India's New Forest Conservation Policy Aims to Boost Forest Cover and Reduce Man-Animal Conflict

The Indian state has proposed a new forest conservation policy that seeks to increase the forest cover from 19% to 33%, while reducing man-animal conflict. The policy allows the government to lease private agricultural land for tree plantation, and farmers to lease land near forests for eco-tourism projects on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis. The policy also encourages changes in crop patterns to help environment conservation and provides farmers with an assured price for their produce.

Key Takeaways:

• The policy aims to increase the forest cover from 19% to 33% through the leasing of private agricultural land for tree plantation.
• Farmers can lease agricultural land near forests for eco-tourism projects on a PPP basis, with the option to set up hotels and guest houses.
• The policy encourages changes in crop patterns to help environment conservation and provides farmers with an assured price for their produce.
• Farmers can opt for group farming, forming Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) to collectively market their produce, or lease agricultural land to the state government at Rs.65,000 a hectare per year as a subsidy.
• The policy provides subsidies for polyhouse, greenhouse, protected and sustainable farming, as well as a subsidy of Rs.25,000 to Rs.30,000 a hectare for crops recommended by the government.
• The government plans to create a land bank to use the land for forestation, and provide incentives to farmers and locals to participate in the policy.
• The policy has been welcomed by environmentalists as a step towards raising the green cover, but they have cautioned that farmers must be taken into confidence and a perfect balance must be achieved between commercial activities and environmental conservation.

Statistics:

• The proposed forest cover is to increase from 19% to 33%.
• The state aims to create an animal-friendly environment outside the buffer zone, on the periphery of forests.
• The policy proposes to lease 10 to 100 hectares of land on a PPP model for eco-tourism projects.
• The private operator is allowed to set up one residential hotel per 10-hectare area.
• The land tracks could be given to private players on a 30-year lease.
• The government proposes to provide a subsidy of Rs.65,000 a hectare per year for leasing agricultural land to the state government.

Sources:

• "India seeks new forest conservation policy to boost cover" published in Hindustan Times on Aug 17, 2023.