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NATIONAL
FOREST POLICY, 1988
3.
ESSENTIALS OF FOREST MANAGEMENT
- Existing forests and forest lands
should be fully protected and their productivity improved. Forest
and vegetal cover should be increased rapidly on bill slopes, in
catchment areas of rivers, lakes and reservoirs and ocean shores and
on semi-arid and desert tracts.
- Diversion of good and productive
agricultural lands to forestry should be discouraged in view of the
need for increased food production.
- For the conservation of total
biological diversity, the network of national parks, sanctuaries,
biosphere reserves and other protected areas should be strengthened
and extended adequately. Provision of sufficient fodder, fuel and
pasture, specially in areas adjoining forests, is necessary in order
to prevent depletion of forests beyond the sustainable limit. Since
fuel-wood continues to be the predominant source of energy in rural
areas, the programme of afforestation should be intensified with
special emphasis on augmenting fuel-wood production to meet the
requirement of the rural people.
- 3.4 Minor forest produce provides
sustenance to tribal population and to other communities residing in
and around the forests. Such produce should be protected, improved
and their production enhanced with due regard to generation of
employment and income.
4.
STRATEGY
- AREA UNDER FOREST
The national goal should e to have a minimum of one - third of the
total land area of the country under forest or tree cover. In the
hills and in mountainous region, the aim should be to maintain
two-third of the area under such cover in order to prevent erosion
and land degradation and to ensure the stability of the fragile
eco-system.
- AFFORESTATION, SOCIAL
FORESTRY & FARM FORESTRY
- A massive need-based and time
bound programme of afforestation and tree planting, with
particular emphasis on fuel-wood and fodder development, on all
degraded and decuded lands in the country, whether forest or
non-forest land, is a national imperative.
- It is necessary to encourage
the planting of trees alongside of roads, railway lines, rivers
and streams and canals, and on other unutilised lands under
state/corporate, institutional or private ownership. Green belts
should be raised in urban/industrial areas as well as in arid
tracts. Such a programme will help to check erosion and
desertification as well as improve the microclimate.
- Village and community lands,
including those on foreshores and environs of tanks, not
required for other productive uses, should be taken up for the
development of tree crops and fodder resources. Technical
assistance and other inputs necessary for initiating such
programmes should be provided by the government. The revenues
generated through such programmes should belong to the
panchayats where the lands are vested in them; in all other
cases, such revenues should be shared with the local communities
in order to provide an incentive to them. The vesting in
individuals, particularly from the weaker sections (such as
landless labour, small and marginal farmers, scheduled castes,
tribals, women) of certain ownership right over trees, could be
considered, subject to appropriate regulations; beneficiaries
would be entitled to usufruct and would in turn be responsible
for their security and maintenance.
- Land laws should be modified
wherever necessary so as to facilitate and motivate individuals
and institutions to undertake tree-farming and grow fodder
plants, grasses and legumes on their own land. Wherever
possible, degraded lands should be made available for this
purpose either on lease or on the land should be subject to the
land grant rules and land should be subject to the encourage
them to do so must be taken. Appropriate regulations should
govern the felling of trees on private holding.
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