Revitalization of Rivers in India Draft Policy - Isha Guru Jaggi Vasudev

Revitalization of Rivers In India
Draft Policy Recommendation
cost of adaptation to climate change was estimated at over $100 billion in the runup
to the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference (Black et al., 2011). Therefore
policies promoting adaptation to climate change are critical in the coming years. 28
Rural households derive one-fifth to one-quarter of their income from forest and
tree resources and are therefore amongst the most vulnerable to climate change
impacts on forests. It has been noted that forest ecosystems provide services that
reduce the vulnerability of communities and broader society to climate change
by: providing livelihood provisions to the local communities; conserving and
regulating soil, water and microclimate in forests and agricultural lands; and
regulating water quality and protecting soil from erosion and landslides through
large scale soil and moisture conservation works. By improving the management
of forests and allocating adequate rights at the local level, under the national acts
like the Forest Rights Act 2006 and the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas)
Act, 1996 and devolution of rights and concessions by the State Government, the
adaptive capacity of forest-dependent people has been greatly improved
Agroforestry
The National Agro-forestry Policy 2014, which deals with the practice of
integrating trees, crops and livestock on the same plot of land, was launched on
February 10, 2014 – the first day of the World Congress on Agro-forestry, held
in Delhi. The policy deals with problems that agro-forestry sector is facing at
present, including adverse policies, weak markets and a dearth of institutional
finance. It is widely accepted that agro-forestry has the potential to achieve
sustainability in agriculture while optimising its productivity and mitigating
climate change impact.
The four-day World Agro-forestry Congress held in New Delhi in 2014 underlined
the benefits of agroforestry – restoring barren land, reducing poverty and
malnutrition by tripling yields, feeding animals, protecting running water,
conserving biodiversity, protecting wildlife, and holding and repairing soils. It also
noted that there has been a decline in agro-forestry practices in India. 29
There are various agro-forestry industries which are dependent on agriculture
or forest produce for their raw material. Pulp and paper industries, fiber board
manufacturing units and various small scale cottage industries (furniture, incense
382 Annexures