PDFFiles-NSR-National Status Report (ITTO) - 23.9.06-Compiled Report-Compiled Report _F

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Compilation of papers 1

COMPILATION OFCOMPILATION OFCOMPILATION OFCOMPILATION OF

PAPERS FORPAPERS FORPAPERS FORPAPERS FOR

PREPARATION OFPREPARATION OFPREPARATION OFPREPARATION OF

(Survey and Utilisation Division)

MMiinniissttrryy ooffEEnnvviirroonnmmeenntt && FFoorreessttssGovernment of India, New Delhi

September 2006

NATIONAL STATUSREPORT

on

Forests and Forestry

Consultant/Facilitator

Amity School of Natural Resources & Sustainable DevelopmentAmity University Uttar Pradesh, Sector-125, Noida, U.P., India


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CONTENTS

S.No.

Topics Author Pages

1 The Present Forest Scenario in India

Economic Value of Forests/Green Accountingand Non-market valuation of forests

Dr. Ram Prasad

Dr. Ram Prasad

1-20

21-24

2 An Overview of the policy development inIndian Forestry for Sustainable Management

A.K. Mukerji 25-35

3 Contribution of Forestry Sector TowardsGross Domestic Product of India

J.C. KalaDr. Bipin Behari

36-41

4 Assessment of Forest and Tree Cover: Role

of Forest Cover Assessment in MonitoringSustainable Forest Management

A.K. Joshi

Dr. Bipin Behari

42-53

5 Tree Outside Forests J.P. L. Srivastava 54-65

6 Forest Fire Control and Prevention forSustainable Forest Management

J.P. L. Srivastava 66-89

7 Non-Wood Forest Products (NWFP) includingAromatic and Medicinal Plants for poverty

alleviation and Sustainable ForestManagement

Dr. D. N. Tiwari 90-92

8 Strategy for Sustainable NTFP Managementin India

Dr. Ram Prasad 93-108

9 Status of Bamboo in India Dr. Bipin Behari 109-120

10 Status of Rattans in India A.K. Joshi 121-132

11 Establishing Medicinal and Aromatic (MAP)

plants supply Chains: A case of Sanjeevani

Manomohan

Yadav

133-139

12 Neglect of Forestry and Wildlife Sector inIndias development planning under theFive-Year Plans

A.K. Mukerji 140-142

S.No.

Topics Author Pages

13 Forest Products Trade and Marketing Ashwani Bhat 143-172


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Rules and Regulations to enhance access toand ensure import (and export) ofSustainable Produced Tropical Timber;Utilization and Quality Experience

Value addition of timber and utilization

Case studies in Maharashtra and Gujaratabout current timber use and trends

Ashwani Bhat

Ashwani Bhat

Ashwani Bhat

173-177

178-183

184-214

14 Sustainable Forest Management in India Acritical analysis of Peoples participation andemerging management issues

Dr. V.K.Bahuguna

215-235

15 Applying Criteria and Indicators forSustainable Forest Management in India

P.C. Kotwal 236-244

16 Forest Certification and its Role in SFM Dr. Bipin Behari 245-266

17 Research and Development Status:Requirements for promoting SFM

Dr. S.S. Negi 267-277

18 Clonal Pulpwood Tree Farms Change theRural Landscape in Andhra Pradesh

S.N. Rao 278-279

19 State Level Energy Park, Indira GandhiMusical Fountain, Bangalore

Arun K. Bansal 280-284

20 Providing climate change mitigation servicesin the Forestry Sector: challenges,opportunities and the State of Preparedness

Promode Kant 285-298

21 Brining Forest Environmental Services intothe Economics of Tree Growing in India

Promode Kant 299-304

22 National Status Report Forestry Database,Timber, NTFP and SWP

Arun K. Bansal 305-316

S.No.

Topics Author Pages

23 Organizational and Institutional issues withspecial reference to Sustainable ForestManagement

Prof. Dillip K.Bandyopadhyay

317-332


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24 Institutional and Administrative Issues, roleof National and State Government LocalAuthorities and Civil Society in Forestry andSFM; Role of Forest DevelopmentCorporation/Private Sector in forestry andSFM

B.K.P. Sinha 333-375

25 Budgetary Allocation for Forestry andWildlife Sector at National Level and inTropical States of India

Dr. Bipin BehariandA.K. Joshi

376-379

* * * * *


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COMPILATION OF PAPERS

for PREPARATION

of NATIONAL STATUS REPORT

on FORESTS AND FORESTRY

IN INDIA


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The analysis and interpretations expressed in these papers are solely that of the authors,and do not represent the position or opinion of Amity School of Natural Resources andSustainable Development or other institutions involved. Nor does it purport to representthe views of any of the individual commentators.


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THE PRESENT FOREST SCENARIO IN INDIA

Dr. Ram Prasad, Principal National Consultant

1.0 The Present Forest Scenario in India

1.1 Forest Resource Assessment

The forest cover estimates from 1987 2003 are given in Table 1.

Year of state offorest report

Data period Forest tree coversq km

% of Geographicalarea

Dense forest%

1987 1981-83 640,819 19.49 59.06

1989 1983-85 638,804 19.43 60.27

1991 1987-89 639,364 19.45 60.31

1993 1989-91 639,386 19.45 60.30

1995 1991-93 638,879 19.43 60.27

1997 1993-95 633,397 19.27 57.98

1999 1996-98 637,293 19.39 59.21

2001 1998-99 23.03

2003 2000-01 23.68

(Source: FSI-SFR 1987-2003, Dehradun India)

The Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehradun undertakes the assessment of forestcover based on digital interpretation of satellite imageries and ground verification on atwo-year cycle. The State of Forest Report (SFR) of 2003 indicated a forest/tree cover of

23.68 per cent, which has marginally increased over 23.03% assessed during 2001.Although in 2003 assessment, there is an upward trend in respect of forest area thequality of green cover has deteriorated. There has been reduction in dense forest coverto the extent of 6.3% which indicates continuing forest degradation despite the fact thata substantial forest area has been brought under Joint Forest Management.

1.2 Forest Management Practices

Indias forests are under severe pressure for meeting growing demands for fuel,fodder, grazing, timber and non-timber forest products from an ever increasing humanand livestock population, and industrial demands.

Due to rapid increase in human population from 390 million (1950) to 1 billion in

2001 and domestic animals from 350 million to 500 million in the same period, thedemand-supply gap for forest produce has enormously increased. In addition, there islarge-scale harvesting of medicinal plants, gums, fruits, fibres, seeds etc., for local useand sale. About 70% of village population are reportedly using local herbs for medicines.

Fuelwood requirement was estimated at 220 million tonnes in 2001 as against theavailable supply of 102 million tonnes (MT) (46 MT from degraded lands and forests, 40MT from private lands and 16 MT from home gardens). This demand was projected togrow to 241 MT by 2006. This projection is based on the study by Ravindranath and Hall(1995). The National Forestry Action Programme of Ministry of Environment and Forests


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(MoEF, 1999) indicated demand at 223 MT (in 1996) and 247 MT (in 2006) against theavailability of 115 MT leaving a huge gap to be met from over-exploitation. Fuelwoodremoval from natural forests being free is preferred to alternative source of fuels in ruralareas. It is a non-monetized commodity, and therefore, subjective to overuse.

In respect of timber for household, housing, agriculture, furniture, industrial use,paper pulp, plywood match etc., NFAP projected the demand to grow to 73 million cu m

in 2001 and 81 million cu m in 2006, against the supply of 12 million cu m from forest(ITTO, 2004 indicates only 6 million cu m) and 31 million cu m from farm forestry andforest plantations.

In order to meet the rapidly growing demand for wood, NFAP suggested need forlarge scale plantations and concentrated regeneration operations in next 20 years.Unfortunately the NFAP could not be implemented due to financial constraints. Needlessto say that the requirements of wood for meeting domestic needs of housing, furnitureand allied activities in rural and urban areas result into unsustainable extraction.

