UPSC EDITORIAL ANALYSIS : The issue with India’s tree planting schemes
Kartavya Desk Staff
Source: The Hindu
• Prelims: Current events of international importance, renewable energy, Afforestation, World bank, Van Mahotsava, UNFCCC, FAO etc
• Mains GS Paper II: Conservation of Environment, Biodiversity and Environment(Environmental Pollution and pollutants and degradation)etc
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
• The World Bank estimates that the world has lost about 10 million square kilometers of forests since the start of the 20th century.
INSIGHTS ON THE ISSUE
Context
Forest:
• It is an area with a high density of trees.
• FAO: It defines forest as having a minimum canopy cover of 10%, minimum tree height in situ of 5 meters, a minimum area of 5 hectares, and where agriculture is not the dominant land use.
• UNFCCC: It defines forests as having a minimum canopy cover of 10-30%, minimum tree height of 2-5m and minimum area of 1ha.
Forest Definition in India:
• State jurisdiction: States keep the authority to formulate their interpretations of forests.
• States keep the authority to formulate their interpretations of forests.
• Legal Basis: The N. Godavarman Thirumulkpad vs. Union of India case of 1996 provides states with the prerogative to outline forests, stipulating adherence to the dictionary that means.
• The N. Godavarman Thirumulkpad vs. Union of India case of 1996 provides states with the prerogative to outline forests, stipulating adherence to the dictionary that means.
Reason for emphasis on forest restoration approaches:
• To bring such degraded ecosystems back to their earlier state was the main purpose of declaring the decade of 2021-2030 as a Decade of Ecosystem Restoration by the United Nations.
• This targeted the restoration of 350 million hectares of degraded land to generate $9 trillion in ecosystem services and sequester an additional 13 gigatons-26 gigatons of greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere.
Tree planting:
• Tree planting is an undisputed, most appealing and popular approach, and with spectacular potential, to address climate-related crises and other environmental challenges.
• It hepls in biological carbon sequestration as a mechanism to store and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
• Mass-scale drive of tree planting is a silver bullet to tackle the challenges of climate change globally, by governmental and non-governmental organizations including individuals.
• Indian Agriculture Minister(1950): launched the Van Mahotsava (‘festival of trees’) programme.
• India celebrates this programme of tree planting, annually, in the first week of July.
Steps for tree planting globally(both globally and at a national level):
• Catchy slogans, glamorous drives and headline-grabbing campaigns It has attracted huge media attention and the involvement of people including various organizations to fulfill their objectives.
• It has attracted huge media attention and the involvement of people including various organizations to fulfill their objectives.
• Single day of a planting drive in various Indian States
• “One Trillion Project” of the World Economic Forum
• The “Great Green Wall of China”
• The “10 Billion Tree Tsunami” of Pakistan
• The “Bonn Challenge” to restore 150 million hectares of degraded and deforested landscapes by 2020 and 350 million hectares by 2030.
Issues with such drives:
• Limited community participation
• Lack of adequate post-planting measures and for promoting monoculture thereby proving less effective for carbon sequestration and biodiversity development.
• thereby proving less effective for carbon sequestration and biodiversity development.
• The neglect of ecology and locality with little involvement of people in various tree planting programmes
• Joseph Veldman(study): It was found that except for deforested areas, tree planting in certain locations such as grasslands and animal habitat destroys plant and animal habitats and can damage ecosystems, increase wildfire intensity and exacerbate global warming.
• William Bond and colleagues, in their study: expressed skepticism in considering grasslands as deforested and degraded lands for selecting them for tree planting by rehabilitation These lands are highly productive and biodiverse, supporting many livestock and people.
• These lands are highly productive and biodiverse, supporting many livestock and people.
• Planting saplings alone does not fulfill the multifarious expectations unless we have provision for adequate post-planting measures and monitoring of tree growth which we hardly find in the majority of tree-planting drives
• which we hardly find in the majority of tree-planting drives
• Tree planting only is a cost-effective climate solution when compared to another more rewarding approach of restoration Alternative low-cost approach such as tree islands which involves planting in small patches or islands.
• Alternative low-cost approach such as tree islands which involves planting in small patches or islands.
#### India’s challenges:
#### ● In 2023, in a joint address with the United States President, the Prime Minister said: India is the only G20 country that has fulfilled its commitments under the Paris Agreement’.
#### ● In the Rajya Sabha the Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change said: ‘India has achieved an additional carbon sink of 1.97 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent’.
#### ● Nearly 10 million hectares of its forests are under encroachment
#### ○ Nearly 27.5 crore of people are dependent on forests for subsistence
#### ○ Nearly 5.7 million hectares of forest land have been lost for non-forestry purposes since Independence.
#### ○ These pose problems for India’s initiatives to restore 26 million hectares of degraded forests by 2030 and to improve forest cover using steps that include tree planting.
Steps taken for forest restoration:
• Nagar Van Yojana( NVY)
• National Forest Policy (NFP) 1988
• National Mission for a Green India (GIM)
• Forest Fire Protection & Management Scheme (FFPM)
• Compensatory Afforestation Fund
Way Forward
• India’s remarkable policy changes, in recent times, to tackle the challenges of forestry and restoration approaches are also being affected by inherent problems.
• India needs to introspect these strategies, giving much required space to adequate finances, active community participation and technical considerations. These have not been given priority.
• These have not been given priority.
• Along with public awareness campaigns, social media, and incentivised community participation, such reoriented innervations and strategies can help to bring changes in the ecological systems of our forests With increasing numbers help to create resilient forests that have diverse capacities and capabilities.
• With increasing numbers help to create resilient forests that have diverse capacities and capabilities.
QUESTION FOR PRACTICE
Explain the purpose of the Green Grid Initiative launched at the World Leaders Summit of the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November, 2021. When was this idea first floated in the International Solar Alliance (ISA)?(UPSC 2021)(200 WORDS, 10 MARKS)