GURU GOBIND SINGH INDRAPRASTHA UNIVERSITY

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW ASSIGNMENT-3

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

DR. M. SAKTHIVEL KANUPRIYA CHAWLA

ENROLLMENT ID: 01216503517

BBA LLB, 5th SEMESTER

 FOREST POLICY IN INDIA

INTRODUCTION

Forest policies guide the actions employed in the management of forests. Forest policies can
be developed by national and local governments and by organizations or individuals.
Generally speaking, policies arise from real or perceived problems. While understanding the
impetus for a policy may interest many, forest and natural resource managers must more
importantly understand how to work effectively within the legal, regulatory, and operational
environments that the policies create. Forest managers need to understand the extent to which
they can manage their forests in order to meet their desired objectives. Further, forest
managers also need to understand the extent to economical and environmental social
contributions that their forests make landowners and to the society. Policy development
processes evolve in the political climate of the country or the region within which an area of land
is situated. There are those who have dedicated their careers to the development and
assessment of forest policies. In some cases, these individuals become advocates for certain
courses of action. In other cases, these individuals are researchers investigating the potential
trajectories of policy scenarios and their potential impact on forest resource management.
While the activities of these groups of people are important, the actual forest policy is
paramount, since it guides the actions of foresters or natural resource managers at a given site
within a landscape.
FOREST POLICIES UNDER BRITISH RULE

Forests are a vital part of any nation, not only for the commercial value, but also for the
quality of life that it guarantees. Hence it was considered imperative, even during the British
Rule, that India must have a Forest Policy.

The British were the first to officially recognize the natural wealth of India and it was they
who initiated the process of forming a forest policy during the second half of the 19th
century.

Their scheme was to plunder the natural wealth of the nation as much as possible, since
timber trade was a highly lucrative trade during those times. Hence, their policies were aimed
at putting themselves in an advantageous position and to exploit the resources to the extent
possible.

The sequence of their efforts in this direction (by means of Acts and Policies) are given
below:

(i) The first Conservator of Forests was appointed in the year 1850 by the British, in Bombay,
and the first Forest Department was set-up in the year 1864.

(ii) In order to generate income, the Forest Act of 1865 was brought out, which classified the
forests into reserved forests and unclassified forests. The former were out of bounds of the
local people and the latter un-surveyed forests were progressively reclassified as reserved
forests before the end of the century and the process was speeded up to contain the provision
in the revised Forest Act of 1878.

(iii) The Forest Act, 1865 was first enacted to counteract various local population.

(iv) By the Forest Act of 1878, even the village forests were closed, and what was the right of
the people was translated into privileges, and that to for a fee.

(v) The first Forest Policy was in the year 1894, which gave priority to agriculture over
forests.

(vi) The next Forest Act was enacted in the year 1927, which made the rules more stringent
and the people’s privileges were curtailed further.
time.
POST INDEPENDENCE

After independence, the area of forestry was given importance, but only after the priority
areas of agriculture and industry. Yet this area gained much importance due to the dams and
reservoir projects that were coming up then. But, the plan allocation seems to be biased
towards agriculture and industries.

The Central Forestry Board was set-up in the year 1950 and this was followed by a National
Policy on Forests in the year 1952. It was in this 1952 National Forest Policy that the target
of 33% of the total land to be covered by forests, was established.

The 1952 National Forest Policy was replaced by the National Forest Policy of 1988. This
policy was considered to be better than the earlier one, as it laid emphasis on the conservation
of our existing forests through the reforestation and soil conservation.

INDIAN FOREST POLICY,1952

 The first forest policy in India since independence was the Indian Forest policy,1952
in which it was argued that after the widespread deforestation and forest degradation
in the colonial era , better forest management necessitated a comprehensive forest
policy to check the exploitation of forests. Although the emphasis was on better
management of forest resources than by the British, a low priority given to local
communities remained.

 Apart from this, certain elements of the British Forest Policy continued especially in
terms of bureaucratic organization. However, the 1952 forest policy fixed a target in
increasing the area under forest to about 1/3rd of the total land area. Land use became
a very important issue and as such the issue of the area under forest gained
prominence.

