`FOREST LAWS CAN'T BE MADE BY FORESTERS ALONE'
CREATED IN the colonial era, the forest departments were meant to serve the interests of a colonial power. Left untouched at the time of independence, the departments have successfully co-opted or resisted all attempts at reform. When the National Forest Policy of 1988 demanded people's participation, forest departments co-opted this under joint forest management, through which they controlled all decisions.
When the green felling bans reduced revenues, forest departments attracted international donors with claims of biodiversity conservation and climate mitigation. The `60,000-crore Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) money is the new gravy train. Foresters sit in CAMPA committees that disburse it. The Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006 is perhaps the biggest threat to India's forest departments. It frees cultivators from being harassed as kencroachersy because of mislabelling of their lands. Most importantly, the community forest resource (CFR) provisions give forest-dwellers the right to manage forests autonomously. So, FRA has been resisted tooth and nail. Writ petitions have challenged its constitutionality. Forest departments have obstructed the granting of CFR claims. The draft National Forest Policy 2018 attempts to reverse key elements of the 1988 policy. And the draft amendment to the Indian Forest Act, 1927 is an attempt to translate this nonapproved policy into law.
How should forest governance be reformed? South Asia's landscape has been historically populated by tribal and non-tribal communities, who depend on forests. Thus, local livelihood needs are as important as regional watershed protection or global wildlife and carbon sequestration benefits.
It is natural that foresters oppose such reforms. But can they sayas a top official said to me when presented with evidence of poor implementation of Joint Forest Managementthat kour job is to plant, protect and catch the thief. If after that we have the time, we will do participatory forestry.y
In 2010, a joint committee of the environment and the tribal ministries on FRA implementation articulated a new vision of the forest department as that of a facilitator and regulator, while CFR gram sabhas would be custodians and managers. It is time we keep in mind that the making of forest laws is too important to be left to foresters alone. (The author is with ATREE, a Bengalurubased conservation research organisation)