BHOPAL : A national-level Consultative Study on Review of National Forest Policy was held at the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM) in Bhopal on Wednesday.
Initiating the discussion, Dr. Giridhar Kinhal, Director of IIFM said that there was a need to review the National Forest Policy, 1988 in view of the developments like global warming, climate change and needs of the contemporary times. Dr. Kinhal said that the first Forest Policy was formulated in 1894. The Forest Policy, 1952 sought to bring 33 per cent of total land area of the country under forest cover. Later, Forest Policy 1988 was formulated.
The Union Government now wants to review the policy after quarter-century-old policy. The Ministry for Environment, Forests and Climate Change has entrusted the responsibility of the review to “Centre for Policy Change” of IIFM. He said that six regional workshops will be held for the review and the final national consultation workshop will be held in February 2016.
The participants of the workshop discussed the methodology and approach for the revision of the national policy. Several participants suggested including certain issues like accountability, livelihood rights, research and development, landscape management of forests, conservation of biodiversity, implementing the international conventions on environment and forest conservation, ascertaining the opinions of stakeholders, forest research and development and people’s participation in forest management. Several dimensions like human, land use, land cover management, forest resource management, principles of forest management, multipronged strategies, inter-disciplinary methods, wildlife conservation, forestry extension were discussed in the workshop.
