Development

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Development of Forest Housing
Corporation presented by Dr. Bipin
Behari Deputy Inspector General of
Forests Ministry of Environment
Forests Government of India e-mail
b.behari_at_nic.in
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The National Forest Commission made following
two recommendations for the welfare of the
forestry front line staff to enhance their
efficiency and there by improve forest staff and
community relations. Recommendation 291 For
the welfare of the service (housing, educational
facilities for children, conveyance, facilities
for maintaining physical fitness, grievances
handling and counseling etc.), the State
Governments should establish Forest Services
Beneficiary Funds. Recommendation 300 Making
frontline staff a satisfied lot is a most
important tool for achieving effective
conservation and management of forest. For this,
it is necessary that their housing problem is
addressed. Keeping in view the remoteness of the
posting of the frontline staff, they are not in a
position to keep their families at their place of
posting. It is, therefore, recommended that
Forest Housing Corporations be created by every
State Government to construct primarily family
accommodations for the frontline staff. An
adequate corpus fund be allotted to the proposed
corporations for their effective functioning.
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• Mission
• Construction of office buildings and family
  accommodation for forest personnel to enhance
  their efficiency and to improve their community
  relations, which will further ensure optimized
  quality towards achieving sustainable
  development.
• Objectives
• The main objectives to be persued as per the
  Memorandum of Association
• To undertake construction of buildings for
  housing the employees of the State Forest
  Department in the city / town, Range, Beat etc.
• To undertake construction of the buildings for
  the offices of Beat, Ranges, SDOs and other such
  allied offices of Research and Training as per
  the requirement.
• To undertake all kinds of construction and allied
  works alongwith the welfare activities required
  for the State Forest Staff from time to time.
• To formulate and execute various housing schemes
  for serving and retired employee of the Forest
  Department.

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• Organizational Structure of the Corporation
• Forest Housing Corporation may be formed under
  the Companies Act, 1956 like the State Police
  Housing Corporation Limited which are all
  government companies with 100 share holding
  subscribed by the State Government.
• The States / UTs may explore the possibility of
  developing such State Forest Housing Corporation
  Limited for the welfare of forest staff
  especially the front line staff.

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Adoption of Criteria and Indicators for
Sustainable Forest Management
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Sustainable Forest Management key to Sustainable
Development

• Within the broad frame work of sustainable
  development, SFM should ensure that values
  desired from forests meet present day needs,
  while ensuring that the forests maintain a
  quantity and quality that contributes to long
  term development needs (FAO, 1993)

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•  
• Sustainable Forest Management
•  
• The National Task Force on Sustainable Forest
  Management recommended for the creation of a
  Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) Cell in the
  Ministry of Environment and Forests.
• Sustainable Forest Management refers to the use
  and conservation of forests for the benefit of
  the present and future generations, whereas
  Criteria and Indicators (CI) are used to define,
  assess and monitor the progress towards
  Sustainable Forest Management.

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• Bhopal India Process
• The Bhopal India process (1999), coordinated by
  IIFM, Bhopal, aimed at setting up the National
  level Criteria and Indicators to assess the
  Sustainable Forest Management in India.
• The deliberations under Bhopal -India Process led
  to the identification of 8 National level
  criteria and 43 indicators, applicable at the
  National level for Indian forest management.

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Criteria and indicators for Sustainable Forest
Management National Working Plan Code Ministry of
Environment Forests Government of India New
Delhi, June 2004 The Government of India, the
State Government, and IIFM-Bhopal are in the
process of finalizing the Criteria and Indicators
for monitoring and evaluation of Sustainable
Forest Management. As and when these are
finalized, the monitoring and evaluation of
implementation of the working plan will be done
accordingly.
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• The Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable
  Forest Management (SFM) need to be adopted with
  the active participation of the States / UTs
  before they are incorporated into the Working
  Plan Code.
• It is necessary to develop the Standards which
  are pre-requisite for the development of Forest
  Certification mechanism in the country.

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Forest Certification Looking the development
of global scenario, it has become imperative to
have a National policy on 'certification'. From
domestic (National) point of view also,
certification is necessary to ensure the
continuity of forest goods and services through
SFM approach.
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• Forest Certification has emerged as a
  market-based mechanism in support of Sustainable
  Forest Management (SFM).
• Certification initiatives rely on consumers
  exercising purchasing choice in favour of
  products labeled, as originating from forests
  certified as being sustainably managed.
• Certification and Eco-labeling are the new
  mantras to enhance the product positioning for a
  premium price on one hand and ensuring better
  forest management practices on the other hand.

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First Meeting of SFM Cell held on 26 27th July,
2007

• Recommendations (Action States / UTs)
• Like the SFM Cell in the Ministry, all the States
  and UTs must create SFM Cell with similar Terms
  of References and Functions.
• The harmonized / improved Criteria and Indicators
  developed under Bhopal-India Process may be
  operationalised by all the States /UTs in India
  and their comments may be obtained.
• The State Governments must take necessary steps
  to sensitize / create awareness among their staff
  and the members of the JFM committees for SFM
  through CI.
• The State Governments / UTs Administration must
  avail the opportunity of necessary funding for
  these activities under NNRMS Scheme of Ministry
  of Environment and Forests.
• The CI for SFM once accepted at the National
  level may be incorporated in the Working plan
  code making it mandatory for the States to
  prepare the Working Plan accordingly.
• The outcome of the two days meeting of SFM Cell
  (26 27th July, 2007) and working draft of CI
  may be sent to all the States / UTs, IIFM and all
  members, attending invitees and concerned for
  their comments within a month.

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• Responses of States / UTs
• Creation of a Sustainable Forest Management (SFM)
  Cell
• Madhya Pradesh
• Uttar Pradesh
• Chhattisgarh
• Karnataka.
• Comments on improved / modified 8 Criteria and 37
  Indicators
• Madhya Pradesh
• Tamil Nadu

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• Financial resources for operationalisation of
  Criteria and Indicators in the field for
  Sustainable Forest Management
• State Forest Schemes / research programme or
  project of Indian Institute of Forest Management
  (IIFM).
• XIth Five Year Plan
• Financial support from ITTO etc. International
  Organisations.
• National Natural Resources Management System
  (NNRMS) scheme of the Ministry.

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National Natural Resources Management System
(NNRMS) The programme supports research aimed
at optimal utilisation of remote sensing
alongwith conventional data for addressing key
environmental and ecological issues such as
management of forests, grasslands, faunal
resources, wetlands, coastal areas including
mangroves and coral resources, land degradation,
impact of developmental activities etc. (Contact
person Dr. R. K. Suri, Additional Director, MoEF)
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Minutes of the 21st Meeting of the National
Natural Resources Management System (NNRMS)
Standing Committee on Bio-Resources and
Environment held at MoEF, New Delhi on 29th
November, 2006

• Thrust areas for the XIth Plan
• National wetland inventory (150000 scale
  inventory) and creation of spatial database
  including providing information in GIS domain to
  the Users
• Forest encroachment assessment
• Forest Working Plan (to be initiated in about 50
  Forest Divisions) including Criteria Indicators
  for Sustainable Forest Management
• Desertification Status Mapping of India at 150
  000 scale Desertification vulnerability early
  warning
• Atmospheric pollutants retrieval techniques (CO,
  NO2 , SO2 , CH4 etc.)
• Biodiversity conservation in eco-sensitive zones
  (Biosphere reserves, national parks and
  sanctuaries)
• Training Capacity Building

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Thanks