Institutions And Measures - 1 | Environment for UPSC CSE PDF Download

NATIONAL WILDLIFE ACTION PLAN

• The first National Wildlife Action Plan (NWAP) was adopted in 1983, based upon the decision taken in the XV meeting of the Indian Board for Wildlife held in 1982. The plan had outlined the strategies and action points for wildlife conservation which are still relevant.
• In the meanwhile, however, some problems have become more acute and new concerns have become apparent, requiring a change in priorities. Increased commercial use of natural resources, continued growth of human and livestock populations and changes in consumption patterns are causing greater demographic impacts. Biodiversity conservation has thus become a focus of interest. The National Forest Policy was also formulated in 1988, giving primacy to conservation.
• The first National Wildlife Action Plan (NWAP) of 1983 has been revised and the Wildlife Action Plan (2002-2016) has been adopted.

Strategy for Action

• Adopting and implementing strategies and needs outlined above will call for action covering the following parameters:
  i Strengthening and Enhancing the Protected Area Network
  ii Effective Management of Protected Areas
  iii Conservation of Wild and Endangered Species and Their Habitats
  iv Restoration of Degraded Habitats outside Protected Areas
  v Control of Poaching, Taxidermy and Illegal Trade in Wild Animal and Plant Species
  vi Monitoring and Research
  vii Human Resource Development and Personnel Planning viii Ensuring Peoples’ Participation in Wildlife Conservation
  ix Conservation Awareness and Education
  x Wildlife Tourism
  xi Domestic Legislation and International Conventions
  xii Enhancing Financial Allocation for Ensuring Sustained Fund Flow to the Wildlife Sector
  xiii Integration of National Wildlife Action Plan with Other Sectoral Programmes

NATIONAL AFFORESTATION AND ECO-DEVELOPMENT BOARD

• The Ministry of Environment and Forests constituted the National Afforestation and Eco-development Board (NAEB) in August 1992. National Afforestation and Ecodevelopment Board has evolved specific schemes for promoting afforestation and management strategies, which help the states in developing specific afforestation and management strategies and eco-development packages for augmenting biomass production through a participatory planning process of Joint Forest Management and microplanning

National Afforestation Programme

• A National Afforestation Programme (NAfP) was launched in 2002, which involves plantation in degraded forests of the country.
• NAfP is a flagship programme of National A fforestation and Eco-development Board (NAEB) and provides physical and capacity building support to the Forest Development Agencies (FDAs), which are the implementing agencies.

COMPENSATORY AFFORESTATION FUND MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING AUTHORITY (CAMPA)

• While according prior approval under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 for diversion of forest land for nonforest purpose, Central Government stipulates conditions that amounts shall be realised from the user agencies to undertake compensatory afforestation and such other activities related to conservation and development of forests, to mitigate impact of diversion of forest land.
• In April 2004, the central government, under the orders of the Supreme Court, constituted the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) for the management of money towards compensatory afforestation, and other money recoverable, in compliance of the conditions stipulated by the central government and in accordance with the Forest (Conservation) Act,
• CAMPA as envisaged by the Supreme Court of India vide its order dated 29/30.10.2002, could not become operational due to non-passing of Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill 2008 in the Parliament. But it got lapsed.
• In compliance of Orders passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court these amounts are deposited in the State-wise accounts operated by an Ad-hoc Authority consisting of two officials of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change one representative of the Comptroller and Auditor General and one representative of the Chairperson of the Central Empowered Committee.
• In the absence of permanent institutional mechanism more than Rs.40,000 crores have accumulated with the said ad-hoc Body.
• In order to provide for the establishment of funds under the public accounts of India and the public accounts of each State and crediting thereto the monies received from the user agencies towards compensatory afforestation, additional compensatory afforestation, penal compensatory afforestation, net present value and all other amounts recovered from such agencies under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 Central Government introduced the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2015 in the LokSabha on 8th May 2015. The Bill also provides for constitution of an authority at national level and at each of the State and Union territory Administration for administration of the funds and to utilise the monies so collected for undertaking artificial regeneration (plantations), assisted natural regeneration, protection of forests, forest related infrastructure development, Green
  India Programme, wildlife protection and other related activities and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

