Draft National Forest Policy, 2018

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) released the draft National Forest Policy, 2018 in March, 2018.

There is a need to revise the existing National Forest Policy, 1988 through integrating:

• sustainable forest management,
• climate change mitigation strategies, and
• an evaluation mechanism to oversee participation of multiple stakeholders in forests.

Key Features of the Draft Policy: Eco-security: The country should aim to have a minimum of one-third of the total land area under forest and tree cover.

• Forest Plantations: Productivity of forest plantations will be increased through scientific and technological interventions in order to encourage usage of timber.
• Afforestation Activities ....