 The policy understood forest management as a key concern and looked at controlling
denudation in mountainous regions, invasion of sea sand in coastal tracts, erosion of
river banks , shifting of sand dunes in desserts, and so on. The policy was also to
ensure a supply of small timber , fodder and fuel-wood for local populations.
  The policy stated that forestry had no intrinsic right over land but that forest can be
permitted on residual land used for no other purpose.

 The 1952 forest policy in India classified forests according to their distinct uses.
Forest under this policy were classified as national forest, protected forest, tree lands
and village forests. This distinction was important, for it differentiated between
forests meant for preserving their ecological and physical conditions with forests
marked or meeting commercial needs.

 The village forests were meant to address the needs of forest dependent communities,.

The following are the objectives of National Forest Policy (1952):

(a) The need for evolving a system of balanced and complementary land- use under which
each type of land is allotted to that form of use under which it would produce most and
deteriorate least;

(b) The need for checking

(i) Denudation in mountainous regions, on which depends the perennial water supply of the
river system whose basins constitute the fertile core of the country.

(ii) The erosion progressing space along the treeless banks of the great rivers leading to
ravine formation, and on vast stretches of undulating wastelands depriving the adjoining
fields of their fertility;

(c) The need for establishing tree-lands, wherever possible, for the amelioration of physical
and climatic conditions promoting the general wellbeing of the people;

(d) The need for ensuring progressively increasing supplies of grazing, small wood for
agricultural implements, and in particular of firewood to release the cattle dung for manure to
step up food production;

(e) The need for sustained supply of timber and other forest produce required for defence,
communications and industry.
NATIONAL FOREST POLICY, 1988

 The National Forest Policy of 1988 tried to redress the needs of local populations in
accessing and using forest resources in a regulated manner. The policy aimed to
encourage the participation of the local people in the protection and management of
forests throughout Joined Forests Management Programme.

 The programme envisages a process of joint management of forests by the state

governments and by local people. Under the programme, the protection and
management of forests was interested to nearby village communities.

 Apart from being the first forest policy to substantially look into the needs of local
people living in nearby forests, the National Forest Policy of 1988 also took a
comprehensive view on forest conservation.

 Encouraged by proceeding legislation such as the Forest Conversation Act and the
Wildlife Protection Act, the policy also looked at the environment stability and the
restoration of the ecological balance in terms of the conservation of the forest the
policy however, made no changes to the goal of increasing land and the forest to 33
percent of total land area in India as per the earlier policy of 1952.

 The National Forest Policy of 1988 attempted to undo the limitations of the earlier
forest policies, particularly in terms of forest conservation and the role ad rights of
local people in the forest.
DRAFT NATIONAL FOREST POLICY,2018

 The new draft policy’s overall goal is to “safeguard the ecological and livelihood
security of people, of the present and future generations, based on sustainable
management of the forests for the flow of ecosystem services.”.

 The draft policy also aims to maintain at least one-third of India’s total land area
under forest and tree cover. In the hills and mountainous regions, the policy’s goal is
to maintain two-thirds of the area under forest and tree cover to both “prevent soil
erosion and land degradation and also to ensure the stability of the fragile
ecosystems.”.

 The draft policy lists multiple other objectives, including the maintenance of
environmental stability and conservation of biodiversity; reversal of the degradation
of forests; improvement of the livelihoods of people through the sustainable use of
ecosystem services; and meeting India’s greening goals under its Intended Nationally
Determined Contributions (INDCs).

 Further, it talks about maintaining soil quality; safeguarding forestlands; managing

protected areas and other wildlife-rich areas; protecting watersheds; and increasing
tree cover outside forests.

 The draft also mentions integrating climate change mitigation and adaptation
through REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in
developing countries); implementing green accounting; managing green spaces in
urban environments; and establishing a credible monitoring and evaluation
framework.

 These are concepts that evolved into international and national environmental
discussions in recent years.With such a broad range of objectives, the DNFP-2018
should have been welcome to all stakeholders in India’s forests. Instead, the draft
policy is currently being heatedly debated, largely because of the document’s focus on
increasing productivity from forests.