Forest Landscape Restoration

IN NEWS:

• The Van Mahotsav, or Forest Festival, an annual tree-planting festival, is celebrated in the month of July, in which thousands of trees are planted all over the country.

MORE ON NEWS:

• According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), deforestation and forest degradation contribute around 12% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
• The total area occupied by primary forests in India has decreased by 3.6%.
• Typically, governments have relied on afforestation and reforestation as a means of establishing trees on non-treed land.
• These strategies have now evolved and the focus is now on forest landscape restoration.

WHAT IS FOREST LANDSCAPE RESTORATION (FLR)?

• Forest landscape restoration (FLR) is the ongoing process of regaining ecological functionality and enhancing human well-being across deforested or degraded forest landscapes.
• FLR seeks to restore ecological processes at the landscape scale to maintain biodiversity and ecosystem functions, and confer resilience to environmental change.
• FLR seeks to enhance human well-being by restoring ecosystem services.
• This approach keeps in mind multiple land uses and people’s needs in the short and long terms.

HOW FLR DIFFERS FROM OTHER APPROACHES?

• More comprehensive than conventional approaches:
  • FLR is far more comprehensive than conventional forest restoration approaches in analyzing local contexts and designing interventions for multiple purposes.
  • It considers landscape objectives and the impacts of and on different stakeholders.
• More than just planting trees:
  • FLR goes far beyond planting trees and simply increasing forest cover and focuses on improving forest quality and human well-being.
  • By contrast, many large-scale restoration programs in Asia have focused on fast-growing, exotic species and timber production.
  • This led to valid criticism over their claims of improving forest quality and human well-being.
• Participation of stakeholders:
  • Another distinguishing feature of FLR is that stakeholders in the landscape participate throughout the process.
  • FLR works with stakeholders to identify and address the root causes of deforestation and forest degradation, and to jointly develop solutions.
  • LR processes emphasize local needs and national priorities equally.
  • They acknowledge that top-down approaches will be counterproductive in the medium to long term.
• Ensure the diversity of the species:
  • A crucial aspect of FLR process is to ensure the diversity of the species while planting trees.
    • Natural forests with diverse native tree species are more efficient in sequestering carbon than monoculture tree plantations.
    • Planting diverse species is also healthier for local communities and their livelihoods.

BENEFITS OF FOREST RESTORATION:

• Environmental and ecological benefits:
  • Mitigating the effects of climate change:
    • Forests are integral in regulating ecosystems, influencing the carbon cycle and mitigating the effects of climate change.
    • Annually, forests absorb roughly 2.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide.
    • This absorption includes nearly 33% of the carbon dioxide released from burning fossil fuels.
  • Soil protection:
    • Forests also help to maintain nutrient cycling in the soil.
    • The fallen leaves of trees add humus to the soil after their ‘decomposition. Thus forests help in increasing the fertility of the soil.
  • Biodiversity:
    • Forests are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet and are home to about 80 percent of the world’s land-based animals and plants (FAO).
    • Thanks to their presence and interaction, ecological processes such as pollination, seed dispersal and soil fertilization can take place.
    • Biodiversity forms the basis of many of the values and services that society derives from forests, including food, fibre, biomass, wood and shelter for people and wildlife.
• Protection of water resources:
  • Forests play a key role in the protection of the world's water resources and in the global water cycle.
  • Much of the world’s drinking water comes from forested areas, and millions of people depend on high-quality freshwater flowing from forests (FAO).
  • Forests absorb water as direct rainfall from the atmosphere and through their roots from the ground.
  • Through a process of evapo-transpiration, they then re-release water to the atmosphere. Without this process, a key part of the global water cycle would be interrupted, resulting in increased drought and desertification.
• Renewable raw materials:
  • Sustainably produced wood and paper-based goods are a wise, renewable and environmentally friendly choice compared to other materials such as plastics, which alone, use 4% of the total global oil production.
  • Similarly, energy production from forest-based wood and biomass can replace other more greenhouse-gas intensive products, such as oil and coal.
• Cope with natural disasters:
  • Forests also influence nature’s capacity to cope with natural hazards, acting as barriers against heavy rains, flooding and strong winds.
  • They help control or reduce the risk of soil erosion, landslides and avalanches.
  • Forests therefore have an important role in protecting the homes and communities (FAO) of animals and people, and they help to maintain the environmental conditions needed for agricultural production.
  • Flood control:
    • Roots of trees absorb much of the rainwater and thus regulate the flow of water and help in controlling the floods, acting as rain holder and a rain banker.
    • Trees also act like millions of tiny dams and check the flow of water like a barrage.
  • Prevent droughts:
    • Forests with their network of tree roots and transpiration process play a pivotal role in influencing weather, especially rainfall. They also store water.
  • Checks on spreads of deserts:
    • Sand particles are blown away by strong winds in the deserts and are carried over long distances resulting in the spread of deserts roots bind the sand particles.
    • The roots of trees and plants bind the sand particles and do not permit their easy transportation by the wind.
• Socio-economic benefits:
  • Forests have numerous social benefits, ranging from indigenous peoples’ rights to contributions to sustainable livelihoods, rural development, and local employment.
  • Livelihood benefits:
    • Forests contribute to the livelihoods of some 1.6 billion people worldwide, including 60 million indigenous people who are fully dependent upon them.
    • Fuelwood and charcoal are the main sources of energy for an estimated two billion people around the world.
    • Two billion people also rely on traditional medicines from forests for their health.
    • Forest-based activities such as hunting and fishing provide over 20% of household protein requirements in developing countries.
  • Survival of indigenous communities:
    • With increasing deforestation, the culture, tradition, and survival of indigenous communities who are heavily dependent on forests are threatened.
  • Rural development:
    • Forests also contribute significantly to national and regional economies.
    • According to academics from the World Resources Institute, forest ecosystems enrich soil fertility and water availability, enhancing agricultural productivity, and in turn the rural economy.
    • In developing countries, forest-based enterprises provide about 13–35% of all rural non-farm employment, that’s equivalent to 17 million formal sector and 30 million informal sector jobs.
  • Food security
    • Apart from humans who use nuts, mushrooms, berries found in forest, the forests also support animals which we depend on for food and other resources. Deforestation aids food insecurity in many populations.

