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India’s New Forest Conservation Bill: boon or bane?

By Aayushi Sharma

The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023, was introduced by the government on March 29 in the Lok Sabha in order to amend the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. According to the new Bill, certain types of forest land will no longer be legally protected. One of the main justifications offered for introducing the Bill was the “necessity to expedite strategic and security-related projects”. 

The Forest Conservation Act, 1980 originally offered considerable legal backing for protecting forested areas and their resources. However, following the amendments, forest land that is up to 0.10 hectares in size adjacent to a rail line or a public road will no longer be covered by the provisions of the Act. The exemption also covers up to 10 hectares of land that will be utilized to build infrastructure for security. Following the proposed changes, the Forest Conservation Act of 1980 will no longer apply to forests within 100 km of an international boundary, the line of control, or the line of the actual control area. This covers an important portion of India’s northeastern region.

Amendment Goals

The goals of the suggested amendments have been termed as to increase plantations, which will increase the carbon stock in the forests, and also provide developers with land to fulfil their legal requirement to plant compensatory trees in place of forest area that was taken for development projects.

The Bill aims to accomplish both of these goals by limiting the Forest Conservation Act’s applicability and by releasing land that is currently counted as unregistered forests. Large tracts of forest land were designated as reserved and protected forests and placed under state forest departments after Independence, according to file records and field realities. Many forested regions; however, were excluded, and areas without any active woods were counted as “forest” lands. 

Extensive ground surveys were planned to be used to sort out the irregularities, however, the task remained unfinished. The FC Act would be applicable to all land parcels that were either recorded as “forest” or closely approximated the dictionary definition of forest, according to a 1997 Supreme Court decision that temporarily halted the removal of trees across the nation. This helped stop uncontrolled destruction on territory not designated as “forest.” 

This amendment will result in eliminating the act’s protection from millions of hectares of land that exhibit forest-like traits but haven’t been designated as such. 

Forest Clearance laws in the FCA 

Fewer projects will need to seek forest clearance, which is seen by most developers inside and outside of the government as a “hurdle,” if the FC Act’s purview is narrowed. However, it will also assist developers in obtaining necessary forest clearance. One important requirement for clearing forests is that a developer must plant trees as compensation on an area of similar non-forest land or, in the absence of such land, on degraded forest land that is twice as large. This effectively reduces the demand for forestland because the land is always in high demand.

The loss of unrecorded forest plantings, which will eventually contribute to the diversion of registered forests for projects, is seen by conservationists as an added burden. 

Exclusions: A major concern

Under FCA, certain exceptions are given to some specific project types and geographical regions. No forest clearance was required for projects falling under these categories. The new amendments seek to increase the number of such exemptions and also propose to include them in the act. Major exclusions are:

  • The development of defense roads within 100 km of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) was excluded from clearing forests between July 2014 and November 2017. The Bill currently intends to exempt all critical linear projects within 100 km of international boundaries, the Line Control, and projects of “national interest and concerning national security.” (LoC). India’s land borders cover a distance of over 15,000 kilometers.
  • From May 2011 to May 2013, In 106 districts affected by Left Wing Extremism, important public facilities not requiring more than 5 hectares each were exempted from the FC Act. (LWE). It is suggested that this be expanded to “construction of defense-related projects or a camp for paramilitary forces or public utility projects, maybe specified by the Central Government…in a Left Wing Extremism affected area as may be notified by the Central Government.” 
  • The amendments also aim to exclude “security-related infrastructure” that takes up to 10 hectares without specifying what it entails. To the list of activities related to conservation and therefore exempt from the FCAct, the Bill adds silvicultural operations, construction of zoos and wildlife safaris, eco-tourism facilities, and any other activities  “the Central Government may, by order, specify”.

Evidently, these proposed exemptions leave the Center with a lot of discretionary authority. 

Impact on the forest communities

Any time the FC Act is reviewed, there is a chance to provide appropriate concessions for the property that has historically been controlled by indigenous and forest groups. Even after the Forest Rights Act of 2006 was passed, their ability to object to using forest areas for development projects has gradually diminished. Now they might not have a say in the massive plantations that are planned for the land their communities depend on. The Bill talks about keeping up with “dynamic changes in the ecological, strategic and economic aspirations of the country” and “improvement of livelihoods for forest-dependent communities.” 

With the repurposing of these forest lands, the loss of houses, earnings, jobs, and the socio-ecological prospects of indigenous tribal communities are unavoidable.

What about the FCA’s primary goal?

However, the main goal of the amendments is to confine the scope of the Forest Conservation Act in order to encourage plantations to become carbon neutral. Fast-growing plantations actually record quicker carbon growth than steady natural forests. Conveniently, since India does not differentiate between forests and plantations for this reason, both contribute equally to raising the country’s green cover. But a forest is much more than just a collection of trees. Natural forests, as opposed to man-made plantations, carry out ecosystem services essential to the survival and well-being of the millions of species they support and also offer millions of people a direct source of livelihood and subsistence.  

Thus, the FCA’s primary goal, which is to safeguard and conserve India’s forests, is compromised due to Bill’s focus on increasing tradeable vertical carbon stocks.

What the experts say

Anwesha Dutta, Senior Researcher CHR. Michelsen Institute, told CFC India, “We see forest and biodiversity laws being compromised in the name of national security almost as a global phenomenon, one example being the US -Mexico border and more recently the Poland-Belarus border. In the proposed Bill the exemption of forest clearance for forest land for security infrastructure seeks to threaten critical species habitats and obstruct animal corridors.” 

“Moreover, easing forest land clearance and acquisition for development projects (including mining) risks further alienation and dispossession of local and indigenous communities since around 275 million rural inhabitants or roughly 27% of the country’s total population are reliant on forests for at least part of their subsistence and livelihoods. Moreover, exemptions in the proposed Bill include, “‘silviculture’, the establishment of zoo/safari, ecotourism facilities, etc.”, however, the recent global pandemic leading to a temporary halt of aviation and tourism exposed the unsustainable nature of such projects and there is a huge body of research that will not support the transformation of healthy forests into recreational spaces,” she added.

“Finally, the government’s and the bill’s myopic focus on plantations without considerations of active community engagement, selection native tree species through community consultations, focus on understory vegetation including grasslands and allowing for natural regeneration, is detrimental for forest health and structure, species biodiversity and local and indigenous communities,” Dutta further added. 

Dr. Jagdish Krishnaswamy, Dean – School of Environment and Sustainability, IIHS told CFC India, “The 100 km band next to international borders in many regions includes some very important areas for both biodiversity and ecosystem services including sources of rivers besides having areas that are geologically unstable, exposed to extreme rain events under climate change, prone to landslides, and has high risk of earthquakes. Infrastructure development in this zone needs careful environmental scrutiny and design as ecological security and national security will both benefit from this.”

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