The Problems with CAMPA in India

The Problems with CAMPA in India
 

News: Compensatory afforestation forms a significant component of various reforestation programmes being implemented in India.
 

Background:
 India has promised to increase its forest and tree cover to absorb an additional 2.5 – 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2030. However, the forestry target is difficult to achieve due to the need for rapid industrial, infrastructure development, and urbanisation.
 In the last 10 years, more than 1,611 square km of forest land (a third of this in the last three years) has been cleared. But government data shows that total forest cover had increased by 1,540 square km in the two years between 2019 and 2021.
 

What is Compensatory afforestation?
 The compensatory afforestation programme ensures that forest lands getting ‘diverted’ for non-forest purposes is mandatorily accompanied by afforestation on an equal area of land. It was made a legal requirement through the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) Act 2016.
 Though the law came in 2016, the concept has existed since the 1980s, as an offshoot of the Forest Conservation Act 1980.
 

Key Features:
 Newer parcels of land are earmarked for development as forests.
 Project developers (public/private) are required to fund the entire afforestation activity on these new lands.
 Project developers are also asked to pay for the Net Present Value (NPV) of the forests being cleared, as the new lands cannot be compared with the fully grown forests getting diverted.
 According to recent calculations, companies have to pay NPV between INR 9.5 lakh and INR 16 lakh per hectare, depending on the quality of forests getting diverted.
 All this money is meant for increasing/improving the quality of forest cover in the country.
 

What are issues faced?
 Money collected before 2016 had remained largely unutilised. For example, much of the INR 55,000 crore in the state funds remains locked. There are allegations of underutilization and misappropriation of funds.
 Lack of availability of suitable land and unavailability of land in a contiguous stretch remains the biggest concern.
 Land made available for afforestation cannot be used for any other purpose and is unsuitable for growing plantations.
 Often the plantations are monocultures, which is against the core concept of biodiversity.
 Biotic pressures the plantations face due to increased human habitations and cattle.
 

Way Forward
 Clearing of Forests cannot be stopped as Industrial and livelihood needs of people matter but afforestation programme under CAMPA need to be streamlined in the best way possible.
 While we may understand that a proper Forest ecosystem sacrificed cannot be replicated in entirety but CAMPA does provide an alternative mechanism that will help make up for losses.