The principle of sustained yield management, which was the hallmark of scientificforest management, originated from the vision of the pioneers of forestry profession. Thesustained yield principle was enshrined in the working plan prescriptions in India, and

was essentially for timber harvesting. It essentially meant that the cumulative treeincrement should be harvested leaving the capital intact (In other words, harvestingwood at an average rate, which is not greater than the forest in question can regenerateit). However, some environmentalists consider this concept to be narrow and irrelevantto Sustainable Forest Management in a comprehensive sense. They probably overlookthe fact that the tree, which is the principal source of timber, is an outcome ofecosystem functioning. In disturbed conditions, the tree may not grow to its fullpotential. If the trees were managed scientifically and sustainably, the ecosystem wouldbe fully functional. Thus, the sustained yield principle is an effective proxy for SFM, foroptimizing both tangible and intangible values of forests. The scope of management,including yield regulation, can be widened to incorporate both tangible and intangiblevalues.

Sustained yield forestry is influenced by the silvicultural system adopted. Thesilvicultural system defines the type of operations to be carried out as part of productionmanagement of forests. It is a process by which the crop constituting a forest aretended, removed and replaced by new crops, through natural regeneration or throughplantation. The choice of silvicultural system under traditional forestry was influenced bythe concept of sustained yield. If a forest is to produce sustained yield in perpetuity, itshould possess certain characteristics, i.e. normal series of age gradations or ageclasses, a normal increment and a normal growing stock. Most tropical forests in Indiaworked with the application of silvicutlural systems such as (i) clear felling with naturalor artificial regeneration; (ii) selection system; (iii) selection-cum-improvement system;(iv) coppice system (simple coppice, coppice with standards, coppice with reserves incentral India).

All these silvicultural systems were aimed at regenerating and replacing the old

growth without constraining the sustained yield principle stipulated in working planprescriptions.

1.3 Scientific Forest Management in India

Scientific management of forest under modern concepts was initiated in the earlypart of 1800s. With so many eco climatic zones covering the country, there are 16 majorforest types with several sub types, several types. Different silvicultural systems wereadopted in different forest types. While selection system was applied in the wetevergreen, semi evergreen and moist mixed deciduous forest, shelter wood system was


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applied in the coniferous and certain types of moist deciduous forests. A more radicalsilvicultural system such as clear felling with artificial regeneration with valuable species(teak, bamboo, rose wood, eucalyptus etc) in moist deciduous/monsoon forests wasapplied. Coppices and coppice with standards (coppices with reserve system in centralIndian dry deciduous forest low site quality forests) was followed in most drydeciduous forests. The earlier teak plantation in India was raised in 1839. Eucalyptuswas introduced in 1843 and rubber in 1873. All these however, seem to have converged

on deforestation and forest degradation. And, systematic, consistent and accurateinformation on the geographic extent and physical condition of the forest is lacking(Freezailah et al., 2004)

i) Forest Working Plans: The forests are divided into forest divisions and furtherinto forests working circles and compartments), for purposes of forestmanagement. The forest divisions are managed on the basis of forest workingplans, which are periodically revised and updated. Preparation of working plansfor scientific forest management was initiated in 1884 to ensure sustainableharvesting of timber within the limits of annual incremental growth followed byregeneration and protection. Today about 75% of Indias forests are coveredunder scientifically prepared working plans.

Generally, the working plans are prepared for a period of 10 years with possible

extension of up to 5 years. Supreme Court of India has directed the UnionMinistry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to sanction the working plans of aForest Division before allowing the regeneration felling. Besides collectinginformation on management strategy such as financial allocation, regenerationsurvey and review operations prescribed in working plans for natural regenerationensuring effective proper.

ii) Deforestation and Forest Degradation: Forest degradation and deforestationhave happened in India due to unsustainable practices and pressure from otherforms of land uses. Forest resources in India have been under tremendous bioticstress, primarily from shifting cultivation, encroachments, unsustainable woodharvest, timber smuggling, and unregulated and excessive grazing and forestfires. Most of these pressures became more pronounced in the post independenceperiod (1947) because human needs and greed were allowed to gallop primarily

due to socio-political and socio-economic compulsions.India has been able to reduce the rate of deforestation during the last decadesand a half. The annual average rate of deforestation fell from about 1.3 millionha in the 1970s to about 1,25,000 ha in the 1990s. After the launch of ForestConservation Act (1980) which stipulated that forest areas cannot be diverted fornonforestry purposes without the prior approval of Govt. of India and that forestarea equal to diverted forest area have to be planted. The rate of deforestationcame down to about 25,000 ha/year. However, while there has beenimprovement in significantly reducing and controlling the rate of deforestation,forest degradation appears to be continuing, as evidenced by the fall in theaverage growing stock of wood and bio mass volume per ha. Declining productionof timber and fuel wood is also indicative of continuing forest degradation.

Referring to the data in Table-1, one gets an impression that Indias forest areasare showing an increasing trend with every 2 yearly scale assessment (2003)because of large scale of afforestation/regeneration efforts. However, analyzingthe forest cover it is clear that there is reduction of 6.3% in the dense forestpercent. Deforestation is to be assessed in terms of loss of natural forests; andagro-forestry crops and fuel wood lots raised by farmers cannot of set losses ofnatural forests (Chandraskharan, 2004).

iii) Forest Plantations: Looking to the area under forests plantation (32.6 millionha) Indias achievement definitely appears very impressive. However, most ofthese plantations, particularly those raised by State Forest Departments and


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State Forest Development Corporations, in terms of survival growth and yieldhave been poor. In adequacies in site selection and site species matching, poorplanting stock, inadequate preparation, lack of post plantation care, lack oftimely tending, and lack of adequately trained staff are some of the causes forthis situation. Forest plantation being a major investment activity, the low level ofproductivity is a cause of concern.

A review of tropical plantation by Pandey (1992) observed that plantationplanning is generally poor, particularly in relation to vital issues such as thematching of species to the site. Plantation projects are often designed in haste,with scant attention paid to important preparatory steps, time or financialconstraints. There are, however, large areas where the natural forest has beenbadly degraded or where the soil fertility has been lost due to unsustainable use,which could be used for plantation. Such schemes could provide a source ofempowerment and long term income, provided the existence and needs of localpeople are recognized and incorporated in the plantation projects.

In spite of the large area and investment involved, a full inventory of plantationsclassified by species, objectives age site quality/density classes, use classes,volume etc. does not exist. About 50% of the plantations raised since 1980 are inagro forestry environment with varying intensities of management. The National

Forest Policy 1988 had aimed or observed that as far as possible Forest Industriesshould meet their raw material requirement from wood, grown in collaborationwith farmers and local community. Due to lack of incentives and extension andinsecure tenure for trees grown in private lands, accomplishment fells short ofexpectation. As of 1990, less than 30% of all forest plantations, the rest beingraised for non-industrial purposes. If the forest plantation care adequatelymanaged to achieve their potential productivity, India will be in a position to meetfuture domestic demand, and will probably be able to undertake export-orientedactivities. Thus emphasis should be placed on enhancing productivity,quantitatively and qualitatively. Plantation development should be undertaken asenterprises, stressing efficiency and not on mere spread (area).

iv) Private Sector Companies and Farmers Partnership: In accordance with thestipulation in 1988 NFP, subsidized supply of raw material to forest based

industries gradually ceased. By 1990, many companies (particularly the pulp andpaper companies) started working with farmers to encourage farm forestryactivities with their active technical and financial assistance. The followingapproaches were tried.

Supply of free or subsidized quality stock with or without buy backguarantee.

Facility of bank loan assistance and providing planting stock, technicalextension and buy back guarantee.

Leasing or share cropping scheme under which the company raises andmaintains plantations on farmers lands based on appropriatearrangements.

Intensive research and development and commercial sale of clonalplanting stock to farmers by companies with or without buy backguarantee. These schemes under different concept of partnership achievedthree major objectives. First, they have generally popularized the conceptof tree farming. Second, they have directly, contributed to the cultivationof a large number of commercial trees on private lands. Third, theseschemes have made the farmers discover an alternative source of land usefor improving their farm income particularly in the event of crop failure.

v) Protected Areas: Indias achievement in PA development is significant. PAs inIndia cover about 14.8 million ha representing about 14% of the forest area


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consisting 80 National Parks, 441 Wild life sanctuaries and 23 Tiger Reserves.However, the condition of several of the Pas are poor, because of bio ticpressures such as fire, grazing, fuel wood head load removal and in some caseseven destructive gathering of NTFPs. Lack of adequate financial resources hasalso hampered their management and development. People - wildlife interface inseveral cases have given rise to serious conflicts and tension.

vi) The Logging Ban: The growing concern for environmental degradation made itnecessary for the government to lay greater emphasis on the conservation role offorest in preference to their economic role. Forest conservation Act (1980) andNFP (1988) assigned a lower priority for production forestry. As a result suchsilvicultural systems (selection- cum improvement for example) were prescribedwhich stipulated conservative felling intensity and which generally discouragedgreen felling in natural forests. In many situations, total ban on felling wasimposed. As a result these areas received very little attention of foresters as nosilviculture operations were carried out in those areas. However, local communitycontinued using these forests particularly for browse and fuel wood gatheringwithout any restrictions.