Salient features

• These Funds will receive payments for:
  (i) compensatory afforestation,
  (ii) net present value of forest (NPV), and
  (iii) other project specific payments. The National Fund will receive 10% of these funds, and the State Funds will receive the remaining 90%.
• These Funds will be primarily spent on afforestation to compensate for loss of forest cover, regeneration of forest ecosystem, wildlife protection and infrastructure development.
• The Bill also establishes the National and State Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authorities to manage the National and State Funds.

JOINT FOREST MANAGEMENT (JFM)

• JFM is an initiative to institutionalize participatory governance of country’s forest resources by involving the local communities living close to the forest.
• This is a co-management institution to develop partnerships between forest fringe communities and the Forest Department (FD) on the basis of mutual trust and jointly defined roles and responsibilities with regard to forest protection and regeneration.
• JFM started in consonance with the National Forest Policy 1988, which has recognized the importance of involving the local communities and the government has issued necessary resolutions and guidelines subsequently to initiate such institutions and strengthen it further.
• Most of the states in India have adopted JFM and issued resolutions permitting such partnership as per the prescribed guidelines though the institutional structure varies across the states.
• Under JFM, both forest departments and local communities come to an agreement to form the committee to manage and protect forests by sharing the costs and benefits.
• Forest departments take the initiative to form such committees directly by talking to the local community or through the help of NGOs working in specific areas.
• NGOs are also involved for capacity building, information dissemination, monitoring and evaluation and often act as the facilitators in constituting these participatory institutions.
• One of the key objectives of the JFM programme is the rehabilitation of degraded forestlands with people’s participation involving Forest Protection Committees.
• JFM brings a win-win situation for both forest departments as well as the local communities in terms of greater access to minor forest produces from these regenerated forests.

SOCIAL FORESTRY

• The National Commission on Agriculture, Government of India, first used the term ‘social forestry’ in 1976.
• It was then that India embarked upon a social forestry project with the aim of taking the pressure off the forests and making use of all unused and fallow land.
• Government forest areas that are close to human settlement and have been degraded over the years due to human activities needed to be afforested.
• Trees were to be planted in and a round agricultural fields. Plantation of trees along railway lines and roadsides, and river and canal banks were carried out. They were planted in village common land, Government wasteland and Panchayat land.

5 F’s

• Social forestry also aims at raising plantations by the common man so as to meet the growing demand for food, fuel wood, fodder, fiber and fertilizer etc, thereby reducing the pressure on the traditional forest area.
• With the introduction of this scheme the government formally recognised the local communities’ rights to forest resources, and encouraged rural participation in the management of natural resources. Through the social forestry scheme, the government has involved community participation, as part of a drive towards afforestation, and rehabilitating the degraded forest and common lands.

Social forestry scheme can be categorized into groups

Farm forestry

• Individual farmers are being encouraged to plant trees on their own farmland to meet the domestic needs of the family.
• Non-commercial farm forestry is the main thrust of most of the social forestry projects in the country today.
• It is to provide shade for the agricultural crops; as wind shelters; soil conservation or to use wasteland.

Community forestry

• It is the raising of trees on community land and not on private land as in farm forestry. All these programmes aim to provide for the entire community and not for any individual. The government has the responsibility of providing seedlings, fertilizer but the community has to take responsibility of protecting the trees.

Extension forestry

• Planting of trees on the sides of roads, canals and railways, along with planting on wastelands is known as ‘extension’ forestry, increasing the boundaries of forests. Under this project there has been creation of wood lots in the village common lands, government wastelands and panchayat lands.

Recreational forestry

• Raising of trees with the major objective of recreation alone.

