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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | New markers to label forest areas ‘inviolate’

New markers to label forest areas ‘inviolate’

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published Published on Jan 28, 2013   modified Modified on Jan 28, 2013
-The Indian Express

A committee set up by the Ministry of Environment and Forests has suggested new parameters to declare pristine forested areas as ‘inviolate’ and thus out of bounds for mining or other harmful non-forest activities.

The panel, headed by former environment secretary T Chatterjee, has recommended that national parks and wildlife sanctuaries; areas within a kilometre of protected areas; compact patches of very dense forests; last remnants of forest types located in direct draining catchment of first order perennial streams being utilised as water source or feeder stream for water supply schemes; areas in direct draining catchment of first-order perennial streams feeding hydro-power projects and boundaries of important wetlands “shall be automatically labeled inviolate”.

The panel’s report comes at a time when the MoEF is under attack from various infrastructure ministries which have been demanding relaxation of forest rules to expedite their projects. The MoEF has now sought comments from all stakeholders on the recommendations.

The panel was constituted on March 30, 2012 after a GoM headed by the then finance minister Pranab Mukherjee suggested that pristine forest areas where mining would cause irreversible damage should be barred from any kind of forest activity and that a committee of experts be constituted to identify such forests.

The GoM had also vetoed the “go, no go” concept brought in by former environment minister Jairam Ramesh for coal mining in forested areas. The MoEF had in September 2011 given up its stand on “no go” but then insisted that some forest areas must remain “inviolate” for mining or other activity that could be harmful.

The panel has now identified six “measurable” parameters to identify ‘inviolate’ areas — forest type, biological richness, wildlife value, forest cover, landscape integrity and hydrological value — data on which is available with various government agencies. To identify such areas, India will be divided into 1kmx1km grids and each grid will be scored on the six parameters. If the average score of a grid exceeds 70 out of 100, it shall be labelled ‘inviolate’ and if a majority of grids in a mining block are “inviolate”, the block too will be labelled so.

Now, a committee headed by Director General, Forest Survey of India and comprising representatives of Wildlife Institute of India, National Biodiversity Authority, National Tiger Conservation Authority, state forest departments and state remote sensing application centres will help identify the “inviolate” areas, the report said. Geo-referenced maps of such areas will then be posted on the ministry’s website.

The Indian Express, 28 January, 2013, http://www.indianexpress.com/news/new-markers-to-label-forest-areas-inviolate-/1065601/


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