INDIAN INITIATIVES FOR FOREST RESTORATION:

• India and Bonn Challenge:
  • India joined the Bonn Challenge in 2015, pledging to restore 26 million hectares of degraded and deforested land by 2030.
  • An additional carbon sink of 2.5 billion-3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent through forest and tree cover is to be created by 2030.

• National Afforestation Programme (NAP):
  • It has been implemented since 2000 for the afforestation of degraded forest lands.
  • It is being implemented by the MoEFCC.
• National Action Programme to Combat Desertification:
  • It was prepared in 2001 to address issues of increasing desertification and to take appropriate actions.
• National Mission for a Green India:
  • It is one of the eight Missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).
  • The primary aim is to protect, restore and enhance India’s diminishing forest cover.
  • Goals:
    • Improvement in quality of forest cover and ecosystem services of forests /non-forests, including moderately dense, open forests, degraded grassland and wetlands.
    • Eco-restoration/afforestation of scrub, shifting cultivation areas, cold deserts, mangroves, ravines and abandoned mining areas
    • Improvement in forest and tree cover in urban/peri-urban lands
    • Improvement in forest and tree cover on marginal agricultural lands/fallows and other non-forest lands under agroforestry /social forestry
    • Management of public forest/ non-forests areas by the community institutions
• Nagar van scheme:
  • On the occasion of World Environment Day 2020, the government announced implementation of the Nagar van scheme to develop 200 Urban Forests across the country in next five years with a renewed focus on people’s participation and collaboration between Forest Department, Municipal bodies, NGOs, Corporates and local citizens.
• National Action Plan On Forest Fires, 2018:
  • The plan also aims to reduce the vulnerability of forests against fire hazards across the diverse forest ecosystems in the country, enhancing the capabilities of institutions in fighting fires, and accelerating the recovery after a fire incidence.

CHALLENGES:

• Economic pressure on forests:
  • Due to the rising population there is enormous pressure on forest land for extraction of forest based industries and encroachment for extension of agriculture.
  • It is estimated that the demand for timber is growing at a faster speed from 58 million cubic meters in 2005 to 153 million cubic meters in 2020.
  • In India 67 per cent of the rural household depend on firewood for cooking.
• Diversion of forest land to non-forest use:
  • A large part of our achievements made by virtue of afforestation are neutralized by diversion of forest land for non-forest use.
  • In 2019 alone, a total 11,467 hectares forest lands were diverted in 22 states. The largest area of forest land was diverted for irrigation and mining projects.
• Threat of forest fires:
  • As per the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2019 >> about 21.40% of forest cover in India is prone to fires.
• Dilution of Forest (Conservation) Act:
  • Through proposed amendment to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, government aims to liberalise forest laws through facilitating private plantations for harvesting and exploration or extraction of oil and natural gas deep beneath forest land by drilling holes from outside the forest areas.
• Lack of scientific techniques:
  • Scientific techniques of growing forests are also lacking in India.
  • The only natural growth of forests takes place in India whereas in many developed countries new scientific techniques are being used through which tree growth is quickened.

WAY FORWARD:

• Reduce stress on forest resources:
  • Rural population should be provided alternate sources of fuel.
  • The customary rights and concessions were given to tribals and local people should not be allowed to exceed the carrying capacity of the land.
• Reducing the impact of developmental activities on forests:
  • Developmental projects should be planned to have minimal damage to forests and the environment.
  • Mining constructs should have a mandatory clause of reforestation when the process of mining is over.
  • Industries should adopt anti-pollution devices and must develop and compensate for the forest loss by new plantations.
• Community led forest management:
  • Tribal and local people should be directly involved in the protection, regeneration, and management of forests.
  • People should be encouraged to participate in the Van Mahotsava and should be made aware of the Chipko movement.
• Encourage research:
  • Scientific methods should be adopted to check and contain forest fire diseases and pests.
  • Research on forestry should be encouraged in universities and appropriate funding should be provided for this purpose.
• Awareness generation:
  • There should be special programs, demonstrations, seminars, and workshops to develop awareness among the people about the social relevance of the forests.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Q. “Forest landscape restoration is an approach to forest restoration that seeks to balance human needs with those of biodiversity”. Discuss.