Do you know?
The atapaka Bird Sanctuary, part of the Kolleru Lake, has been identified as the world’s largest home for the spot-billed pelican.

NATIONAL BAMBOO MISSION

• The National Bamboo Mission is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme with 100% contribution from Central Government. It is being implemented by the Horticulture Division under Department of Agriculture and Co-operation in the Ministry of Agriculture, New Delhi.
• Bamboo Mission envisages integration of different Ministries/Departments and involvement of local people/ initiatives for the holistic development of bamboo sector in terms of growth of bamboo through increase in area coverage, enhanced yields and scientific management, marketing of bamboo and bamboo based handicrafts, generation of employment opportunities etc.

Objectives of the Mission

• To promote the growth of bamboo sector through an area based regionally differentiated strategy
• To increase the coverage of area under bamboo in potential areas, with suitable species to enhance yields
• To promote marketing of bamboo and bamboo based handicrafts
• To establish convergence and synergy among stakeholders for the development of bamboo
• To promote, develop and disseminate technologies through a seamless blend of traditional wisdom and modern scientific knowledge
• To generate employment opportunities for skilled and unskilled persons, especially unemployed youths.

Strategy of the Mission

• Adopt a coordinated approach covering production and marketing to assure appropriate returns to growers/ producers.
• Promote Research and Development (R&D) of genetically superior clones of suitable species and technologies for enhanced production.
• Enhance acreage (in forest and non-forest areas) and productivity of bamboo through species change and improved cultural practices.
• Promote partnership, convergence and synergy among R&D and marketing agencies in public as well as private sectors, at all levels.
• Promote where appropriate, cooperatives and selfhelp groups to ensure support and adequate return to farmers.
• Facilitate capacity-building and Human Resource Development.
• Set up National, State and sub-State level structures, to ensure adequate returns for the produce of the farmers and eliminate middlemen, to the extent possible.

COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRON-MENTAL POLLUTION INDEX (CEPI)

• Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI) is a rational number to characterize the environmental quality at a given location following the algorithm of source, pathway, receptor and various parameters like pollutant concentration, impact on human health and level of exposure have been taken into consideration for the calculation of pollution indices for air, water and land.
• The present CEPI is intended to act as a nearly warning tool. It can help in categorizing the industrial clusters in terms of priority of planning needs for interventions.

Classification of industrial clusters:

• The Central and state Pollution Control Board, in collaboration with IIT, Delhi has applied the CEPI for environmental assessment of 88 Industrial Clusters across the country. 43 such industrial clusters having CEPI greater than 70, on a scale of 0 to 100, have been identified as critically polluted.
• The effective implementation of the remedial action plan will help in pollution abatement and to restore the environmental quality of respective industrial clusters and its sustainable use.
• The polluted industrial clusters/areas shall be further explored in order to define the spatial boundaries as well as the extent of eco-geological damages.
• There are still some aspects that need to be improved include, consistency in pollution monitoring data, selection of sampling locations for the environmental monitoring, and collection of data on adverse impact on human population and other geo-ecological features due to industrial pollution.

LIGHTING A BILLION LIVES (LABL)

• LaBL is a campaign by TERI that promotes the use of solar lanterns specially designed and manufactured on a decentralized basis.
• LaBL has been able to engage with government interventions under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Madhya Pradesh Rural Livelihood Project, Rasthriya Gramin Vikas Nidhi, and has facilitated the spread of mobile telephony with support from Department of Telecommunications, Government of India.
• LaBL has successfully engaged the private sector and leveraged Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
• This initiative has the potential to contribute towards the realization of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by improving energy access for the rural poor.
• Formation of more than 100 women-led Self Help Groups (SHGs), and strengthening of around 150 SHGs are among the impacts of this initiative.
• The campaign has demonstrated how Public-PrivatePeople partnerships can support rural development schemes, particularly in the areas of health, education, environment and women’s empowerment.
• The campaign has drawn support from public sector units and corporate, among its various partners, to aid the execution of the programme at the scale at which it exists today.