Deforestation and Forests Degradation Impacts on Livelihood Security and Climate Change: Indian Initiatives Towards Its Mitigation

Abstract

Deforestation and forest degradation are impairing the amplitude of forests to produce various ecosystem products and services, livelihood security, and its contribution towards mitigating the greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. Indian forests support the sustenance needs of ~300 millions of tribal people and forest dwelling rural populations. India is experiencing an increased pace of deforestation and destruction of forest resources leading to overall forest degradation in the past few decades. Around 40% of the Indian forests are degraded and over-exploited, 70% have lost the natural regeneration potential, and 55% are prone to fire. India is one of the parties to all the potentially notable world’s agreements and conventions encompassing forests and their degradation prevention. India has committed to accomplish restoration of 21 Mha of damaged, degraded, and deforested lands by 2030 under the Bonn Challenge. The forestry sector constitutes an important part of India’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and can be achieved through several ongoing programmes such as the National Mission for a Green India, National Afforestation Programme, compensatory afforestation, and plantations to increase the area under forest in the country. India’s forestry sector is committed to establish a supplementary forest cover as a terrestrial carbon sink of 2.5–3.0 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent under the Paris Agreement by 2030. Besides, investment in natural ecosystems, through reduction in carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD), and reducing GHGs emissions from deforestation, forest degradation, and other forest related activities (REDD+) related strategies, contribute significantly to a reduction in GHGs emissions and improvement of carbon storage capacity of natural forests. It also helps in generating alternative income sources for the rural, tribal, and forest-dependent communities that will give essential financial inducements to avoid deforestation and to provide supplementary livelihood advantages from the protection and restoration of forest ecosystems. This chapter will particularly focus on the tropical forest, as it is currently experiencing the highest rates of deforestation and over-exploitation.KeywordsForest destructionDegradationLivelihood securityTropical forestsIndian initiatives