Key Highlights
- March 21, 2025 marks the International Day of Forests with the theme “Forests and Food”.
- Forests underpin oxygen generation, nutrition, medicine and the livelihoods of millions.
- India’s flagship programmes – National Agroforestry Policy, Green India Mission, Forest Fire Prevention & Management Scheme and Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana – link forest stewardship to climate resilience and rural prosperity.
- Significant financial commitments (over ₹900 crore for Green India Mission) aim to restore 10 million hectares of forest cover.
Detailed Insights
The United Nations instituted the International Day of Forests in 2012 to galvanise worldwide attention toward forest preservation. Each year a new thematic focus is selected by the Collaborative Partnership on Forests; for 2025 the emphasis is on the symbiotic relationship between forests and food security. Forest ecosystems supply edible commodities—fruits, seeds, tubers, and wild game—that are indispensable to indigenous and rural populations.
India, a nation where forests interlace cultural heritage, biodiversity and the economy, has launched multiple policy instruments to fuse ecological health with human well‑being. The National Agroforestry Policy (2014) promotes the integration of trees within agricultural lands, enhancing soil fertility, diversifying farmer income and bolstering climate‑adapted practices. Implementation is coordinated by ICAR‑CAFRI and partners such as ICFRE, CSIR and state agricultural universities, with mechanisms for quality planting material, price guarantees and private‑sector market linkages.
The Green India Mission, a pillar of the National Action Plan on Climate Change, targets the addition of 5 million hectares of forest cover and the improvement of another 5 million hectares. Its sub‑missions address reforestation of degraded lands, urban greening, agro‑ and social‑forestry, and wetland revival. A World Bank‑backed Ecosystem Services Improvement Project in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh exemplifies the mission’s livelihood‑oriented thrust.
To curb the rising incidence of forest fires, the centrally sponsored Forest Fire Prevention & Management Scheme deploys remote‑sensing, GPS and GIS tools, establishes a National Action Plan, and operates a real‑time monitoring and alert system via the Forest Survey of India.
Finally, the Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana (launched 2018) empowers tribal communities by creating Van Dhan Vikas Kendras that gather, process and market minor forest produce. With an investment of ₹15 lakh per centre and modest member contributions, the scheme aspires to generate sustainable incomes, reduce migration and reinforce forest conservation.