New Delhi: The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on Saturday (June 17) released the “National Working Plan Code-2023” for the scientific management of forests and evolving new approaches.
The National Working Plan Code-2023 was released by Chandra Prakash Goyal, IFS, Director General of Forests and Special Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change during the occasion of the ‘World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought’ organized by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) in Dehradun on 17th June 2023.
As per the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change,
India is one of the few countries in the world that has a scientific system of forest management. The working plan is the main instrument through which the scientific management of Forests is being achieved in India. National Working Plan Code which was first adopted in 2004 with a subsequent amendment in 2014 brought uniformity and acted as the guiding principle for the preparation of the working plan for scientific management of different forest divisions of our country.
The Ministry added,
The forests in India are being managed for a multitude of reasons like maintaining environmental stability, conserving natural heritage, checking soil erosion and denudation of catchment areas, checking the extension of dunes, increasing tree and forest cover with people involvement, increasing the productivity of forests etc. Scientific forest management in India and the world is consistently evolving with new approaches, new technologies & innovations and it has become imperative to evolve ourselves to meet the essentials of forest management and the requirements of people who depended on it
The National Working Plan Code-2023 will act as a guiding principle for State Forest Departments in preparation for the working plan for different forest divisions in the country.
Also Read: Conservation Of Environment Has Become Big Challenge: Jharkhand Government
National Working Plan Code-2023 deals in detail with the essentials of forest management planning, incorporating the principles of sustainable management of forests. This includes the extent and condition of forest and tree cover; maintenance, conservation and enhancement of biodiversity including wildlife, forest health and vitality, conservation and management of soil and water resources, enhancement of forest resource productivity, maintenance and enhancement of social, economic, cultural and spiritual benefits, and providing the appropriate policy, legal and institutional framework.
For the first time, the National Working Plan Code-2023 has prescribed state forest departments to engage in continuous data collection and its updation in a centralized database.
The ‘Indian Forest Management Standard’ which is a part of this code, takes into account the diverse forest ecosystem in our country while trying to bring uniformity in management. The Standards for Sustainable Forest Management have been codified in the Indian Forest Management Standard, based on long-term experiences of scientific forest management in India and in sync with international criteria and indicators. Indian Forest Management Standard would facilitate the State Forest Departments to measure the effectiveness of the management practices against prescriptions of Working Plans.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – theLGBTQ population,indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the currentCOVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water,SanitationandHygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fightmalnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health,adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues likeair pollution,waste management,plastic ban,manual scavengingand sanitation workers andmenstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India wheretoiletsare used andopen defecation free (ODF)status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched byPrime Minister Narendra Modiin 2014, can eradicate diseases like diarrhoea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
