Social Forestry Schemes in India

Table of Contents

Social Forestry Schemes- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 2: Environment- Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation.

Social Forestry Schemes in news

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change encourages plantation in the country including in various metropolitan cities through Social Forestry programs and Social Forestry schemes.

What is Social Forestry?

Definition: Social forestry is the management and protection of forests and afforestation of barren and deforested lands with the purpose of helping environmental, social and rural development.
Background: The term social forestry was first used in 1976 by The National Commission on Agriculture India.
Key Objective: Social Forestry is a democratic approach to forest conservation and usage, maximizing land utilization for multiple purposes.
- Through Social Forestry, the government of India aims to reduce pressure on forests by planting trees on all unused and fallow lands.

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Social Forestry Schemes

Various Social Forestry Schemes are-
- Nagar Van Yojana:
- School Nursery Yojana,
- Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA),
- National Afforestation Programme (NAP), National Mission for a Green India (GIM), etc. which promotes urban forestry, tree plantation on vacant lands and bunds on farmlands, etc. by involving local communities, NGOs, educational institutions, local bodies, etc.
Nagar Van Yojana: It is initiated for the creation of Nagar Van (city forest) in urban areas over a period of five years at a total estimated cost of Rs.895crore under the National Fund of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA).
- A total of 65 Nagar Van projects in 22 States have been approved for implementation, so far, under NVY.

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Social Forestry Schemes in Various Conservation Domains

For the preservation and protection of forests and wildlife, various laws including the Forest (Conservation) Act 1980, Indian Forest Act, 1927, Wildlife Protection Act 1972, and other central/state laws as applicable to a State/UT, are implemented by the respective State Government /UT Administration.
- The Ministry also provides financial support to the States /UTs under Forest Fire Prevention and Management Scheme for protection against forest fire.
National Afforestation Programme (NAP) for tree plantation in degraded forests through people’s participation which has been merged with National Mission for a Green India (GIM),
- In addition to other sub-missions, there is a specific sub-mission for enhancing tree cover in urban and peri-urban areas.
- An area of over 2 million hectares was sanctioned for taking up afforestation in the States/Union Territories (UTs) with an investment of about Rs. 3936.41 crores till 2020-21 under NAP since its launching year 2000.
- Under GIM an amount of about Rs. 455 crore has been released to States/UTs from 2015-16 to 2020-21.
Urban forestry is a permissible activity under the provisions of the Compensatory Fund Act, 2016 and the Rules made thereunder.
- The Government of India has disbursed an amount of Rs. 48606.39crore from National Fund to 32 State funds as a share of respective States as per Compensatory Fund Act, 2016.
Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT): 1864 No. of parks over 3794 acres of land have been developed in the Mission cities.
Tree plantation, being a multi-departmental, multi-agency activity, is also being taken up cross-sectorally under various programs/funding sources of other ministries/ organizations and also through State Plan budgets.