Lok Sabha Question No. 1652 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-10
Subject: Joint Forest Management with Tribal Communities
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Shri Ramasahayam Raghuram Reddy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1652

TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.03.2025

## Joint Forest Management with Tribal Communities.

## 1652.   SHRI RAMASAHAYAM RAGHURAM REDDY :

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

- (a) the number of Joint Forest Management Committees with active participation of SC/ST communities;
- (b) the total area of degraded forests restored with involvement of tribal communities under the National Afforestation Programme;
- (c) the details of the steps taken to address human-wildlife conflict in tribal areas; and
- (d) the number of SC/ST individuals employed as forest guards and other positions in the forest department?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

- (a) and  (b) National Afforestation Programme (NAP) has been the flagship afforestation scheme of the Ministry, implemented since year 2000 on pan India basis, for afforestation in identified degraded forest areas with people's participation and decentralized forest governance. National Mission for a Green India (GIM)aims at protecting, restoring and enhancing India's forest cover through plantation activities in forest and non-forest areas and the activities were started in 201516.  In  order  to  achieve  the  targeted  objectives  of  National  Afforestation Programme, the Ministry has merged NAP into Green India Mission (GIM) so that the overall greening efforts are augmented.

The total area for restoration under National Afforestation Programme from 2001-2021 is 22,15,019 ha. The area taken up under Green India Mission from 2015 till date is 1,55,130 ha.

There are approximately 88,000 Joint Forest Management Committees across States/UTs.

- (c) to (d) The  important  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  manage  human-wildlife conflicts are as follows:
- i. The Ministry has issued an advisory on 06.02.2021 to all states/UTs to deal with human wildlife situations.
- ii. The  Ministry  has  issued  Guidelines  to  States/UTs  on  03.06.2022  to manage Human Wildlife conflict including damage to crops.
- iii. The Ministry has released species-specific guidelines on 21.03.2023 for mitigation  of  Human  Wildlife  conflicts  involving  elephant,  Gaur,  Leopard, snake, Crocodile, rhesus Macaque, wild Pig, bear, Blue Bull and Blackbuck. The  Ministry  has  also  issued  guidelines  for  cross  cutting  issues  such  as cooperation  with  media,  occupational  health  and  safety  in  human-wildlife conflict  mitigation,  crowd  management  and  addressing  health  emergencies arising out of human-wildlife conflict situations.
- iv. The  Wild  Life  (Protection)  Act,  1972  has  been  amended  to  provide statutory  status  to  management  plans  of  the  protected  areas,  mandating consultations with the concerned Gram Sabha.
- v. The Ministry provides financial assistance to State and Union Territory Governments  under  the  Centrally  sponsored  Schemes  'Development  of Wildlife Habitats' and 'Project Tiger and Elephant' for management of wildlife and its habitat in the country. The activities supported include procurement of early warning systems, construction and erection of physical barriers such as barbed wire fence, solar, powered electric fence, bio-fencing, boundary walls etc. to prevent the entry of wild animals into crop fields.
- vi. Advance technology like  radio  collaring,  digital  sensor  walls  and  Esurveillance are also used in human wildlife conflict mitigation.
- vii. The State Forest Departments organize periodic awareness campaigns to  sensitize  the  general  public  on  human-animal  conflict.  Further,  Forest Departments are engaging with local communities as animal trackers to monitor the movement of elephants and to caution people in time.

viii. Response  Teams  have  been  deployed  across  the  States  and  Union Territories to mitigate Human-Wildlife Conflict.

The number of SC and ST individuals employed as forest guards and working at other positions in the State and UT forest departments are not collated at the level of Ministry.

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