BHUBANESWAR: From launching of State Community Forest Governance Mission to development of district-level human-wildlife coexistence plans and minimum support price for regulation of non-timber forest products (NTFPs), experts at the two-day Odisha Vikash Conclave recommended a slew of measures to the government for protection of ecosystem in the state.
The conclave, organised by the Centre for Youth and Social Development (CYSD) with support from the state government and NITI Aayog, called for Odisha to adopt an ecosystem-based approach, recognising the human society and natural resources as interconnected ecological networks instead of considering them as isolated sectors.
Considering the role communities are playing in protecting forests for decades through informal systems rooted in emotional belonging and cultural practices, the experts called for a policy recognising forests as a social systems and not just as ecological assets.
Proper implementation of community forest rights (CFR) to strengthen community-led conservation and creation of a State Community Forest Governance Mission for inter-departmental coordination was the way forward, they said.
They also sought adequate minimum support price (MSP) and expansion of procurement systems with simplification of regulatory norms to strengthen NTFP, bamboo, and agro-forestry value chains. They recommended developing district-level human-wildlife coexistence plans with improved compensation and corridor restoration. They also proposed community-led restoration of degraded forest patches and wildlife routes.
The conclave proposed setting up of State Climate Resilience Fund to support community-led projects in the state and piloting of community carbon and biodiversity credit projects with transparent benefit-sharing. For governance of Odisha’s rivers and wetlands, the experts suggested establishment of a statutory body to coordinate basin planning, wetland governance, ecological flows and inter-departmental decisions, including inter-state water disputes.
Among other recommendations were mandating e-flow assessment for dams, irrigation projects and industries; securing wetland tenure and user rights; institutionalising co-management at panchayat-level with equitable benefit-sharing; ensuring leadership roles for women and small-scale fishers; legal protection for floodplains and riparian corridors for biodiverity and water security.