The Planning Commission set up a Working Group to examine the prospects of leasing out of degraded forests to the private entrepreneurs/ Forest Corporations. The terms of reference for the Group were:-

·  Economic, social and environmental feasibility of leasing or otherwise making degraded forest land to the
private entrepreneurs/ Forest Corporations.

·  Implication of Ninth Plan, forest policy, forest law on this issue.

The first of the series focuses on the much debated issue of forest lands. Retaining the existing forest cover, improving the quality of so-called forest land, bringing back the traditional ethos of preserving forests as part of the Indian heritage and lifestyle and making people part of the greening movement rather than policing the forests, the changing policies over the past century and their impact on the forest cover, the relevance of these policies in the context of liberalisation and structural adjustment are all addressed in this volume.

The Orissa government’s agreement with Vedanta Alumina to allow mining of bauxite deposits in the Niyamgiri hills, the home of the Dongaria Kondha tribe, is an example of how corporate interests backed by state support are trampling on tribal livelihoods and threatening an ecologically rich and important region.

The Independent People’s Tribunal (IPT) undertook an inquiry on the status of implementation of FRA to understand and analyze the reasons behind the lack of implementation and/or the violations in the implementation of the Act. The objectives of IPT were to:

1. Identify and analyze the various violations happening across states on the implementation

of FRA, and whether they are procedural or structural in nature.

2. The direct and indirect impact its non-implementation would have/has had on the

communities.

3. Assess the status of FRA thereof.

This report seeks to highlight the potential of FRA, assess its achievements, identify the bottlenecks, and find the ways forward. Its objectives are to:

Make a quantitative estimate of forest land that has the potential to be recognized as CFR area, and compare it to the actual forest area recognized asCFRs across the country;

Assess the qualitative potential of FRA for gender equal development, poverty alleviation, climate change and biodiversity conservation;

The Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs constituted a Joint Committee in April 2010 to review the implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 popularly known as Forests Rights Act (FRA) in the country with a specific TOR outlined for the purpose.

The oil palm boom in Indonesia continues to be a major driver of land acquisitions in remaining tropical forest frontiers, drawing on a wide range of actors into its production, and transforming both rural landscapes and livelihoods in the process. The growing body of research and evidence on the social and economic effects of oil palm expansion does not adequately consider the gender dimensions of the oil palm boom, thereby lacking a balanced view of both women’s and men’s experiences.

Dry forests play an important role in preventing land degradation and desertification, conserving biodiversity and providing ecosystem goods and services and mitigating and adapting to climate change and the impacts of drought. To make use of the promising potential of forests and agroforestry schemes in arid areas they need to be fully included in the REDD+ mechanism with a special focus on the co-benefits.

Les forêts sèches jouent un rôle important pour la prévention de la dégradation des terres et de la désertification, la conservation de la biodiversité, la production de biens et de services écosystémiques ainsi que l’atténuation des changements climatiques et des incidences des sécheresses et l’adaptation à ceux-ci. Il convient de les intégrer globalement dans le mécanisme REDD+ en s’attachant en particulier aux avantages associés afin d’exploiter le potentiel prometteur des forêts et des techniques agroforestières dans les zones arides

Los bosques secos desempeñan una importante labor en la prevención de la degradación de la tierra y la desertificación, la conservación de la biodiversidad y el abastecimiento de bienes y servicios al ecosistema, así como en la mitigación y adaptación al cambio climático y en los impactos de la sequía. Para aprovechar el prometedor potencial de los bosques y de los esquemas de agrosilvicultura en zonas áridas éstos deben estar totalmente integrados en el mecanismo REDD+, tomando especial atención a los co-beneficios.

The importance of forests in climate change, biodiversity and desertification/land degradation

Forests cover approximately 30 per cent of the Earth’s land surface and provide important ecosystem goods and services, including food, fodder, water, shelter, nutrient cycling, air purification, and cultural and recreational amenities. Forests also store carbon, provide habitat for a wide range of species and help alleviate land degradation and desertification.