The Forest Advisory Committee has approved a scheme that could allow “forests” to be traded as a commodity. If implemented, it allows the Forest Department to outsource one of its responsibilities of reforesting to non-government agencies.
Present scenario:
In the current system, industry needs to make good the loss of forest by finding appropriate non-forest land — equal to that which would be razed.
It also must pay the State Forest Department the current economic equivalent — called Net Present Value — of the forest land.
It’s then the department’s responsibility to grow appropriate vegetation that, over time, would grow into forests.
Problems:
Industries have often complained that they find it hard to acquire appropriate non-forest land, which has to be contiguous to existing forest.
Nearly ₹50,000 crore had been collected by the Centre over decades, but the funds were lying unspent because States were not spending the money on regrowing forests.
Green Credit Scheme:
The proposed ‘Green Credit Scheme’ allows agencies — they could be private companies, village forest communities — to identify land and begin growing plantations.
After three years, they would be eligible to be considered as compensatory forest land if they met the Department’s criteria.
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