Social forestry is the

management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

and

protection Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s and

afforestation Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees (forestation) in an area where there was no previous tree cover. Many government and non-governmental organizations directly engage in afforestation programs to create forests a ...

of barren and

deforested Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

lands with the purpose of helping environmental, social and

rural development Rural development is the process of improving the quality life and economic well-being of people living in rural areas, often relatively isolated and sparsely populated areas. Rural development has traditionally centered on the exploitation of l ...

. The term social forestry was first used in 1976 by The

National Commission on Agriculture National Commission on Agriculture was an Indian Government body that was created to find ways to increase agricultural productivity in India. The Commission was founded in August 1970 under the Ministry of Agriculture An agriculture ministry ...

, when the government of India aimed to reduce pressure on

forests A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

planting trees Tree-planting is the process of transplanting tree seedlings, generally for forestry, land reclamation, or landscaping purpose. It differs from the transplantation of larger trees in arboriculture, and from the lower cost but slower and less re ...

on all unused and fallow lands. It was intended as a democratic approach to forest conservation and usage, maximizing land utilization for multiple purposes. The Indian government attempted to expand forest areas which were close to human settlements and which had degraded due to human activities. Trees were planted along railway lines, roadsides, rivers and canal banks, in village

common land Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect Wood fuel, wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...

, government wasteland, and ''

panchayat The Panchayat raj is a political system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent, and historical ment ...

'' land, and were to be planted in and around agricultural fields. Among the goals were to increase fuel availability in rural areas and to prevent

soil erosion Soil erosion is the denudation or wearing away of the upper layer of soil. It is a form of soil degradation. This natural process is caused by the dynamic activity of erosive agents, that is, water, ice (glaciers), snow, air (wind), plants, and ...

. This program was a failure due to the lack of governance, and management was delegated to the village ''panchayats'' (village councils).

Demands and development

People felt the need for a social forestry scheme because India has a dominant rural population that depends largely on

fuelwood Firewood is any wooden material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form, compared to other forms of wood fuel like pellets or chips. Firewood can ...

and other biomass for their cooking and heating. These demands will increase with population, threatening to reduce forested areas.

Participation

The social forestry scheme sought to enable the common people to raise

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

s which would meet the growing demand for

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

fodder Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agriculture, agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, domestic rabbit, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food g ...

, etc., and thereby reduce pressure on traditional forest areas. This concept of village forests to meet the needs of rural people had existed for centuries across India. With the introduction of this scheme, the government formally recognized the rights of local communities to forest resources and encouraged rural participation in the management of natural resources. Through the social forestry scheme, the government has involved community participation, as part of a drive towards

, and rehabilitating the degraded forest and common lands.

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

, one of the poorest states of India, lacked

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 or MNREGA, earlier known as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act or NREGA, is an Indian labour law and social security measure that aims to guarantee the 'right to work'. This a ...

(NREGA) employment during the flood season, and this work was only suitable for able-bodied people. Linking the social forestry scheme to NREGA was hoped to reduce poverty and climate change. To ensure adequate care for the plants, their ownership was given to those who had cared for them for five years. Within 3 years, forest coverage in the region grew from 7% to 12.86%, and provided employment to thousands of women, disabled and elderly people. After managing the projects for five years, the government delegated authority to the village ''panchayats'' (village councils) to manage for themselves and generate products or revenue as they saw fit.

Objectives

Social forestry schemes have the main objectives to: *Improve the

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

for protecting

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

from adverse climatic factors, *Increase the supply of fuelwood for domestic use, small timber for rural housing, fodder for livestock, and minor forest produce for local industries, *Increase the natural beauty of the landscape; create recreational forests for the benefit of rural and urban populations, *Provide jobs for unskilled workers, *Effect

land rehabilitation Land rehabilitation as a part of environmental remediation is the process of returning the land in a given area to some degree of its former state, after some process (industry, natural disasters, etc.) has resulted in its damage. Many projects ...