As a result of these approaches (1) the areas were further degraded and (2) thequantum of production of timber drastically declined. The wood scarcity made

government to allow liberal import of wood products. On positive side the woodscarcity situation has provided an impetus for development of farm forestry,homestead forestry, agro-forestry and trees outsides forests. Currently about50% of the wood supply in the country is received from non-fore sources. Ofthe rest, a substantial portion is accounted for by imports and the balanceobtained from state forests mainly forest plantations. While logging is beingrestricted in natural forests, there have not been commensurate efforts inmanagement interventions and protection thus making the natural forests furtherdegraded.

vii) Non-Timber Forest Products: With the new emphasis an environmentalconservation, NTFPs have recently emerged as eco-friendly products as theirharvest/gathering are believed to cause less damage to the ecosystem, comparedto logging. NTFPs deserve special mention because of their great potential to

support economic development, consistent with the principles of SFM. They covera wide range of products (goods and services) including bamboo, thatchingmaterials, fruits, seeds, nuts, tubers and medicinal plants.

NTFPs in India play an important role in the social and traditional life of millions offorest department population, particularly the tribal and land less people, womenand other section of rural poor. According to a study by Prasad and Bhatnagar(1991) about 67% of all gatherers are women and 13% are children. Itcontributes over 75% of total forest export revenue in India. Nearly 400 millionpeople living in and around forests in India depend an NTFPs for sustenance andsupplementary income. NTFPs contribute significantly to the income of about 30%of the rural people. Several studies suggest that NTFPs contribute 20-24% ofhousehold income of the rural people (Kaushal and Kala, 2004; Belcher, 2005)More than 80% of forest dwellers depend on NTFPs for basic necessities. NTFP

collection comprises the main source of wage labour of 17% of land less labors,and 39% more are involved in NTFP collection as a subsidiary occupation (Prasadand Phukan, 2000). The high potential of NTFPs in India should be rationally usedthrough scientific approaches aided research, acquisition of technology andpeoples participation.

viii) Peoples Participation: The concept of peoples participation in forestry hasgained acceptance in India and there has been attempts to introduce limitedparticipation as seen in the different models of JFM. However, informed, activeand organized participation is yet to become a favorite of forestry. Local


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organizations such as co operative are still rare in forestry. There is need to domuch more, to fully involve people in SFM. The efforts of self-initiated forestprotection groups in many parts of India should also be recognized as a reliablestrategy for SFM.

ix) Joint Forest Management (JFM): This programme has been gaining ground inIndia, as an effective means of regenerating/rehabilitating degraded forests.

Initiated informally in the early 1970 to enlist the participation of local people inforest rehabilitation efforts, JFM has become the flagship programme of India inpeoples participation since 1990.

Benefits sharing and protection responsibilities are the main basis of participationbut the mechanism differs from state to state. Participation of women and poorersection of society have to be ensured. Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh andChhattisgarh have demonstrated benefits of sharing forest resources throughempowerment of communities.

Joint Forest Management (JFM) is one of the thrust areas of tenth plan of thegovt. of India and it is proposed to continue even in XI Plan period. There areestimated 1,70,000 forest fringe villages, which are all to be involved in themanagement and sustainable development of forest. Till mid 2006 about1,00,000 JFM committees constituted by about 1,25,000 villagers have been

constituted covering an estimated area of over 20 million ha (PlanningCommission, 2006).

It may be possible to meet the target of 33% forest cover by 2012 in case theMoEF streamlines the procedure to bring all forest fringe villages under the ambitof JFM programme. The Ministry of Environment and Forest provides assistancefor afforestation activities through JFM under the centrally sponsored scheme,National Afforestation Programme (NAP) which includes formation of new JointForest Management Committees (JFMCs) as its components. However, thisstrategy is not adopted in some other afforestation programme of the states. JFMneeds to be adopted for all afforestation programmes in addition to the NationalAfforestation Programme (NAP). Community participation in afforestatian withright on the produce will help increasing forest cover and generating income forthe participants.

The findings of JFM impact studies by Singh et al. (2005) and ICCF/IIFM (2006)suggest that the current strategy of decentralized forest management is not ableto ensure active cooperation of the participating communities. In most casescovered by these studies, there is a feeling that JFM continues to be a programmeof State Forest Departments which appear satisfied with the number of JFMCsformed and the area covered. There is strong need felt that the design of theprogramme should be reviewed to ensure democratic participation of thecommunities, greater empowerment for decision making and proper benefitsharing mechanism to ensure flow of benefits to household so that even thelandless persons feel motivated to fully participate in the programme. Properlinkages with Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) for generating a sense ofresponsible ownership among communities over the forest resources are highlyrecommended.

x) Private Forestry Initiatives: A number of private companies, industrial housesand private individuals with large holdings forest farmers and household withhome gardens etc. are now getting involved in raising forest plantations forproducing timber, wood fuel, NTFPs, medicinal plants etc. Currently the area ofprivate tree planting covers an area of over 6 million ha. In addition to thesethere are also other non forest sources of wood, namely rubber, coconut, cashew,mango, jatropha, several woody agricultural bio mass etc. The non forest sourcestogether provide about 50% of total wood supply in the country, and probably an


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equal or large share of NTFPs. There are also a large number of small privatenurseries, meeting the local demand for tree seedlings.

While the Government had dominated the forestry scene for the last 150 years,there is a growing realization now that the private sector should be encouraged toplay a greater role than it has hitherto played. It has been widely accepted thatthere is an urgent need to loosen bureaucratic control and simplify procedures to

allow private sectors to contribute more effectively (Saigal et al., 2002). Thetimber felling and transit rules and regulations need to be further relaxed so thatprivate tree planting becomes attractive and the country becomes self sufficientin wood requirements.

xi) Forest Dependency of communities: Forest dependent communities areinvolved in some cases in an organized manner (through their societies,cooperatives) in collection (also cultivating) and marketing of NTFPs. Most Indianstates have special arrangement to support such activities.

The Tribal Cooperatives Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED)focuses on the economic development of Indias ethnic minorities. Among theeconomic support system created by TRIFED is a national network for theprocurement, processing and marketing of forest produce from tribal areas.TRIFED has established over 5000 single window service centres in traditional

tribal markets in the rural areas of the country. These centres serve the tribalcommunities by procuring their forest and agricultural produce at support pricesand acting as primary agencies for the sale of essential commodities and otherconsumer goods and for extending credit facilities to these communities(Chandrasekharan, 2004).

At State level, another example is of the Madhya Pradesh State Minor ForestProduce (Trading and Development) Co-operation Federation Limited (MP-MFP-CFL) which is an apex organization, having a number of district MFP cooperativeUnions at the intermediate level and many Primary MFP Cooperative Societies atthe grass roots level. This case study (Prasad, 2004) brought out that collectionand trade of NWFP under the monopoly of MP-MFP-CFL has been found to bebetter than under private control. The efforts have shown tremendous potentialfor forest based livelihood of forest dwelling communities.

xii) Legal Instruments: Indian Forest Act 1927, continues to be the main guidinglegislation for forestry issues. While policies have undergone changes, thelegislation has not correspondingly changed. Thus, the laws, rules and regulationsrelating to forestry are incongruous with policy provisions. The laws focus onprevention of offenses rather than an promotion of development. There is thus anurgent need for formulating a new forest enactment when related rules,regulations and procedures could help (a) to facilitate promotion of institutionalautonomy, (b) to remove for participation of the people and private sector inforestry, and (c) to support investment in the sector.

xiii) Human Resource Development: There is a cadre at policy level. Supervisoryprofessionals categorized as Indian Forest Service Officers are recruited by apexGovt. recruitment agency, Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and trained

at Dehra Dun in the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA). For fieldwork implementation there are 3-4 tier professionals, the lowest being the post ofForest Guard with superiors like Foresters/Dy. Rangers and Forest Rangers. Thiscadre is also called front line foresters responsible for the implementation ofForest working plans and related activities. State service officers called AssistantConservator of forests (ACFs) are supervisory field officers. Today, the biggestcrisis is that of the aging cadre of front line foresters staff with average age above55 years for over 60% of staff (case of Madhya Pradesh, the largest cadre isreferred to, but situations are same in most other states). Although all personnelreceive technical forestry training at same stage or the other during their tenure,


