National Dailies

Can forests be better protected with people’s help? The unique bhagidari of people and government to save India’s forests is the subject dealt in the book Root to Canopy released at the India Habitat Centre recently by Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Dr Prodipto Ghosh.

Produced jointly by Winrock International India (an NGO working in forestry and water management) and the Commonwealth Forestry Association based at The Ministry of Environment and Forests, the book Root to Canopy reviews India’s experiences of the partnership between the community and state bureaucracy in managing India’s forests since Joint Forest Management (JFM) was adopted in 1990.

Under the new approach, communities living in and around the forests - tribes, for instance, dependent on the forest products for their livelihood - and the government’s Forest Departments protect the forests together from degradation. The results of this unconventional bhagidari have been encouraging.

"During the past few years, the forest cover of the country has improved and India is steadily moving towards its goal of achieving 33 pc forest and tree cover," said Ghosh. He also stressed the importance of public-private partnerships in the forestry sector as it will not be possible for the government alone to generate all the resources.