, and *Raise the

standard of living Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available, generally applied to a society or location, rather than to an individual. Standard of living is relevant because it is considered to contribute to an individual's quality ...

and

quality of life Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...

of rural and urban people. The mission of the scheme is: * To carry out a need-based and time-bound program of afforestation with special emphasis on fuelwood and fodder development on all degraded and denuded lands/forests. * Effect afforestation of abandoned jhum lands and mined areas. * Establish linear strip plantation of fast-growing species on sides of public roads, rivers, streams and irrigation canals. * Effect afforestation on under-utilized lands under state, institutional or private ownership. * Create green belts in urban/industrial areas. * Create

shelterbelt A windbreak (shelterbelt) is a planting usually made up of one or more rows of trees or shrubs planted in such a manner as to provide shelter from the wind and to protect soil from erosion. They are commonly planted in hedgerows around the edges ...

s (generally more extensive than the windbreaks) for the purpose of shelter from wind and sun covering areas larger than a single farm on a planned pattern. * Establish farm forestry in the form of raising rows of trees on boundaries of fields and individual trees in private agricultural land as well as the creation of windbreaks around a farm or orchard by raising one or two lines of trees. * Raise flowering trees and shrubs to serve as recreation forests for the urban and rural population. * Elicit people's participation, involving women and young people in the conservation of forests, wildlife, and the environment. * Generate environmental awareness and promote environmental events

Types

Social forestry schemes can be categorized into groups: farm forestry,

community forestry Community forestry is an evolving branch of forestry whereby the local community plays a significant role in forest management and land use decision making by themselves in the facilitating support of government as well as change agents. It involv ...

, extension forestry and

agroforestry Agroforestry is a land use management system in which trees or shrubs are grown around or among crops or pastureland. Trees produce a wide range of useful and marketable products from fruits/nuts, medicines, wood products, etc. This intentional ...

Farm forestry

In Farm forestry or

, trees are grown on farmland for commercial and non-commercial purposes. Farmers are encouraged to plant trees on their own farmland to meet their domestic needs. A tradition of growing trees on farmland already existed in many areas, and was the main thrust of most of India's social forestry projects. In addition to providing fuelwood, farmers often grow trees to provide shade for

agricultural crops A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponics ...

, as wind shelters, for

soil conservation Soil conservation is the prevention of loss of the topmost layer of the soil from erosion or prevention of reduced fertility caused by over usage, acidification, salinization or other chemical soil contamination. Slash-and-burn and other unsust ...

or to recover wasteland. The

pulp and paper industry The pulp and paper industry comprises companies that use wood as raw material and produce pulp, paper, paperboard and other cellulose-based products. Manufacturing process The pulp is fed to a paper machine where it is formed as a paper web an ...

is a major demand driver for certain species of tree such as ''

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...

'', ''Babul'' ''

Acacia catechu ''Senegalia catechu'' is a deciduous, thorny tree which grows up to in height. The plant is called ''khair''
in H ...

'', ''Subabul'' (''

Leucaena leucocephala ''Leucaena leucocephala'' is a small fast-growing Mimosoideae, mimosoid tree native to southern Mexico and northern Central America (Belize and Guatemala) and is now naturalized throughout the tropics including parts of Asia. Common names inc ...

'') and ''

Casuarina equisetifolia ''Casuarina equisetifolia'', common names ''Coastal She-oak'' or ''Horsetail She-oak'' (sometimes referred to as the Australian pine tree or whistling pine tree outside Australia), is a she-oak species of the genus ''Casuarina''. The native ...

''. As a rough estimate, the total demand for pulpwood is approximately 10 million ADMT (wood having 10% moisture). The Indian Paper Manufacturer's Association is an umbrella organization that coordinates and drives plantation efforts by member organizations in India to supply its industrial requirements.

Community forestry

The government provides seedlings and fertilizer to the community, which is then responsible for nurturing and protecting the plants on community land. This provides for the community rather than individuals. Fast-growing ''Eucalyptus'' has been planted on a large scale. Some communities manage these plantations sensibly and in a sustainable manner for continual benefit, while others sell the mature timber for a one-time capital divestment.

Extension forestry

Planting of trees on the sides of roads, canals and railways, along with planting on wastelands is known as extension forestry, increasing the boundaries of forests. This has created wood lots in the village common lands, government wastelands, and ''panchayat'' lands.

Agroforestry

In agroforestry, silvicultural practices are combined with agricultural crops like legumes, along with orchard farming and livestock ranching on the same piece of land. It is defined as a sustainable land-use system that maintains or increases the total yield by combining food crop together with forest tree and livestock ranching on the same unit of land, using management practices that consider the social and cultural characteristics of the local people and the economic and ecological condition of the area.

Partners

Major non-governmental organizations who partner in the implementation of the social forestry scheme are: * Sri Soneswar Nath Mahadev Trust * Try * National Green Highway Mission (NGHM) * Bihar forestry Development Corporation LimitedBihar forestry Development Corporation Limited
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References

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External links

ASEAN Social forestry Networkpartnership for SDGSanmatTry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Social Forestry In India Nature conservation in India Forestry in India