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they lack skills required for social engineering being an important requirement forparticipatory forestry. Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) has thrown newchallenges for information gathering interpretations and decision making. Thefield foresters are therefore, ill equipped to implement SFM. The emerging areasof forestry such as carbon sequestration and issues connected with climatechange; IPR and related issues, forest policy analysis capabilities are some of theimportant areas in which most forestry professional lack knowledge and skills.

xiv) Research and Development: Research on multifaceted forestry issues is animportant requirement for SFM. Apart from ICFRE funded by the MoEF withmandate for research in Silviculture, utilization, forest ecology etc. there are anumber of other public institutions engaged on different thematic research areas(IIFM, for application of business management principles to forestry, Wild LifeInstitute of India for management research on PAs). In addition there are severalState Forest Research Institutions and Forestry Research setups in the StateForest Departments who carry out R&D on local forestry issues. Further, thereare several Universities and Institutions engaged on research in the subjects ofbiology and socio-economic studies relating to forestry.

However, the present situation of the forestry sector is a reflection of lack ofsignificant contribution or major breakthrough made by the forest research

institutions. Research is a neglected area of forest sector development. Thepresent research scenario in India is unfortunately very gloomy. ICFRE and itsvarious institutions remain headless for a considerable time (1-3 years). Wild LifeInstitute of India (WII), Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM) and otherinstitutions under Ministry are supposed to be autonomous institutions but inpractice face bureaucratic hurdle commonly seen in other Govt institutions andare not adequately staffed. ICFRE and its institutions require considerablestrengthening in terms of qualified research personnel, facilities andinfrastructure, and equipment and funds. Problem solving task orientation,participation of clients in research planing, demonstration of research results,dissemination and sharing of research information, networking of researchinstitutions, establishment of technology centres to highlight the do how aspect ofresearch are inter alia the areas requiring special attention.

xv) Criteria and Indicators (C&I) For SFM: In conformity with the Internationalthinking on SFM, Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM) took suo-mottoinitiatives to develop National level Criteria and related Indicators in 1998. A setof 8 criteria and 43 related indicators have been developed under Bhopal-India

process. These set of C&I were developed after several rounds of deliberationsin the form of local, regional and national workshops. IIFM also joinedFAO/UNEP/ITTO/USFS in organizing a Regional meeting of 9 countries of the dryzone forest of Asia to evolve C&I in 1999. Govt. of India received an ITTOsponsored research project to be implemented by IIFM Bhopal on operationalizingC&I though community forestry. It was aimed at field testing the C&I for SFM. Anumber of publications have resulted from the project. Some lessons have beenlearned by project staff, but for field foresters it remains to be an academicexercise beyond their comprehension and understanding.

xvi) National Forestry Action Programme (NFAP): In 1999, MoEF issued the NFAPto cover a period of 20 years (four Five Year Plans from the 10th Plan onwards)starting in 2002. The NFAP projected large gaps between demand and supplies oftimber, wood fuel and fodder resources and recommended several strategicaction points to reduce the gap. It also tried to diagnose the causative factors forforestry degradation of forestlands.

In order to address the above problems and restore the forests of desirableextent and contents the National Forestry Action Programme (NFAP, 1999)proposed 5 strategic action plans: viz.)


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Protect existing forest resources

Improve forest productivity

Reduce total demand

Strengthen policy and institutional framework.

Expand forest area.

NFAP recommended an annual need based target of 3 million ha for regeneration,plantation and agro and social forestry programmes in close collaboration withthe local people and stakeholders. It laid emphasis on livelihood based on forestresource management development and use by local people ensuring self-relianceand sustainability.

xvii) Sustained Yield Forestry to Multidisciplinary SFM: In 1795, a Germanforester, George Hartig, came up with the concept of sustainable yield by whichhe meant that in order to ensure continuous wood supply over generations,harvest should not exceed growth. This idea formed the backbone of modernforest management in Europe and in North America (ISCI, 1996) and also inIndia. The principle of sustained yield management, which was the hallmark ofscientific forest management, originated from the vision of the pioneers offorestry profession. The sustained yield principle was enshrined in the working

plan prescriptions in India, and was essentially for timber harvesting. Itessentially meant that the cumulative tree increment should be harvested leavingthe capital intact. In other words, harvesting wood at an average rate, which isnot greater than the forest in question can regenerate it. However, someenvironmentalists consider this concept to be narrow and irrelevant toSustainable Forest Management in a comprehensive sense. They probablyoverlook the fact that the tree, which is the principal source of timber, is anoutcome of ecosystem functioning. In disturbed conditions, the tree may not growto its full potential. If the trees were managed scientifically and sustainable, theecosystem would be fully functional. Thus, the sustained yield principle is an

Some of the main reasons for degradation of forests were asfollows: Loss of nearly 4.5 million ha since 1950, mainly for agriculture and diversion for

development projects.

Per capita forest area is only 0.064 ha, one tenth of the world average of 0.64ha. The need for increasing forest tree cover from existing 19.39% to 33% of theland area (FSI 1999)

The growing stock in Indian forests is 4,740 million cubic meters with aroductivity of 0.07 cubic metre/ha/yr. Against world average of 2.1 cu.m/ha/yr.This is mainly due to non-recycling of biomass in forest soil due to fire, grazing,over exploitation.

Over 78% of the forest area is subjected to unregulated grazing adverselyaffecting productivity and regeneration.

On an average 51% of the forest area suffers from occasional forest fire.

Nearly 10 million ha of forest area is subjected to shifting cultivation.

The availability of forest bio mass per capita is only 6 tonnes in India as againstan average of 82 tonnes in other developing countries.

Land use changes (area under agriculture was 118 in 1950 and now 142 m ha).This diversion has removed buffer community areas adjoining the forest/grass

land. There has been very low financial allocation (less than 1%) under plan budgetary

outlay to the forestry sector development in spite of forests covering nearly 20%of the country land.


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effective proxy for SFM, for optimizing both tangible and intangible values offorests.

Sustained yield forestry is influenced by the silvicultural system adopted. Thesilvicultural system defines the type of operations to be carried out as part ofproduction management of forests. It is a process by which the crop constitutinga forest are tended, removed and replaced by new crops, through natural

regeneration or through plantation. The choice of silvicultural system undertraditional forestry was influenced by the concept of sustained yield. If a forest isto produce sustained yield in perpetuity, it should possess certain characteristics,i.e. normal series of age gradations or age classes, a normal increment and anormal growing stock. Most tropical forests in India worked with the application ofsilvicutlural systems such as (i) clear felling with natural or artificial regeneration;(ii) selection system; (iii) selection-cum-improvement system; and (iv) coppicesystem (simple coppice, coppice with standards, coppice with reserves in CentralIndia).

All these silvicultural systems were aimed at regenerating and replacing the oldgrowth without constraining the sustained yield principle stipulated in workingplan prescriptions. In the 1970s the concept of sustained yield was broadenedfrom basic wood production to the multiple uses of forests such as the production

of forest products (timber and NTFPs) provision of recreational opportunities,protection of the environment etc.

However, traditional sustained yield management focussed primarily on theproduction of commodities has proven inadequate to meet the requirements ofthe present day society for various products, services and other non materialbenefits. Consequently, not neglecting economic aspects of sustainable forestrySFM have been developed. With an objective to ensure continuous supply offorest products (wood and non-wood) as a theme in forest policies.

The general concept of SFM was considered as an important element ofsustainable development (S.D.) in the UNCED in 1992. According to the ForestPrinciples forest resources and lands should be managed sustainably to meetthe social, economic, ecological, cultural and spiritual functions as also maintainand enhance biological diversity. Health and vitality of the forest are widelyrecognized elements of forest policies and management. These are emphasized inmany efforts through which countries and organizations seek both politicalunderstanding and practical means and ways to sustainably manage all types offorest. These efforts include, among other things, the development andimplementation of guidelines, criteria and indicators of sustainable forestmanagement.

