Posted by Soumitri Das on December 11, 2009 at 5:58am
Some of you may recall I had uploaded my viewpoint paper on REDD a few months back. Since then, my colleagues and I at TERI have carried out a preliminary assessment of India's readiness to implement REDD Plus (being circulated at COP 15). Again, would appreciate any comments and suggestions to the attached paper.
The issue of forestry related sectors is going to get even more complicate with this talk of REDD. As someone closely involved in the process planning for a sustainable raw material base for the Indian paper industry, I had the opportunity to study various efforts undertaken by the government and also had to study the various clauses of the Forest Act. I feel, the REDD plus initiative must involve inputs from the Paper sector in India. Since years, the industry has been approaching the government for degraded forest lands to be given on lease for raw material plantation. Painstakingly an so called Mult Stake Holder Partnership model was evolved by MoEF which proposed to do exactly what is being talked in REDD or , REDD Plus. Here is one sector, who has got all the reasons to look after the growth of each and very sapling it plants on any kind of land – and wound you belive it we actually have many kind of defined lands in the country. That would ensure the lively hood of the habitat along or near or even in the degraded forest land. Sadly , be it degraded forest land, degraded revenue land, waste land, barren land etc, one or the other policy come in the way of these being put to sustainable use by the forest products sector in India. And now you even will get carbon or whatever credits which will actually accrue some money for the whole activity.
The notion of pitfalls of handing land to private companies may have its point – but the fact remains that nay or rather all kind of land (and in fact, the building on it) can be claimed by the government if the need so arose. I believe this is THE time to take up this issue. Given the land to the paper industry. Tell them the extent to which the allotted are must be covered with trees. Tell them to maintain a harvest cycle accordingly. Tell them to employ local unskilled/semiskilled manpower. Tell them the upkeep of canopy is their problem. They will agree to what you say. For they need each log of wood for survival. And they need supply on a SUSTAINED basis. I believe this is one of the best way forward.
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The notion of pitfalls of handing land to private companies may have its point – but the fact remains that nay or rather all kind of land (and in fact, the building on it) can be claimed by the government if the need so arose. I believe this is THE time to take up this issue. Given the land to the paper industry. Tell them the extent to which the allotted are must be covered with trees. Tell them to maintain a harvest cycle accordingly. Tell them to employ local unskilled/semiskilled manpower. Tell them the upkeep of canopy is their problem. They will agree to what you say. For they need each log of wood for survival. And they need supply on a SUSTAINED basis. I believe this is one of the best way forward.