MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
(DR. MAHESH SHARMA)
(a) The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change had prepared Draft National Forest Policy, 2018 and placed in public domain for comments.
(b) The overall objective and goal of the present policy is to safeguard the ecological and livelihood security of people, of the present and future generations, based on sustainable management of the forests for the flow of ecosystem services. In order to achieve the national goal for eco-security, the D raft National Forest Policy of 2018 proposes to have a minimum of one-third of the total land area under forest and tree cover. In the hills and mountainous regions, the proposed is to maintain two-third of the area under forest & tree cover in order to prevent soil erosion and land degradation and also to ensure the stability of the fragile eco-systems.
(c) to (e) The Ministry had placed the Draft National Forest Policy, 2018 in public domain for comments for one month till 14th April, 2018. Responses have been received from various stakeholders which includes Government sector, private sectors, NGOs, civil Society, Experts and other concerned individuals. The responses received from these stakeholders mostly related to lack of focus in the draft Policy on the provisions of Forest Rights Act and its implementation, lack of the role of Gram Sabha, concerns on Public Private Participation (PPP) in afforestation and raising plantations under degraded and other forest plantation areas, seeking a balance between conservation and country’s development in new policy along with incentivizing people for taking up trees plantation outside forests etc. The National Forest Policy 2018 will be finalized after analyzing the comments received from various stakeholders. However, the Ministry has not set any time limit for finalization of the new National Forest Policy.
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