Relevance: GS-2: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, Food processing and related industries in India- scope and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management.

Key Phrases: Forest Economy, Forest Rights Act 2006, Economic Potential of forests, Role of forests in economic development, TRIFED, Van Dhan Vikas Kendras.

Background:

• An estimated 200 million people are forest dependent which underlines the crucial role played by forests in supporting rural livelihood.
• Several valuable products collected from India’s forests are used as raw materials in diverse industries, such as processed foods and confectionery, pharmaceuticals, alternative medicine, cosmetics and perfumery, and paper and pulp.
• Despite being so important, forests are generally seen as a space of poverty and deprivation as most of the people around forest areas are impoverished.
• The collection and trade of forest products is usually an informal sector exercise which makes its contribution invisible in the economy.

Potential of forest economy in India:

• Forests represent a significant source of opportunities for the creation of jobs, wealth, and prosperity.
• The direct benefits of forests are accounted for by forest resources, contributing around 2.9 percent to the adjusted Net Domestic Product for the country as a whole.
• They also provide fodder for about 180 million cattle, 58 million buffaloes and 120 million other livestock.
• They provide whole-time daily employment to about 15 lakh persons engaged as wood-cutters, sawyers, carters, and craftsmen and in other related forest industries.
• India has 5,000 species of wood, of which about 450 are commercially valuable and are used for extracting acetic acid, acetone, methyl alcohol, certain oils, creosote and valuable drags like sulphonamide and chloroform.
• Forests provide raw materials for a number of industries, viz.. broom making, silkworm rearing, lac, toy making, leaf plate making, sawmills, match, plywood, paper and pulp, pencil making, tea chest, fiberboard, chipboard, etc.

How to bolster the Forest economy:

• Increase visibility by formalizing the first-mile production system using digital technology.
• The Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile(JAM) trinity provides a ready-made working solution.
• Achieve economies of scale through community-based enterprises for aggregation and market linkage.
• Initiatives such as Van Dhan Kendras and other efforts by TRIFED need to be enhanced.
• The experience of FPOs (farmer-producer organizations) in agriculture can be easily replicated to include forest products.
• Increase productivity by setting up processing for value-addition at the local level.
• Protecting forests from depleting forces fires, adopting quarantine measures, air dusting and spraying.

Forest economy and overcoming sustainability challenges:

• Aggregation, processing and market linkages for forest products will increase household incomes for some of the poorest and marginal communities in India.
• At the same time the volume of the collection will increase which will be an obvious threat to the health of forests..
• To ensure sustainability, incentives of individuals must be aligned with the community to prevent the exploitation of forest resources.
• The recognition of community forest resource rights under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 is an easy solution to ensure the long-term sustainability of forests.
• Forest needs to be protected and local communities living in and near forests could act as guardians of forests and help in the sustainable management of forests because they have intimate knowledge of the forest, its products, as well the threats to its sustainability.
• Create and capture value at the local level by empowering communities so that local benefits can be achieved.

Way Forward:

• Investing in the forest economy presents several win-win opportunities for various stakeholders
• Promote collaborative initiatives to promote a forest-based economy, An example is Narmada district of Gujarat where communities are managing forests while also supplying bamboo to the paper and pulp industry.
• Forest economy will bear fruits of success if effective coordination and partnerships are established among :
  • local communities as the custodians of forest resources
  • Industry using the products of these forests as raw material
  • Government agencies facilitating and regulating the creation of jobs and wealth
• This cooperation will lead to a triple-win opportunity by reducing environmental threats, creating jobs at the bottom of the pyramid, and establishing sustainable forest management systems.

Conclusion:

An effective forest economy driven by the contribution of all the stakeholders will

• Bring greater transparency and traceability to forest-based supply chains,
• Ensure quality and sustainability for the forest ecosystem,
• Bring millions of forest-dependent households into the formal economy
• Create opportunities for businesses to demonstrate their commitment to responsible and sustainable practices.

Therefore it is the right time to promote and nurture the forest economy across India to diversify India’s economic potential along with establishing the balance between natural wealth and development. This will lead India in the right direction of achieving its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) commitments with SDG 1(No poverty), SDG10(Reduced inequalities), SDG 11(Sustainable cities and communities) SDG 12(Responsible consumption and production).

Source: The Hindu BL

Mains Question:

Q. A thriving forest economy in India could be an anchoring force in employment and livelihood generation in far-fetched rural and tribal areas in the aftermath of COVID-19, Discuss. (250 words).