Karnataka’s forest cover (extent of more than 1ha. including bamboos, orchards, coconut, palm etc within recorded forest, private, community or institutional lands with canopy density over 10%) is 37,550 sqkm. Of this, 12,604 sqkm is an open forest, which is, by and large, degraded forest. Taking the proposed provisions of National Forest Policy (NFP) 2018, these areas would be under pressure of private participation or commercialization by industries.
For any country, forest policy is an important guideline to maintain forest resources and their interaction with other land uses. Since 1952, there has been an advocacy for 33% forest cover with 60% forest cover in mountainous and hilly regions. This objective was retracted in the 1988 policy and also the proposed NFP 2018.
There is no written law, in my knowledge, before a Charter of Indian Forestry of August 1855, wherein it was intended to restrict and regulate the unchecked exploitation of forests by private individuals. The first Indian Forest Act, 1865, was enacted with the intention of objective oriented forestry for judicious use of timber, creation of government revenue and control of forests by the state.
In 1894, the first Forest Policy (1894) was formulated by the British for management of forests to generate maximum revenue. The policy also classified forests according to their primary function -- protection, commercial production, minor forest and pasture lands. More than 120 years later, the draft Forest Policy 2018 draws its roots and parallels from the revenue-oriented commercialization of Forest Policy 1894, framed by British rulers. The difference is that now it is proposed to leave forest resources in the hands of industrialists for commercial development and exploitation at the cost of biodiversity and lopsided favour to one species (Homo sapiens).
The most critical para in the present draft policy is 4.1.1(d) Increase the productivity of forest plantations. Productivity of forest plantations is poor in most states. This is addressed by intensive scientific management of forest plantations of commercially important species. The lands available with forest corporations, which are degraded and under-utilized, are managed to produce quality timber with scientific interventions. Public-private participation models are developed for undertaking afforestation and reforestation activities.
This paradigm shift in the draft policy (2018) for commercialization through private participation would have an adverse effect on farm forestry, agroforestry and farmers, as such. It may be noted that in National Forest Policy 1988, industries were required to purchase the pulp / forest produce/ timber from farmers or the government. But in the changed circumstances, once industries are allowed to meet their own requirements from forest land, the demand from farm forestry and agroforestry would be reduced, and will be non-profitable to farmers, who are already under tremendous stress. This will also result in decreased tree cover and may have a cascading negative effect to meet 33% of tree cover of the geographical area.
(The author, U V Singh, is a retired IFS officer and member, Monitoring Committee of Supreme Court)