States to get incentives to maintain forest cover: Ramesh

Times of India , Monday, September 07, 2009
Correspondent : PTI
DEHRADUN: The Centre today announced plans to give financial incentives to states maintaining their forest cover and taking steps to increase it.

"A plan is being worked out to give a green bonus or dividend to states that are maintaining their forest cover and are taking steps to improve it," said Union Minister of state for Forest and Environment Jairam Ramesh at a conference on climate change here.

"These states will be given financial incentives from the finance and planning commissions. The incentives will also be given to local self governments," he said, adding, this kind of encouragement is necessary for these states as they are under tremendous economic pressure to do away with forests.

The minister said that India wants a fair and equitable international agreement on the issue of climate change and global warming that does not stifle its development aspiration at the forthcoming United Nations Summit on Climate Change (UNSCC) at Copenhagen.

"India wants a fair and equitable agreement. There should be no barriers to its own economic growth. We are deeply concerned over the issue of global warming and climate change. The best way to mitigate the problem is that countries should do things on their own. We are doing it and over the next two to three months more countries will know what we are doing," he said.

The minister said that Himalayan states of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand need to be given special incentives for maintaining the forest cover and expressed hope that the Centre would respond to the suggestions made by him.

The fact that around 15,000 Himalayan glaciers are receding is beyond doubt, Ramesh said, adding, however, that what still needs to be established is the cause of the recession.

He said that while the western school of thought attributes the recession of glaciers to global warming, Indian scientists are of the opinion that there is still not enough solid evidence to substantiate it.

The minister said that there are studies which point out there are some like the Siachin glacier that are advancing. "In case of Gangotri, the rate of retreat in the last 10 years is lesser than the rate of retreat in the previous decades," he said.

A National Institute of Himalayan glaciology is being set up in Dehradun to study the changes in the Himalayan glaciers in collaboration with China, Bhutan and may be Pakistan at a later stage to gather scientific evidence related to the glaciers, he said.

Referring to the agitations against the proposed hydel projects on the Bhagirathi river, Ramesh said that the National Ganga river Basin Authority set up under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will study the sustainable use of water in the Ganga system.

"We are moving from a project based approach to a basin based approach," he said while adding that it has been decided to hire a consultant for the same and 30 bids have been received so far for making plans for the entire basin.

A similar Authority is also being planned for the Teesta river, he said, adding, the construction of Lohari-Nagpala project in Uttarakhand would be the test phase for the new approach.

India should also aim to bring at least 20 per cent of its total cultivated area under organic farming by 2020, he said.

 
SOURCE : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/environment/flora-fauna/States-to-get-incentives-to-maintain-forest-cover-Ramesh/articleshow/4978605.cms
 


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