Editorial: Depleting forest cover

Parliament was informed that over 90,000 hectares of forest land was diverted in the past five years

The large-scale diversion of notified forests in the country in recent times is a worrying trend. What made matters worse were the amendments introduced in July this year to the Forest Conservation Act of 1980, virtually throwing open the floodgates to divert forest land for other purposes in the name of development. While it is important to strike a balance between industrial development and environmental protection, the NDA government’s approach in this matter has raised questions over its commitment to conservation efforts. The Environment Ministry has informed Parliament that over 90,000 hectares of forest land was diverted for non-forestry purposes — mainly irrigation, mining, road construction and defence projects — in the past five years. This is a clear setback to India’s goal of substantially increasing its forest cover by 2030. Not surprisingly, environmentalists have raised concerns over the implications of the amended Forest Act, not just on the forest cover but also on the rights of forest-dwelling tribes. The 1980 Act mandates that in case forest land is diverted, afforestation must be done on an equivalent area of non-forest land to compensate for the loss of the natural ecosystem of the original forest. However, the enforcement of the clause pertaining to compensatory afforestation has been far from satisfactory. Moreover, the funds amounting to crores of rupees, released for the development of compensatory forests, are lying unutilised with State governments. Deforestation irreparably impacts the communities that are dependent upon forests. Most significantly, since it takes years for a forest to develop, the compensation remains inadequate. Effectively, forest land diversion is tantamount to forest depletion.

Under the Forest Rights Act of 2006, certain rights are granted to forest-dwelling tribes. The local communities need to grant permission for diversion of forest land through their Gram Sabhas. However, the amended Act effectively eliminates the requirement of obtaining consent from the Gram Sabha for the diversion of that land for taking up development projects. Exempting such a large number of projects from the clearance process will mean that forest- dwelling people will no longer be consulted. It must be pointed out that over 50% of India’s tribal population lives in forests. Forests have been tinkered with or destroyed for the purposes of mining and infrastructure work ever since the Indian economy opened up over three decades ago. In the last few years, the government has been trying to encourage the private sector and private landowners to open their lands as tree plots. The amended Forest Conservation Rules in 2022 calls upon private and institutional entities to enter into accredited compensatory afforestation schemes. While forest lands are under immense stress due to the pressing need for development, governments must brainstorm to find sustainable means of achieving infrastructural growth. India has committed to increasing the forest cover to 33% by 2030, as part of its international climate commitments.

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