countries.
- Illegal forest activities: Illegal timber harvesting is estimated to account for 15–30 percent of global timber production.
- Low profile of conservation outside protected areas.
- Insufficient capacity: Developing countries struggle to enforce forest and biodiversity regulations.
- Lack of Indigenous Peoples and local community participation.
Key recommendations:
- Recognizing the forest tenure of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, with emphasis on enhancing the equitable sharing of benefits.
- Preventing the conversion of natural forests into monospecific forest plantations.
- Ensuring the sustainable management of harvested species to control overharvesting of plants and wildlife.
- Adopting a multi-sectoral perspective by mainstreaming biodiversity across other land use sectors.
- Providing economic incentives, like compensation for reduced production to promote biodiversity benefits.
- Facilitating market-based instruments like engaging in public-private partnerships to leverage corporate social responsibility commitments.
State of Forest and Biodiversity Conservation in India:
- India State of Forest Report, 2021 –
- Total Forest and Tree cover – 21.71% of the country’s geographical area, an increase from 21.67% in 2019.
- Largest Forest Cover (Area-wise): Madhya Pradesh> Arunachal Pradesh> Chhattisgarh> Odisha> Maharashtra.
Constitutional Provisions:
- 42nd Amendment Act, 1976: Forests and Protection of Wild Animals and Birds were transferred from State to Concurrent List.
- Article 48 A in theDirective Principles of State policy.
- Fundamental Duty Article 51 A (g) of the Constitution.
Policies Governing India’s Forests and Biodiversity:
- Indian Forest Policy, 1952
- Forest Conservation Act, 1980
- National Forest Policy, 1988
- National Afforestation Programme
- Wildlife Protection Act of 1972
- Environment Protection Act of 1986
- Biodiversity Diversity Act of 2002
- Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006
- Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2022
Reference: Down to Earth
