Afforestation, social forestry and agro-forestry programmes
Key facts
- K. M. Munshi popularised Van Mahotsav in 1950, strengthening the idea of public participation in tree planting as a national campaign.
- The National Forest Policy, 1988 made ecological stability and maintenance of environmental balance the central objective of forest management in Indi...
- The National Commission on Agriculture, 1976 popularised social forestry as a way to meet local needs for fuelwood, fodder, small timber and field pro...
- In 1990, the Government of India issued Joint Forest Management guidelines, giving institutional recognition to forest department and village-communit...
- The National Afforestation Programme began in 2000-2002 as a major Centrally Sponsored Scheme for regeneration of degraded forests through Forest Deve...
Key Points at a Glance
- 1
K. M. Munshi popularised Van Mahotsav in 1950, strengthening the idea of public participation in tree planting as a national campaign.
- 2
The National Forest Policy, 1988 made ecological stability and maintenance of environmental balance the central objective of forest management in India.
- 3
The National Commission on Agriculture, 1976 popularised social forestry as a way to meet local needs for fuelwood, fodder, small timber and field protection.
- 4
In 1990, the Government of India issued Joint Forest Management guidelines, giving institutional recognition to forest department and village-community partnership.
- 5
The National Afforestation Programme began in 2000-2002 as a major Centrally Sponsored Scheme for regeneration of degraded forests through Forest Development Agencies and Joint Forest Management Committees.
- 6
The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016 and Rules, 2018 created the legal basis for using funds collected against diversion of forest land for compensatory afforestation, catchment treatment and related works.
- 7
The Green India Mission is one of the eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change, launched in 2008, and focuses on increasing forest and tree cover while improving ecosystem services.
- 8
India's National Agroforestry Policy, 2014 was the first national policy dedicated to integrating trees with crops and livestock on farms.
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Basic concepts and objective distinctions
Afforestation means raising a forest or tree cover on land that has not carried forest in recent memory, such as wasteland, mined land, ravine land or community land. Reforestation means restoring forest cover on land where forest existed earlier but was removed by felling, fire, shifting cultivation, disease or other degradation. The exam distinction is simple: afforestation creates forest on non-forest or long-barren land, while reforestation brings back forest on previously forested land.
Plantation is a wider operational word. It may include block plantation, strip plantation, avenue plantation, enrichment planting, shelterbelt planting or farm bund planting. A plantation is not automatically a natural forest because it may have one or a few selected species, uniform spacing and periodic tending. Ecological restoration is broader than plantation; it tries to recover soil, water, native vegetation, biodiversity and natural regeneration processes.
Exam cue: afforestation is about new tree cover, reforestation is about lost tree cover, and restoration is about the whole ecosystem.
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