Public consultations
The National Mission for a Green India, as one of the eight Missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), recognizes that climate change phenomena will seriously affect and alter the distribution, type and quality of natural resources of the country and the associated livelihoods of the people. The Mission acknowledges the influences that the forestry sector has on environmental amelioration though climate mitigation, food security, water security, biodiversity conservation and livelihood security of forest dependant communities.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests invited CEE to organize a series of Consultations at seven locations across India to help finalize the Draft Mission Document for the Green India Mission.
During these consultations, several hundred representatives from NGOs, research and expert institutions, Joint Forest Management Committees, media, Government Departments, environmental consultants and business groups, citizen forums and citizens offered their inputs on the Draft Mission Document.'
The first consultation in Guwahati focused on North-East relevant issues like wetlands, grasslands, community forests (Sacred Forests) and corridor conservation. The role of community participation and involvement of other line departments as stakeholders in the project has been highlighted in the consultation.
At Jaipur, local issues like need for a focus on all ruminants instead of only cattle species; grasslands, and impacts of the Indira Gandhi Canal on the land use pattern etc. were brought up. Many expressed the need for a better definition of the role of communities and Gram Sabha in the document, stating that communities and community organizations must be seen as partners in development. Suggestions to strengthen Performance Review Institutes and enhance role of women during implementation of the Mission were key concerns among others.
The Consultation at Pune brought out a different set of issues like role of education and awareness to enhance understanding of the ecosystem restoration, need of quantified targets for the institutions gaining support fromthe Government under the Mission, synchronizing management efforts of natural resources like soil and water which are crucial for greenery, degradation of ecosystems in urban areas, and integration of the Mission into core activities like Town Planning and Fiscal Budgeting of Municipal Corporations.
The consultation at Dehradun saw discussions on issues related to management of Himalayan fragile ecosystem. Need for maintaining the balance between environment and development, maintaining the quality of forests were other key concerns expressed.
In Bhopal environmental situations ranging from de-greening - mining in forest areas, ravine spread and desertification, and threatened forest-based livelihoods were discussed. Community-related issues such as community empowerment, the need for stronger implementation of provisions like the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA), and need to tackle village level divisive politics that harm conservation and development were highlighted. Participants also presented success stories related to Joint Forest Management, People's Biodiversity Register and the importance of role of youth, and involvement of school children. Need for policy changes to provide an enabling environment for plantations and agro-forestry by farmers, help in certification and benefit sharing at the community level.
At Visakhapatnam, local issues of concern such as the destruction of sanctuaries and forest habitats particularly the Kambalakonda wildlife sanctuary, threat to bauxite mining near Visakhapatnam and the existing wetlands at Sompeta and Bheemunipatnam, monoculture practices, improper solid waste disposal techniques, Podu cultivation practices and rise in the number of industries in the region were highlighted.
For detailed report visit:
http://tinyurl.com/Report-GIM
The Green India Mission public consultation being presided by Mr. Jairam Ramesh, Minister of Environment and Forests (IC). Total seven consultations were facilitated across India.
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