Though, there is a common understanding of what constitutes the fundamentalelements of SFM, descriptions of the concept vary due to differences inperspectives of various stakeholders (Government, forest dwellers, NGOs,academicians, industry etc.) in respect of different economic, social, ecologicaland cultural environment and conditions in global and regional forestry dialogue.

1.4 SFM Situation, Monitoring, Evaluation and Assessment

Al the time of Rio Earth Summit (1992) there was little technical understandingwhat SFM means and how it could be practically achieved. Following major researchinitiatives and discussions throughout the globe, SFM is now a better understoodconcept.

SFM can be broadly defined as a management approach to maintain the full rangeof forest values ensuring that ecological, socio-cultural and economic needs of thepresent and future generations can be met from the forest.


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1.4.1 Evolving Concept of SFM

SFM has very high positive externalities. If all costs and benefits, direct and indirect, private and social are taken into consideration, SFM is the most efficient, effectiveand least cost option for management of forest resources. The components of SFM

depend on ecological, social and economic conditions. SFM should cover all aspects offorestry, in an appropriately balanced manner. It needs to incorporate natural forest,large plantations, animals, microflora and fauna, water and soil, as well as traditionalknowledge and heritage. SFM is specific and practical solutions for translating theconcept of sustainability into reality in forestry.

SFM in India would involve.

Production of wood and non-wood forest products, first of meeting subsistenceneeds and the surplus for commercial purposes.

Protection or setting aside areas to be managed as plantation or wildlife reservesfor recreational and environmental purposes.

Regulating the conversion of forest lands for n on forestry uses.

Regeneration of wastelands and degraded forests.

The current level of forest utilization in the country is unsustainable. In order tocontrol and reverse this trend, it is necessary to work at different fronts(Chandasekharan, 1999). Various approaches to achieve SFM would thus includeinventory of resources and bio-prospecting (flora and fauna) to assess the quality andextent of the resource base.

Functional and land capability classification of forests and land use planning toensure healthy and sustainable land use (production, protection, andconservation) systems within acceptable safe minimum standards.

Protection of adequate extent of natural forest for their long term contributions,

including conservation of bio diversity, wetland values and other externalities andcontrolling deforestation.

Management and utilization of forest resources (wood and non wood products,and environmental and recreational services) for maximizing their sustainablecontribution and value addition towards improved welfare of society. Creation ofnew or expansion and enhancement of existing, forest resources and theirintensive and scientific management to meet industrial and commercial needs,particularly through raising of plantations (providing wood and non woodproducts) an d including waste free and sustainable harvesting and efficient use.

Promotion of efforts for producing forest goods and services outside forest areas(e.g. agroforestry plantations, home gardens) and development of potentialsubstitutes for wood from non-forest sources (e.g. rubber wood, coconut wood).

Waste reduction and waste recycling programmes

Feasible medium for encouraging participation of peoples and the private sector.

A proper and realistic system for cost, values and benefits attributable to forestryto ensure a strong ecology-economy interface.

Forest management is no longer seen as a timber oriented activity, yet totalprotection of natural forests in practical terms, for conservation purpose alone isimpossible in the region.


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The natural forests in most developing countries are inadequately managed. TheForest Resource Assessment (FAO, 1995) further indicated that the growing stock perhectare has increased steadily in almost all developed countries. In developing countries,however, apart from a net loss of forest area and associated stock, there has been areduction in the quality of growing stock and bio -mass per unit area of the remainingforest. Instead of measures to address the causes of forest depletion, a restriction has

been imposed on extraction of timber from natural forests. Without means and properinstruments to implement this decision, the result in several cases has only been astoppage of investment and scientific management practices. This resulted indeterioration of forests, especially when unrecorded withdrawals/removals arecontinuing.

The major issues in Indian forests. These will also help us to suggest a set ofCriteria and Indicators (C & I) for sustainable management of forests in India.

1) Extent of Forest and Tree Cover: Forest resource expansion is possiblethrough plantations. Forest plantations have been initiated to create and toexpand the forest resource base, especially to fulfil the needs of the people andas a reliable source of industrial raw material. Forest plantations established

under a system of clear felling followed by artificial regeneration, or byafforestation of bare lands, wastelands, grasslands and other degraded lands,have been common in the past.

Plantations can also be seen as a means to conservation of natural forests,because of their several advantages:

Plantations supplement production from natural forests, thus, reducing thepressure on the latter.

They allow choice of species of desired characteristics for an area.

Homogeneity of production is ensured through plantations.

Harvesting is less expensive in case of a carefully planned plantation.

Vegetation growth and yield can be manipulated using appropriate inputs.

However, plantation forestry involves much larger investments than natural forestmanagement and needs continuous protection and upkeep. Yet, plantations can providea solution to the resource scarcity faced by the country. The same piece of land may beclaimed for many other purposes, as land scarcity is also a major issue here. For makingsufficient land available for undertaking plantations the following potential areas can besuggested to supplement the natural regeneration:

village common lands

degraded private lands

margins of roads, railways, canals and tanks

vacant lands belonging to schools, offices and hospitals,

By appropriate selection of species and system (mixture of species, rotation,input levels, method of planting and maintenance), it will be possible to raise, need -oriented plantations or mixed tree crops in the dry areas through social forestryprogrammes.

Area under tree cover can also be improved by rehabilitating and enriching treegrowth in marginal and degraded forest lands, promoting tree plantations in farming


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systems, expanding and intensifying agroforestry and homestead forestry, and plantingtrees in the periphery of urban centres. Expansions of State-forests are constrained dueto lack of resources, land and financial allocation. However, private participation(community, individuals and corporate) in sustainable forest development could be areliable strategy. These efforts could be invigorated by offering different incentives suchas (legal and policy, institutional, financial marketing etc).

Desertification is becoming a serious threat in the region, and controlling itsspread has become a Herculean task. Restriction should be imposed on harvesting oftrees from protected (forests, from areas falling beyond a specific degree of slope andother fragile areas like riverbanks, margins of reservoirs, wetland, fragile watersheds,etc. The objective of natural resource conservation and protection of biodiversity can beserved at least partially by cultivation of Non Wood Forest Product (NWFP) species andthrough development of NWPFs in agro-forestry to diversify the resource and economicbase.

2) Forest Health and Vitality: The various factors causing damage to the dryforests, and against which protection is required, include pests and diseases andnatural causes such as drought and flood. Forest fire, overgrazing and otherextractive activities like pilferage, deforestation, encroachment, and shifting

cultivation are all anthropogenic factors that are negatively affecting the region' sforests. Insects, pests and diseases assume epidemic proportions when the healthand vitality of ecosystem are in a poor condition. The epidemic proportions ofSal(Shorea robusta) heartwood borer, Teak skeletonizer and defoliator are some ofthe common examples of manifestations of reduced vigour of trees in thedegraded forest areas of Central India (Prasad, 1998). Stability of the resourcebase is very important for sustainable production, especially in the dry region.Improved forest health and vitality can be achieved through rehabilitation andenhancement of degraded lands, as well as through measures to remove orcontrol factors that cause degradation.

3) Forest Resource Productivity: Sustainability and productivity are intricatelylinked. Productivity has aspect of both quantity and quality (physical scale). Thereis an urgent need to improve and sustain productivity of the dry forests of theregion. These forests have high biological potential, but their present growth andproductivity is far below the demand for various reasons. Productivity of forestshas to be increased in terms of volume of wood and non-wood products andservices, and this increase should be consistent with the environment, as soundbasis for long -term development.

A sustainable increase in forest productivity can be achieved by upgradingtechnology, appropriate silvicultural manipulation of species, rotation and tendingschedules and stand improvement operations along with infrastructure development.Each forest management unit needs to be managed to achieve its highest level ofefficiency and sustainability in accordance with the main function assigned to it.

Dedicated efforts are required to replant the existing, poor quality plantations

and to increase quality and productivity. Insufficient land availability may, however,necessitate intensive and integrated land use and development to optimize benefits.Considering increasing population and the consequent heavy pressure on land in theAsian region, there seems no other alternative feasible except intensive forestry, aswe can no longer afford to keep productive lands under low levels of production. Themanagement prescriptions also need to be reviewed continuously and improved on thebasis of research and new information to increase the level of sustainable yield fromthe existing and newly created resource base.

