Environmentalists, students and academicians write to Union minister against amendments to Forest Conservation Act

“The new section 1A sub-section 1 adds confusion regarding the classification of forests in the country, stating that the Forest Conservation Act (FCA) will only apply to areas recorded as forest in government records, as on or after 25 October 1980. This has raised legitimate fears that the amendment will invalidate the Supreme Court’s 1996 judgment in T.N. Godavarman vs Union of India, in which the court interpreted the meaning of forest as its dictionary definition, expanding the purview of the FCA. If these areas are declassified, it will mean that thousands of square kilometres of forests will lose protection overnight,” the petition stated.

They argued against the exemption provided to zoos, safari parks and ecotourism activities. (Express Photo)

“The Forest Survey of India’s (FSI) latest report, India State of Forest Report 2021, states that while 5,16,630 sq km of the forests are within Recorded Forest Areas, 1,97,159 sq km of forests lie outside Recorded Forest Areas. This implies that out of a total of 7,13,789 sq km of forests of India identified by FSI, 1,97,159 sq km of forests (27.62% of our forests) will lose all protection,” the petition stated.

Experts further stated in the petition that areas such as the Aravalli forests, which will lose protection, are a vital green lung for northern India and provide refuge to hundreds of species of birds, reptiles, mammals and amphibians, apart from serving critical hydrological and climatic modulation for the entire Delhi-NCR.

They argued against the exemption provided to zoos, safari parks and ecotourism activities. If the Bill is passed, then zoos and safari parks can be established inside the forest, and this will be exempted from prior clearance.

An online campaign with hashtags #SaveIndianForests and #ScrapForestConservationAmendmentBill2023 and an email campaign addressed to leaders of political parties and members of parliament in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have also been launched. (Express Photo)

“As should be obvious, a zoo or safari park and a forest cannot be equated. One is a thriving ecosystem, interconnected in thousands of ways, many of which we are still only learning about. The other, a zoo, can be a place for ex-situ conservation or education but can never be a replacement for the former. The aim should be to construct world-leading conservation centres in addition to giving our natural ecosystems the protection they need,” the petition stated.

“Ecotourism is also an important ancillary activity to generate employment, but exempting it from clearances will mean that tourism will overtake nature. There is enough evidence that ecotourism projects often encourage large-scale construction, which is detrimental to natural ecosystems and biodiversity. This could open the door to a whole host of ancillary activities on forest land that will no longer require clearances,” it added.

“Exempting such a large number of projects from the clearance process will mean that forest-dwelling people will no longer be consulted. This is an extremely important way that forest-dwelling people are given a voice. The Scheduled Tribes And Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition Of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, has made it mandatory to get free, prior and informed consent of local communities through their gram sabhas, a right they have won over years of struggle. It is likely that this proposed amendment to FCA will ride roughshod over the rights of forest-dwelling tribes and other people,” the petition further added.

If the Bill is passed, then zoos and safari parks can be established inside the forest, and this will be exempted from prior clearance. (Express Photo)

An online campaign with hashtags #SaveIndianForests and #ScrapForestConservationAmendmentBill2023 and an email campaign addressed to leaders of political parties and members of parliament in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have also been launched.

“Western Ghats is one of the eight biodiversity hotspots in the world. It has been ripped apart for linear hydro and mining projects. There is a disconcerting fear that 9 lakh hectares of deemed forests could be lost and mining, allied industries, entertainment and ecotourism hubs could alter the landscape of the Western Ghats if the Forest Conservation Amendment Bill 2023 is passed,” stated Joseph Hoover, managing trustee of United Conservation Movement working to protect the Western Ghats.

“While courts and reports keep pointing out the value of our forests, it’s a fact that we are still too far from knowing exactly how much these ecosystems serve us. Still, the government goes on treating our forests as dispensable. Be it the Aravallis, the mangroves all along our coast, Western and Eastern Ghats, biodiversity hotspots of the Northeast, our rich central Indian forests – a great part of these could no longer be considered ‘forest’ and can potentially be sold, diverted, cleared, exploited without any regulatory oversight, if the new amendment bill is passed,” said Yash Marwah, co-creator of the volunteer-run environment collective Let India Breathe.

“The proposed amendments severely compromise the constitutional mandate of the State (Article 48A) to safeguard forests, Article 51A (g), which places a duty on the citizens of India to protect and improve the natural environment and jeopardises access to information, public participation and access to justice, which are essential components of Rio Declaration 1992 and fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. As a young Indian, I want to know if the government has a plan for the millions of Indians who are already reeling under extreme climate events across the country and anxious about our future,” added Marwah.