- Plantation drives in Himachal Pradesh have been focused on monoculture efforts using conifers instead of tree species that are locally valuable, finds a study.
- Contrary to the claims of forestry agencies, community participatory programs represent only a small percent of the overall funding for forest restoration.
- Local and international pressure, however, have driven reforestation and afforestation efforts to focus on broad-leaf native species and greater community participation.
Afforestation and forest restoration have been projected as viable methods of increasing carbon storage, protecting biodiversity, mitigating the impacts of climate change, and preserving ecosystem services to aid rural livelihoods. Keeping with this vision, the forest department has undertaken plantation drives in the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh since the 1970s. However, the results of these drives have been underwhelming.
A study based on government plantation records for Himachal Pradesh using a dataset comprising 36 years’ (1979–2015) worth of information on planting activities shows that some practices originally developed for production forestry remain widespread. These methods, which involve high-density plantings of small numbers of easily propagated species, usually without local consultation, are unfortunately, central to what India now considers its restoration practices. The work was funded by the U.S. National Aeronautical and Space Administration Land Cover and Land Use Change program, and the Swedish Research Council.
Disappointing ecological and social outcomes
“Our new paper shows that the trees planted by the government in Himachal Pradesh since 1979 have been dominated by pine, and to a lesser extent, deodar. This is consistent with findings from our prior work which shows that these planted forest areas have not seen a net increase in forest cover but have seen a net shift towards needle-leaf trees. It is also consistent with our published research about neighbouring Himalayan states,” says Forrest Fleischman, an associate professor at the Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, who co-authored this paper. “So, the net result of this government planting activity has been to make forests which may be more useful for commercial purposes, but less useful to local people and less resilient to global climate changes,” he adds.
The preference for conifers and monocultures over the years may have grave consequences for future.
“Excessive conifer or monoculture plantation can result in the decline or even extinction of significant native species, leading to imbalances in species interdependencies and survival in the existing ecosystem. There can be far-reaching negative impacts of this phenomenon beyond our imagination,” says S.K. Chandola, a retired Indian Forest Service official.
This study is not the only one to point out these issues. Other investigations have noted that tree planting programs often fail to achieve their goals, raising questions about their benefits, and risks, especially as a panacea for social and environmental problems in the Himalayas. One such study has used remote sensing data to show that India’s forests are increasingly ‘planted’ and that nearly 80% of natural-origin forests and native species cover in the country has already been lost.
“While this observation may be concerning, it is a common issue worldwide, particularly in colonised countries. It also highlights the need for policymakers in India to closely examine the country’s forest policies and management practices,” says Vijay Ramprasad, visiting assistant professor at Williams College, Massachusetts, and another co-author in the study.
Historical practices threaten local livelihoods
G.S. Rawat, former Dean of the Wildlife Institute of India and president of the Himalayan Academy of Science and Technology says, “What has been lacking is the plantation of appropriate vegetation or trees as per the clear categorisation of all open canopy ecosystems such as grasslands, wetlands, and others. Restoration of degraded forest land through measures like soil and water conservation is an important prerequisite before starting the plantation. It is essential to do so, to ensure the survival of plantations and thus, long-term carbon storage and biodiversity conservation. These should be prioritised rather than planting new non-native plants in the forests.”
Pushpendra Rana, an Indian Forest Service official in Himachal Pradesh, and another co-author, echoes these sentiments, saying that the plantation of timber trees began during colonial times, when wood was required for construction and industrial purposes, and that the practice was never stopped.
Another study on compensatory afforestation programs reports that forest restoration projects often have low survivorship and exacerbate land use conflicts with local communities in the Himalayan belt of the country.
Plantations also threaten the livelihoods of the pastoralist Gaddi community in Himachal by blocking access routes for seasonal migration. In addition, these plantations, especially if they include invasive shrubs, affect local climate factors such as ambient temperatures, precipitation patterns, soil health, and water availability, all of which indirectly impact livestock health and growth.
Rana, however, hopes that the current scenario will change soon. “The whole world has become aware of pressing issues like climate change and carbon sequestration, so now, attention is also being paid to growing and plantation of mixed native species in forests, rather than just timber trees,” he says.
Conflict between forest authorities and local residents
Vijay Guleria, a member of the Kangra Integrated Sciences and Adaptation Network, and another co-author in this study says, “The conflict between communities and foresters take place when the foresters turn deaf ears to the locals’ requests. Locals living in high altitude areas ask for fodder plantations for livestock grazing, and those living in the lower reaches of the hills ask for broadleaf trees for fuel wood and fodder, but neither community gets what they need. Much of the conflict also happens when people are denied their rights to share forest resources despite such promises being made to them when their services were sought for the plantation work. Because of this, villagers sometimes end up taking wood from the forest clandestinely, which further intensifies the conflict.”
“People from local communities have held many agitations in the past to protest against the plantation of pine and eucalyptus because pine is susceptible to fires, and eucalyptus is of no use to them,” says Maan Singh Kapoor, president of the Village Forest Development Society of Khadul village in the Kangra district. “Many programs have been launched to foster community participation in forestry works but have not seen on-ground implementation due to the forester department workers’ view of locals as thieves,” he adds.
“There have been instances where only a few powerful villagers receive the benefits of the participatory projects. This created breach of faith and spurred a rift between foresters and locals. However, that gap is now narrowing with the implementation of mutual participatory projects like the Joint Forest Management Programme,” says Pushpendra Rana, an Indian Forest Service officer and another co-author. “The state government has recently announced the Rajiv Gandhi Van Samvardhan Yojana, worth rupees hundred crore, under which, Yuva Mandals (youth groups), Mahila Mandals (women groups), and self-help groups will be given the ownership rights to these plantation projects. They can make autonomous decisions on what trees to plant, as per their own choices,” he adds.
Native species and community participation
Despite India’s long engagement with forest restoration, which included plantations by the British to ‘restore degraded land’, forest plantations across India were equivalent to only 10% of the country’s available land as of 2005. However, with new programmes and higher community participation, things may change for the better.
“We have come a long way from planting timber species for commercial gains to now growing a mix of native species to achieve the global goal of combating climate change, restoring biodiversity, and supporting local communities,” says Rana.
This is apparent in Himachal Pradesh also, as a gradual shift towards the plantation of a more diverse set of native species valued at the local level, is occurring.
Fleischman applauds the decline in pine plantations since 2000, while Harry W. Fischer, an associate professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences says, “We cannot pinpoint any single driving factor behind the biodiverse and locally responsive plantation activities by the Himachal Pradesh forest department in recent years. It is likely to be a combination of political pressure at the grass root level, changing attitudes of foresters, and pressure from donors due to changing international priorities.”
Ramprasad shares his views saying, “The forest management priorities and definitions that were established long ago have persisted in various forms through procedures, bureaucracies, and institutional path dependencies. It is now essential to assess whether these practices align with changes in demographics, political and economic circumstances, and the supportive role that forests play in the lives of local communities.”
Read more: Wrong trees in wrong places wastes tree plantation budget, finds study
Banner image: Plantation work by local people in a forest near Thala village in Kangra district. Image by Pushpendra Rana.