Proper management planning that is necessary for sustained productivity should


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address all relevant issues like halting forest degradation and -waste -free utilization offorest resources. Natural forests need to be managed so that they continue to providedirect and indirect benefits on a sustainable basis. Today, sustainable yieldmanagement means: to be ensured that a continuous flow of timber (wood) and non-wood products is available, while supporting biodiversity conservation and otherecological services. Introduction of the quality aspect to productivity yields a differentscale of productivity-compared to the one based on physical measures only (Prasad,

1999).

4) Forest Resource Conservation: Forest resource is essentially heterogeneous asit covers soil and water, ecosystems, trees, shrubs, herbs, microflora and wildlife,biodiversity, knowledge about flora and fauna and intellectual property. Hence,conservation extends beyond sustaining productivity, since it highlights the needfor air, soil and water conservation, maintaining essential ecological process andlife support systems, control of global warming, affording protection of flora andfauna, conserving biodiversity, management of parks and wildlife and muchmore. The concept of safe minimum standard for resource conservationprovides a socially determined demarcation between imperatives to preserve andenhance natural resource systems, and the free play of resource tradeoffs.

(a) Soil and water conservation: Soil and water in several parts of the region,particularly in mountain watershed, river valleys, arid areas and ravines lands,have undergone considerable degradation. Deforestation has not only resulted ina fall in forest resource stock and its sustainable level of production, but has alsoaffected the environment in these areas in various ways. This includes soildegradation, fall in agricultural productivity, damage to relatively fragileecosystems, impoverishment of fish and wildlife population, negative impacts onthe quantity and quality of water resources, and deterioration of the micro-climate and other environmental services of forests. Forest depletion andconsequent soil erosion in the mountainous regions has resulted in the siltation ofwater reservoirs and in their reduction of storage capacity and hydroelectricgenerations.

Millions of hectares of land in the region is situated in ecologically fragile areas ofmountain ranges, valleys and Ghats. Soil and water conservation assumes greatimportance in these areas. Apart from the economic and industrial plantations,there is a need to promote a massive programme of tree planting on a voluntarybasis for environmental amelioration and use of watershed managementtechnology for land rehabilitation and soil conservation.

Rehabilitation of degraded lands for soil and water conservation would necessitatethe following actions:

Control of deforestation

Protective afforestation and soil conservation

Improvement of marginal lands through tree planting

Rejuvenation of soil through supplements and Nitrogen -fixing trees

Rehabilitation of saline environment through the introduction of halophyticshrubs

Protection of fields from wind through properly -designed wind breaks,shelter belts and row planting

Promotion of farm forestry and agro forestry

(b) Bio Diversity Conservation: It is very difficult to probe beneath the staticdescriptions of any ecosystem and assess its long-term 'health'. Bio diversityconservation is important to ensure that the underlying components of living


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resources i.e. habitat, species and genetic diversity are maintained.

Loss of genetic resources accentuated by forest degradation poses a gravethreat to food security in the region. Destroying a "Keystone species" triggersoff a deadly "domino effect" where other species and genes, along with theentire ecosystem crumble into extinction. These losses close off various littleunderstood options for the future generations. Once genetic resources and their

variability are lost, the promises of biotechnology will be aborted. Protection ofthese resources is an investment for continued life on earth (Umali, 1991).

At the national level, it will be difficult to separate the issues of environmentaldegradation and poverty alleviation. Poor people-faced with marginalenvironmental conditions will have no choice but to go for immediate economicbenefits at the expense of the long-run sustainability of their livelihoods.Creation and Management of Protected Areas (PAs) of all representativeecotypes in the country; lining by corridors of natural or planted forests toextending conservation efforts to all the surrounding areas of P As, man- madeforest areas and other areas is of special significance.

In the context of NTFP development, conservation of natural forests and theirspecies richness is very important. Many of the plants providing NTFPs are foundonly in the primary forests of the dry regions. Some of them can only thrive

within natural habitat and do not lend themselves to domestication of any sort.Their growth and cultivation in plantations depend heavily on regular infusion ofgermplasm from the wild gene reservoirs. Only the continued existence of speciesvariability in the wild will allow plant breeders to have a better chance for creatingnew, disease resistant and high yielding varieties for the future. Thus, the geneticwealth and variability are also crucial for the development of NTFP (F AO, 1996).

5) Forest Resource Utilization: Forest harvesting system in the region should beimproved and wastage reduced. Income generation through non-destructive usesof forests should only be promoted. Rational development of NWFP throughintegrated forest management and agroforestry system carried out in a phased,flexible and socio-economically acceptable manner, can considerably contribute to

the welfare of the indigenous communities in the Asian subcontinent. Forestrybased small -scale enterprises has considerable potential as a means of improvingwelfare of the communities.

It is essential to view forest harvesting as a part of a renewal operation and anessential part of management of the resource, and not as deforestation. Some degreeof production orientation to harvesting can also promote an integrated and waste -freeutilization of the resource. Careful planning is, however, needed at the operationallevel. Prescriptions for post harvest operations are important to ensure that thesustainability of the resource is maintained.

Forest-based processing industries need to have strong backward and forwardlinkages and, should be capable of addressing the problems of underdevelopment.There may be a need to restructure existing enterprises and to develop new ones touse forest resources as an important means for development. Innovation, residuecontrol, plantation research, transfer of technology are parts of an importantinstrumental restructuring that would improve efficiency of forest based industries inthe region. There may be a need to phase out obsolete mills and non-performingestablishments, and to establish new processing units as growth centres. Research anddevelopment and a meaningful involvement of local community, with non-subsidyincentive packages are important.

Harvesting of NTFPs (from both wild and cultivated sources) is different from


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wood harvest, in terms of the use of tools and equipment, technology, pre-harvestpreparation and post harvest treatments and requirements of immediate processing.Harvesting is a particularly weak link in the utilization of NTFPs, due to the variety oftools, techniques and situations involved. Sustainable management and utilization ofNTFPs as a renewable resource, essential for meeting human needs, demand scientificknowledge, technology, skills and research support. Efficiency in production impliesimproving productivity, reducing wastes and indirect costs and registering an increase in

the economic rate of return through processing and value addition. A code of practice forsustainable forest harvestneeds to be developed and waste -free and low impact loggingand harvest should be promoted. Research, demonstration and promotion are needed toenhance understanding and to support and encourage efficiency in forest harvesting andprocessing.

6) Generation of Income And Employment In Forestry: As the pressure onforest will further increase, it may become necessary to commercialize all forestsproducts and services and to develop intensive management at the forest / farminterfaces for increasing production of both agricultural and forests goods. Even incases where forest areas can be set aside and managed for the local and by thecommunity, each forest area must at least breakeven on costs.

Socio-economic contribution of forests should aim at making the lives ofcommunities living in and near forest area increasingly comfortable. A socio-economicenvironment needs to be created that would provide conditions perfect and sought bythe community including diversity and flexibility in their economic activity. Forestry hastremendous potential to alleviate poverty through the creation of both on-farm and off-farm employment and income (Prasad, 1999 c)

Income can be earned as wages in forest plantations. Forest -based growthcentres can be created and developed to solve the problems of backward andunderdeveloped regions. People can be involved and employed in a chain of activities ofseed collection, nursery operations, seeding, sales, plantation and maintenance oftrees/plantation, tending operations, infrastructure development, logging andtransportation, etc. Harvesting of NTFPs, primary and down stream processing of

varying scales and sophistication, etc., also offer immense employment potential forthe local people. Simple value addition options for NTFPs carried out at primarycollector's level enhances income of gatherers and ensures sustainable harvestingpractices (Prasad et al. 1999 a).

Forestry activities can be specially planned and organized to benefit rural womenand the landless. On farm income, for example, can be generated through treegrowing and agro forestry enterprises; and off -farm through forest -based, small scaleand cottage level enterprises, developed particularly on NTFP, bamboo, canes and smalltimber.

Forest-related entrepreneurship development requires increase of wood and non-wood forest products. Increased sources also increase employment, incentives,

downstream activities and welfare. This will support further expansions of forestryresource base.

Wood fuel supply to urban centres also provides year-round employment to landless labourers and marginal farmers. In the absence of other gainful rural employmentopportunities to the poor and the tribal, fuel wood head loading offers sustainedemployment. In many cases, such practices are said to be the main factor leading toforest degradation. Improving biomass supply through agroforestry and its variants canminimize this unnecessary pressure on natural forests.


