Lok Sabha Question No. 4120 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-19
Subject: Conservation of Environment
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah, Pushpendra Singh Chandel

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO . 4120

TO BE ANSWERED ON 19.03.2021

## Conservation of Environment

## 4120 . SHRIMATI MALA RAJYA LAXMI SHAH: SHRI KUNWAR PUSHPENDRA SINGH CHANDEL:

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

- (a) whether the Union Government proposes to formulate an action plan in collaboration with  various  State  Governments  for  creating  awareness  about  conservation  of environment to counter the effects of climate change and generation of employment along side;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether any special scheme has been formulated to employ local people in the field of environment conservation and to mitigate the effects of climate change in Bundelkhand and Uttarakhand; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI BABUL SUPRIYO)

(a)  to    (d)  Ministry  of  Environment,  Forest  and  Climate  Change  (MoEF&CC),  along  with other  Ministries  in  Government  of  India,  is  implementing  schemes  for  combating  climate change, imparting environment education as well as for imparting skills to youth for gainful employment, including in 'green sectors' such as environment, forestry and wildlife.

National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), comprising of eight Missions, provides an overarching policy framework for combating climate change in the country. To support the  objectives  of  NAPCC,  33  States  and  Union  Territories  including  Uttar  Pradesh  and Uttarakhand have prepared their State  Action  Plan  on  Climate  Change  (SAPCC)  for  State specific  actions.  Sectors  like  agriculture,  forest  and  biodiversity,  water  resources,  energy, urban development and transportation have been prioritized by the States/UTs.

Under NAPCC, National Mission for a Green India (GIM) aims at protecting, restoring and enhancing  India's  forest  cover  and  responding  to  climate  change  by  means  of  plantation activities in forest and non-forest areas. Started in 2015-16, a sum of Rs. 455.73 crores have been  released  to  fourteen  States  and  one  Union  Territory  for  undertaking  afforestation activities  over  an  area  of  1,67,151  hectares.  India  has  also  committed  to  achieve  land degradation  neutrality  and  restoration  of  26  million  hectares  of  degraded  land  by  2030.

Financial assistance to States/UTs is provided under various centrally sponsored schemes for afforestation, such as National Afforestation Programme, as well as through the Compensatory Afforestation Fund. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is also implementing the National Agroforestry Policy (NAP)  since  2014. The  XV  Finance Commission  has  assigned  10%  weight  to  forest  and  ecology  in  its  horizontal  devolution criteria  and  weights.  These  schemes  help  in  preserving  forests  and  biodiversity,  and  in conservation of environment and natural resources.They also provide employment opportunities  to  forest  dependent  and  forest  fringe  communities  and  improve  the  forest resource  base  which  in  turn  supports  and  improves  the  livelihood  of  these  communities. Under GIM, there is a provision of 17% of the budget for livelihood improvement activities for forest dependent and forest fringe communities.

Under the ongoing Environmental Information System (ENVIS) Scheme of the MoEF&CC, an initiative on 'Green Skill Development Programme' (GSDP) was launched in June 2017 on a pilot basis, at 10 locations spread over 9 bio-geographic regions of the country, to skill youth in environment, forest and wildlife sectors and enabling them to be gainfully employed or self-employed.

Further,  MoEF&CC  is  also  implementing  the  Environment  Education,  Awareness  and Training  (EEAT)  scheme  with  the  objective  to  promote  conservation  and  environmental awareness among students.  It  is  implemented  through  Ecoclubs,  National  Nature  Camping Programme  (NNCP)  and  Capacity  Building  Activities  (CBA).  Further,  the  Ministry  has launched the Green Good Deed (GGDs) movement in January 2018 as a social movement with the aim to bring about mass environmental awareness in the society at all levels.

Under the National Adaptation Fund on Climate Change, a project titled 'Ecosystem services based  adaptation  to  climate  change  in  Bundelkhand  region  of  Uttar  Pradesh'  is  being implemented  with  a  grant  of  Rs.  19.81  cr.  covering  four  forest  divisions  viz.,  Banda, Hamirpur,  Orai  (Jalaun)  and  Chitrakoot.  The  project  aims  to  restore  degraded  forest  areas with involvement of local communities and improve community/grazing land, grassland and adjoining lands through agroforestry. Households in the project areas are being supported for informed decision making in light of vulnerability to climate change.

In  Uttarakhand  as  well,  a  project  under  Adaptation  Fund  (of  United  Nations  Framework Convention on Climate Change) titled 'Climate smart actions and strategies in north western Himalayan region for sustainable  livelihoods  of  agriculture-dependent  hill  communities' is being  implemented  with  a  grant  of  Rs  5.82  cr.  The  project  supports  climate  smart interventions in sustainable livelihood management by means of spring rejuvenation, roof top rainwater harvesting, introduction of Drip  Irrigation  for  increased  water  use efficiency  and introduction  of  improved  horticulture  varieties  and  high  value  vegetable  cultivation  under protected  conditions  using  bamboo-based  poly  houses  etc.  The  communities  in  the  project areas were  provided  training  and  exposure  visits  for  understanding  vulnerability  and adaptation to climatic change.

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