Lok Sabha Question No. 4041 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-08-10
Subject: National Forest Policy
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: NAGARAJAN P., GOPALAKRISHNAN CHINNARAJ

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4041

TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.08.2018

## National Forest Policy

## 4041.   SHRI P. NAGARAJAN: DR. C. GOPALAKRISHNAN:

Will  the  Minister  of  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND  CLIMATE  CHANGE  be  pleased  to state:

- (a) whether  the  Union  Government  proposes  to  revise  the  existing  National  Forest  Policy (NFP), 1988 and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the purpose and goal of the National Forest Policy, 2018;
- (c) whether the Union Government has invited comments/suggestions on the draft National Forest  Policy,  2018  from  various  stakeholders  including  Public/  Private  Organisations and concerned citizens and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether  any  response  has  been  received  from  stakeholders  including  Public  Private Organisations and concerned citizen and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the time by which the new NFP will come into force?

## ANSWER

## 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 14 th 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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