Protect and raise forests, or face the ‘HEAT’

Thursday, March 21, witnessed programmes all over the world to celebrate the day as the World Forestry Day. The United Nations General Assembly declared the day in 2012. The day has since been dedicated to raising awareness about the crucial role forests play in our lives and encourage efforts towards their conservation and sustainable management. On the occasion, in his greetings, BRS working president KT Rama Rao recalled how Telangana raised the green cover by as much as eight per cent in almost a decade of their governance. Even if the claim were to be nearly true, it would be a great achievement which could not have been possible with earnest thrust by the head of the government himself. KCR launched Haritha Haram with much fanfare in 2015 to increase the forest cover from 24% to 33% of Telangana’s total geographical area. One ardently wishes present Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, too, realises the gravity of environmental degradation and takes forward the programme with much more vigour.

One cannot overemphasise the link between climate change i.e., significant variation of average weather conditions and forests. Burning fossil fuels, cutting down forests, and farming livestock are increasing the earth’s temperature. As a combined result of which, enormous amounts of greenhouse gases are warming up the planet as never before. Already, as per climate.gov, 2023 was the warmest year since global records began in 1850, with temperatures 2.12°F (1.18°C) above the 20th-century average. The 10 warmest years on record have all occurred in the past decade. The last year saw a record-breaking spree of tornadoes, cyclones, glacial outbursts, wildfires.

According to the World Meteorological Organization, 2024 is also shaping up to be another record year for warming and climate change. Hence, we can ignore nature’s plight only at our own peril. Time to remember Mahatma Gandhi’s quote: “What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another.”

As such, many a concerned citizen would have been aghast at a recent directive by the Supreme Court of India to the government to follow literal dictionary meaning of very word, ‘FOREST.’ This is not the first time the government is asked to understand what forest is, in the first place. The 1996 judgment by Justice J S Verma and Justice B N Kirpal reads as follows: “The word ‘forest’ must be understood according to its dictionary meaning. This description covers all statutorily recognised forests, whether designated as reserved, protected or otherwise… The term ‘forest land’ will not only include ‘forests’ as understood in the dictionary sense, but also any area recorded as forest in the Government record irrespective of the ownership.”

A three-judge Bench chaired by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on February 19 re-affirmed the same, while hearing the petitions that challenged the 2023 amendments to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 (FCA) on the ground that the modifications had “substantially diluted” the definition of forest, and had reduced the ambit of the Act. One of the key concerns of green activists has been that the brazen indifference of the governments to the rights and claims of forest dwellers. Denudation of forests in the name of development for industries, and mining is wreaking ecological havoc on the country’s eco systems and threatening its very environmental security. There are increasing incidents of wildlife intrusion into human habitats and, a consequent conflict, taking toll on both sides. Ensuring a basic protection of water and food security to the wildlife is losing government attention. It is sad that the governments are guided more by economic, strategic, political, and other considerations than by wildlife conservation, forest protection and replantation.