A Call to Link Post-Corona Recovery with India’s Forestry Target of 33%
Linking employment
generation schemes in the corona era to meeting our forestry targets could
prove to be a game changer for the nation’s poor in these tying times as well
as provide a lifeline to our beleaguered forests
Never before in recent history has such a large percentage
of our population been forced to remain at home without a fixed source of
employment. Equally startling has been the jump
in demand for agricultural inputs as observed in the past few weeks. The
corona induced inward migration has put the focus back into agriculture as a
major driver of the economy. We might see a dramatic increase in output by the
end of the kharif season as most estimates acknowledged that the farm
sector has been largely unscathed by the effects of the pandemic and is
infact poised to grow at a fast pace.
However, it is still uncertain that the revival of
agriculture will lead to an increase of incomes and above all, job security to
millions of migrants and local villagers who have been hit by the effects of
the pandemic. The fear of slipping into a state of poverty coupled with an
uncertain future requires a mammoth re-imagination on the part of the
government to pull the currently unproductive population back into the
employment cycle.
We see evidences of a spurt in activities as demand for work
under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) surge. With 36
million households seeking work in May and more than 40 million households
seeking work in the 25 days of June, the demand for work has increased by
more than 70%. While average monthly demand under MNREGA hovers around 21.5
million households, the sheer increase in numbers of May and June offer relief
that families are able to currently obtain employment and yet portend a grave
future as people tend to shift to MNREGA often in terms of crisis.
The current avatar of MNREGA may not be enough. With
billions of lives shaken worldwide and several million Indian lives staring at
an uncertain future, doors are opening for millions to be pushed
into poverty. Times such as these require the society to leap beyond
customary contended zones stressed are we as a nation with the impending crisis
of depleting resources on one hand and the growing
threat of Climate Change on the other. We require an immediate massive investment
to make our society resilient and our environment healthy, a scheme that few
would have seen a parallel before.
On occasions, simple economics can work wonders. When a
drought struck Jodhpur in the early part of the last century, the Maharajah
commissioned the construction of the Umaid Palace and employed
around 3000 people to build what was then the world’s largest private
residence, saving several lives in the process.
The Jodhpur experiment might have been conducted on a small
scale but the Civilian
Conservation Corps in the United States of America which operated as a
public work relief programme from 1933 to 1942 to provide manual labour
invested intensively in tree plantations and helped create much of the
infrastructure of the present day National Park system of USA. Not only did it
provide desperately required jobs but also laid the foundation for an economic recovery
and even till today, this “Tree Army” is
fondly remembered in USA for planting more than 3 billion trees in 9 years and
helping shape the much beloved national parks system of present day.
While such an idea can still be exercised for various
infrastructure based activity in the present day, improving the green cover of
our nation is an arena that requires intense input and determination. As the impact
of corona is felt across communities and landscapes in myriad ways, a gnawing
fear is that the first effect of growing poverty would be felt upon vulnerable
forests. And it may turn out to be the endgame for our forests, besieged as
they are from all sides by thousands of villages.
India’s current forests cover as per the latest Indian State
of Forest Report is around
24.56% of the geographical area of the country. And this is just not
enough. As the country grows rapidly, pumping out greenhouse gases in its quest
for development, it needs to double
the rate of forest cover expansion to meet the Paris Agreement deadlines.
And that is unlikely to happen in the current scenario, even without taking the
effects of Corona. The country is in the midst of a mind-boggling development
push as India attempts to grow financially and catch up with its equally
development-hungry neighbour China, forests and natural green spaces are likely
to suffer infinitely. Yet, it is apparent to everyone that a green stimulus
might offer a hope to a nation like India to withstand the effects of Climate
Change and help improve forests across the nation.
Corona offers this window of opportunity to the government
and companies seeking to improve their social responsibility. Corona is
indirectly telling us, “We are behind our committed target of achieving 33%
forest cover in India and there is a severe crunch of job opportunities in
rural areas”. It would take a few brave decision makers to initiate a multi-state
large scale native tree planting initiative that may provide job opportunities
to millions of Indians staring at a crevice under present circumstances.
We would not be deviating from current national priorities
as achieving a healthy forest cover is mandated under the constitution and
aligned to international objectives such as the Global Deal for Nature (GDN)
which seeks to protect
at least 30 percent of lands by 2030, with an additional 20 percent of land
protected as “climate stabilization areas” (CSAs). Other prominent voices have
called for protecting more. Prominent biologist Edward O. Wilson writes that devoting
half the world to nature would help save the majority of species. More
people are advocating what we already know. We need to protect the earth to
protect ourselves and the Corona pandemic may be offering us the solution to
strive for a concerted tree planting movement now.
Pakistan is doing just that. As part of its 10 Billion
forest restoration campaign, it is hiring daily
wagers who have been laid off to plant trees, often paying them upto 500
rupees per day. Their new job as “Jungle
Workers” is a green stimulus that has the potential of generating vital
livelihoods and helping the nation prepare for the impending climate crisis. It
has been reported that the programme has already helped generate 65,000
jobs and envisions employment for 6,00,000 more in the coming time. It is not
just Pakistan but countries like Germany
and
England as well which are investing
in large scale tree planting.
With agriculture and forests historically at loggerheads in
India and forests been systematically reduced, forestry to supplement farm
incomes is the way forward for the government of current times. States like
Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh,
Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka have witnessed a high demand for MNREGA
related jobs lending credence to the emerging dire job scenario in these
states. Currently, India’s stimulus package of INR 20 Lakh crore or USD 260
billion ranks
5th worst on the world’s Global Environment Index. While India
allocated INR 6000 crores for plantation projects, the significant push to oil,
coal and diverting forests makes India’s claims of a green push redundant.
On the other hand, instead of focussing on large scale
destructive projects, India and its leaders need to put their priority back to
the village. The current list of activities listed under the MNREGA is not
enough and the authorities need to increase more
jobs so that more people are employed. The outlay can be supplemented by
the Green
India Mission and more programmes in the coming months. Watershed
development and revival of traditional water bodies along with localised small-scale
plantations, especially to serve as a buffer for existing forests is an idea
worth exploring. And the idea of greening India is a proposal way past its due
date. A green revival must begin today.
