A plan that is much more than just planting trees

A plan that is much more than just planting trees

Subject :Environment

Section :Conservation

• The focus now is on ‘forest landscape restoration’, to regain ecological functionality and improve human welfare

What is forest landscape restoration

• the process of regaining ecological functionality and improving human welfare across deforested or degraded forest landscapes
• The span 2021-2030 is the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, emphasising efforts to restore degraded terrestrial ecosystems including forests.
• In 2011, the Bonn Challenge was launched with a global goal to restore 150 million hectares of degraded and deforested landscapes by 2020 and 350 million hectares by 2030.
• India joined the Bonn Challenge in 2015, pledging to restore 26 million hectares of degraded and deforested land by 2030.

Schemes launched to achieve the objectives

• The National Afforestation Programme
  • The Scheme will be operated by the National Afforestation and Eco-Development Board, Ministry of Environment and Forests as a 100% Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
  • The overall objective of the scheme is ecological restoration of degraded forests and to develop the forest resources with peoples’ participation, with focus on improvement in livelihoods of the forest-fringe communities, especially the poor.
• The National Mission for a Green India (Green India Mission)
  • GIM, launched in February 2014, is aimed at protecting, restoring and enhancing India’s diminishing forest cover and responding to climate change by a combination of adaptation and mitigation measures.
  • GIM is one of the eight missions launched under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).
• The Nagar Van scheme
  • The ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) has launched ‘Nagar Van’ (city forest) scheme. The scheme emphasises on urban forestry.
  • Under the scheme, around 200 urban forests are to be developed all over the country in the next five years
• The Forest Fire Prevention and Management Scheme
  • The Forest Fire Prevention and Management Scheme (FPM) is the only centrally funded program specifically dedicated to assist the states in dealing with forest fires.
  • Funds allocated under the FPM are according to a center-state cost-sharing formula, with a 90:10 ratio of central to state funding in the Northeast and Western Himalayan regions and a 60:40 ratio for all other states.
  • It also provides the states to have the flexibility to direct a portion of the National Afforestation Programme (NAP) and Mission for Green India (GIM) funding toward forest fire work.
• Green Skill Development Programme
  • GSDP is a recent initiative under the ENVIS scheme for skilling the youth in the country.
  • It is an initiative for skill development in the environment and forest region by the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) to develop India’s youth into employable and/or self-employment, making use of the widespread network and experience of ENVIS Hubs/RPs.