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7) Forest Policy, Legislation and Institutional Framework: Earlier forestpolices tended to consider timber production as primary contribution of forests.During the second half of this century, however, there has been considerableinflux of ideas and information that guided a change in policies and instructions.This has been partly due to development of technology and changes in socio-economic concepts and values. There has been increased acceptance of conceptssuch as decentralized people's participation, involvement of the private sector,

development roles of NGOs, sustainable development, economic efficiency, socialequity and environmental conservation.

The forests largely owned and managed by the government with people'sinvolvement in forestry being essentially restricted to homesteads, common landplantations, agro-forestry and farm forestry. Forest policy development andimplementation are the responsibility of the government. A formal mechanism shouldexist for regular revision of the policy in the light of new circumstances or availability ofnew information. While the whole process of policy development and review/revisioncalls for a strong and continued political will and commitment, leadership to guide andfacilitate the process is equally important. It is important to involve in discussion, allthose who are and will be affected by the policy and to obtain their views and opinionson one hand and to provide them clarification and elaboration on the other. The policy

should be based on the philosophy of people -based development and forestmanagement should be able to facilitate and benefit from people's participation. Thepolicy imperatives for the country reflect the goals of environmental conservation,economic development and" social progress. Hence, their major and interrelatedimperatives are sustainability, efficiency and people's participation.

Policy priorities should be decided in a holistic and balanced manner, within theoverall context of environment and development. Periodic monitoring of policymeasures should be done by an institutionalized mechanism. The legitimate range ofinterests should be allowed, including those of local inhabitants and efforts should bemade to bring about their effective participation in all stages of policy formulation andimplementation process.

The forest laws, rules and regulation should be reviewed and revised to be intune with the new forest policies, such that they will act as an instrument to facilitateforestry sector development. Forest laws need to be consolidated and updated andmade uniform all over a country. Also, the process of development of forest laws, rulesand regulations should be made simple.

The changing forestry scenario calls for the assignment of several new roles tothe forestry organization. The State Forest Departments need to undergo structuralchanges and for this it is necessary that organizational structure, linkages, orientation,inter-institutional relationships and mission, are suitably fine- tuned.

As emphasized in the World Bank's Forest Policies Paper, the frontier ofdevelopment in forestry sector is not technology, but institutions and their human

capital. Admittedly, technology and technological progress are important, but the desiredlinks of technological changes will not take place without an adequate and supportiveinstitutional environment, opportunity to private and public sector to play importantroles, and community participation in development.

Substantial restructuring may be necessary to allow for active participation of theprivate sector, co-operative sector, small farms and NGOs, in forest development. Thereis a need to create an appropriate business environment in the sector for attractinginvestment.


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Forestry sector should co-ordinate with other important sectors of the nationaleconomy to avoid conflicts and to ensure mutually beneficial development. A form ofinstitutionalized participation in operational units should be promoted by giving longterm lease or rights to the people, to enable then to join as partners. Enterprisedevelopment in the forestry sector should be organized under a system of autonomousand self financed enterprises, which will promote the participation of the private sector,the co-operative sector, the people and NGOs in the functioning of the system.

There is a need to strengthen existing forestry education and training byproviding adequate facility in terms of trained teaching staff, improved course contentand curriculum. There is a need to establish facilities for training trainers and enhancingresearch guidance capabilities. It is essential to deploy adequately trained people for alltechnical jobs in the field, such as nursery operations, wild life conservation, forestplantations, agroforestry and related activities etc. Also those with skills in other areasand dimensions should be employed in forestry to enhance overall inter-sectoral abilities.Education and training facilities and resources should be reviewed, rationalized andupgraded periodically to cater to the changing needs of forestry sector.

8) Private Sector Participation: The private sector-comprising community,individual farmers, industrial farms, cooperatives, NGOs etc. have a

comparative advantage over the government agencies in managing forestryenterprises. Homestead forestry and agro -forestry have developed as people orprivate initiatives. For gaining better productivity and self sufficiency, and that toowith limited support from the government community organizations have showntheir competence in managing seed centres, production of planting materials,establishing forestry plantation and undertaking consultancies (Chandrasekharan,1999).

However, a number of Government regulations act as dis-incentives and barriersto afforestation of wastelands. These included restriction on species that can be felledfrom private lands, timber transit rules, etc. These restrictions need to be reduced to thebarest minimum. Appropriate incentives, like improved planting material and providingtechnical information and support could motivate farmers to expand farm forestry. Tree

growing is still not a lucrative land use option. The role of trees grown on private landsneeds to be viewed from their contribution to amelioration of climate extremes, incarbon sequestration, regulation of run-off and preventing soil wash, and in increasingthe supply of tree products to the market. Apart from legal and policy facilitation for treegrowing and harvest, financial, infrastructure, and marketing facilitation incentives alsoneed to be provided to motivate private participation in sustainable forestrydevelopment.

There is a greater need to involve women, disadvantaged groups, tribalcommunities, local people, private organizations and NGOs in the planning andoperation of forestry development programmes.

9) Role of Forestry Research and Technology Development: Technological

innovation and development is a strategically important dimension of forestrydevelopment and it is to be made possible by research. Forestry in the regioncritically needs research support to improve productivity, reduce losses andwastage, maximize utilization, to improve quality and value of plantations, forsustainable management of forest resources, improved conservation of geneticresources and wildlife, development of NTFPs and diversification of plantations.Research support is also essential for carrying out basic surveys and studies (e.g.on biodiversity, land sustainability, inventory and bio prospecting), for providingbasic technical data (e.g. growth and yield under different managementintensities) and for documenting and validating indigenous knowledge. Further,


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resource input is essential for producing and supplying improved and certifiedseeds, for in situ and ex situ conservation of genetic resources and for thetransfer of technology to the users.

Research input is especially vital for the following areas: homestead forestry/agroforestry, watershed management, protective and restrictive afforestation, high yieldplantations, sustainable NTFP management, wildlife conservation and management,

multipurpose forest management, genetic resource conservation and forestryinteractions at interfaces with other sectors. Forest policy, forest economics andmanagement are other important areas requiring research support.

10) Public Awareness, Information And Technology Dissemination/Extension: Public awareness and forestry extension, are closely related aspectsaimed at mobilizing willing support and co-operation from the people and forfostering better understanding. Media, exhibitions, fairs/carnivals or other publicactivities, annual tree planting festivals, incorporating forestry subjects incurriculum of schools and colleges, all these are important for sustaining forestmanagement.

Forestry extension can act as an outreach programme for dissemination ofresearch results and technological innovations at the rural level. Feedback from the ruralrecipients of extension/ technology aids research institutions in developing and providingthem with improved technology. Effective extension support is needed to improvepeople's tree and conservation consciousness, and improve rural income/employmentthrough forestry related activities. Ultimately, this will increase awareness and efforts topromote the sustainable management of forest resources.

11) Monitoring, Evaluation and Assessment: Realization of ecological, economicand socio- cultural values of forests necessitated the revision of 1952 NationalForest Policy. This resulted into NFP of 1988. Flowing from that came therecognition of local community is role in conservation and sustainabledevelopment of forests and related national resource management. Thegovernment resolution of 01 June 1990 on participatory forest management with

programme named as Joint Forest Management (JFM) came as the path breakingforestry initiative. NFP (1988) and JFM (1990) laid strong foundation for SFM.Armed with these positive developments at home, the Indian delegation at Rioearth summit played key role in shaping the Agenda 21 (1992). The call wasmade for the formation of scientifically sound Criteria, Indicators, andGuideline for moving the management of forests towards sustainability. ITTOhad already pioneered the development of Criteria and Indicators(C&I) for SFM offorests in 1991. India being a producer member country of the ITTO, iscommitted to its year 2000- objective, i.e. to ensure that all timber (also NTFPs)should come from sustainably managed forests. To honour this nationalcommitment and to synchronize Indias SFM efforts with the rest of the world.,IIFM took initiative to develop a set of C&I and named it Bhopal Indiaprocess of SFM in 1998. The set of C&I initially developed were refined in

workshops organized at JFM committee levels,, with differentState Forest Departments (SFDs) and in forestry and academic institutions .Finally, 8 criteria and 43 indicators (details available at www.iifm.ac.in) wereaccepted. In 1999, IIFM jointed FAO, UNEP, ITTO and USFS to develop C&I fordry zone Asia (called dry zone asia initiative) participated by 09 counties (India,Bhutan, Bangladesh, Srilanka, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, China, Pakistan,Mangolia) This initiative validated the set of C&I developed under Bhopal- Indiaprocess.


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ECONOMIC VALUE OF FORESTS/GREEN ACCOUNTINGAND NON MARKET VALUATION OF FORESTS

Dr. Ram Prasad, Principal National Consultant

Forests and wild life area natural national wealth or stock. However, unlike many

other goods and services, the forest resources may not have a ready market. The use,overuse, misuse, or abuse of such natural resources is a flow towards the welfare ofsociety. Since their use uses adds to the welfare and abuse reduces it, their valuationand accounting on the line of capital formation is necessary to understand the state ofwelfare of the nation. Forest has very high resource inter connection and the dynamicsof an economic system is heavily dependent on forest conditions. It is therefore logical toassume that SFM will have very strong influence on national economy. Economicvaluation of forests is not an academic exercise but its is also a tool to asses the landforests for t heir contribution to national economy as an alternative land use option. Inview of competing land use practices forests occupying about th of the total land areait is always a question as to what is the total contribution of forests to the GDP. Thisinformation if available can make a case for the quantum of investment in this sector.Often, the Forest Departments are complaining about poor allocation to forestry sector

as planning commission of the Govt. of India reckons only the revenue realized fromharvesting of timber and non timber forest products.

The forest services and their interconnection to the other economic sector is ofnot taken into account. Despite making considerable contribution to the ecology,economic and socio-cultural development of the country, the forests hardly get duerecognition of their contribution in national income (GNP) The value of forest reflected inthe System of National Accounts (SNA) represents less than 10% of the real value. In2002-2003 forests contributed INR 270,130 million to Indias GDP at the current prices,which was 1.2% of the total GDP. The contribution of forest to Indias GDP has variedfrom 1.0-1.5% over the Nine Year period from 1993-94 to 2002-2003. Similarly thecontribution of forestry and logging to Indias Net Domestic Product (NDP) also variedfrom 1.6 1.3% during the same period.

The current approach for accounting of forestry sector contribution to GDP grosslyunder estimates its contribution to the national economy as many tangible benefits areunderestimated through some thumb rules have been used by central statisticalorganization (CSO) to consider value of unrecorded benefits like timber, fuel wood,fodder etc. But ecological services are completely ignored on account of lack of marketsavailable for them. In order to assess the total economic valuation makes sense so as toprovide the sector its due recognition and to receive adequate compensation in case offorest degradation.

In a study done by Chopra et. Al. (2002) the forest wealth of India was valued atINR 259845.30 million. Net of repairs, maintenance and other operational costs, thegross domestic product from the forestry sector came to INR 230034.30 million of thegross value, some 52.21% was out put of fuel wood, 9.27% was industrial wood,

15.91% was NTFPs Eco-tourism and Carbon sequestration accounted for 13.85% and6.7% respectively. This study tried to correct the CSOs estimate of 1.2% of GDPbetween 1996-97 - 1993-94) to 2.37%. However even this assessment has been foundto be an underestimation.

In an earlier study Verma (2000) assessed the forestry contribution to the stateeconomy of Himachal Pradesh, a mountainous state. This assignment was part of DFID-India assisted forestry project. The total economic value o (TEV) of multiple contributionof forests to the economy of Himachal Pradesh was arrived at INR 1066,640 million.Total Direct benefits as INR 98,9240 million. Thus, forests contribution was assessed to


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be 92.40% of the total gross state domestic products. (GSDP) This study had followedthe methodological frame work suggested by FAO (1995) in which the direct valuesassociated with consumptive uses and non consumptive uses were taken into account.Indirect values such as watershed function, soil protection, gas exchange and carbonsequestration, bio diversity values, soil productivity etc were suggested for theirinclusion in the study. Some intrinsic values were also suggested for consideration.

Another study was done by Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research(IGIDR) Mumbai in 1999 for Maharashtra Forests. According to this study in 1993 thevalue of timber, fuel wood and NTFP was calculated to be INR 35,000 Million as againstthe estimate of INR 14000 million reported in the conventional system of NationalAccounts (SNA). According to the IGIDR (1999) report forests of Maharashtracontributed some 3.56% to state GDP earlier estimates of 1.46% of National System ofDomestic Product Calculation (NSDP).

1.1 The Value of Forests including the unrecorded value ofRemovals

On account of absence of any frame work of natural resources accounting, the

present system of income accounting in Forestry sector only takes note of contributionssuch as recorded removals of industrial wood, fuel wood and certain category of NTFPs.That too, only recorded removals are taken into account leaving large amount ofunrecorded removals for which no valuation and accounting is done. Ecological servicessuch as watershed benefits, eco tourism value of bio diversity and habitat etc are nottaken into account.

In India forests meet nearly 40% of the energy needs of the country of whichmore than 80% is utilized in the rural areas and about 30% of fodder needs of theCountrys total livestock population. In addition, a range of non timber products arecollected by forest dwellers partly for their own consumption and partly sell in themarket for cash income. Land less labourers and marginal farmers also get gainfulemployment in a number of forestry activities. IN forested areas where agriculture is ofmarginal consequence, forestry engage the surplus labour force and this in many caseshelp in reducing migration of population to other areas it is estimated that about 270million tones of fuel wood, 280 million tones of fodder, over 12 million cubic metre oftimber and a range of NTFPs, several hundred thousand tones are removed from forestsannually. At a conservative level of pricing (Say INR 500/t fuel and fodder and INR5000/t NTFPs) the direct market value of these commodities will approximatelyaggregate to over INR 300,000 million per annum MoEF, 1999) This figure however,does not consider the huge unrecorded removals of NTFPs for subsistence need, andother good and services (watershed benefits, eco-tourism, carbon sequestration andother ecosystem services. If all the direct and indirect contributions from India forestsare quantified, the standing forests of India accounting to the estimates made by DownTo Earth (2005) be worth INR 59201.902 billion As a matter of fact in the current systemof National Economic Account, there exists insufficient accounting of tangible benefits,non recording of intangible benefits, non recording of unauthorized extraction,

insufficient recordings of losses in the forests. Above all there is lack of system of flowand stock accounting system. For reflecting true contribution of forest of India itsNational Income such that proper budget allocation can be made in relation to itsconsideration it is imperative to value such contributions and set up an integratedsystem Economic and Environmental Accounting of forests of India.


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1.2 Issues relating to Forest Resources Accounting

The estimation of Gross Value added from the Forestry and logging sector ispresently carried out by the production approach. It aims at estimating the value ofoutput at factor costing the first instance and then deducting the value of various inputsin the present system are as follows.

Forestry operations: Regeneration, planting, conservation forest productgathering etc.

Logging: Harvesting, transport, sale depot, handling etc.

Farm wood: Industrial wood and fuel wood collected by primary producers.

Central statistical organization of Govt. of India is mandated to collect data fromthe State Forest Department on a financial year basis. However, this data is based onauthorized or recorded removal and a substantial quantity of production as unrecordedremoval goes unnoticed. Further due to various limitations and inadequacies, the data onunrecorded removal (fuel wood, grazing, NTFPs, Poles, bamboo) is not reliable. Moststudies carried out by Forest survey of India (FSI), State Forest Research Institutes,State Forest Departments, IIRM and several NGOs were based on samples lacking

scientific rigor.

Currently the data available from the state forest department on production andprices suffer from other limitations as well. One such limitation is that species wiseproduction and prices are often lacking. Forest timber in the country has a lot ofvariability with regard to their quantity and the prices. Depending upon the climaticconditions and other factors, trees of same species may have variable market prices onaccount of varying site quality.

1.3 Limitations of Existing System of Forest Resource Accounting

a) Under estimation of the true contribution: The value of forest reflected inthe System of National Accounts (SNA) less than 10% of the real values. The

under valuation of material goods alone from the forests of India is reflected intheir estimated (real) value of about US $43.8 billion, compared to forestryrecorded share of GNP of US $ 2.9 billion representing only about 1.3% of thetotal GNP. The difference (between the estimated and recorded contribution) willincrease further if an imputed value is assigned for the contribution of the foreststo the society, mostly in terms of ecological service provided.

b) Inadequacy of the System of National Accounts (SNA): This accountingsystem treats the cultivated forests and natural forests quite differently. Forcultivated forests (Plantations) the SNA records both production and changes inthe forests stock so that, consequences of depletion or reforestation areaccounted. For natural forest, however, the SNA record

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