{"id":44048,"date":"2025-05-24T20:41:46","date_gmt":"2025-05-24T15:11:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=44048"},"modified":"2025-05-24T20:41:58","modified_gmt":"2025-05-24T15:11:58","slug":"urban-forests-india-stability-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/24-05-2025\/urban-forests-india-stability-needs","title":{"rendered":"Needs for Stable Urban Forests in India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/ Environment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>One of Hyderabad\u2019s last remaining urban forests, Kancha Gachibowli, faced the threat of extinction when the Telangana government decided to give away 400 acres of its land for industrial development.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Importance of Urban Forests<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Climate Change Mitigation: <\/strong>Urban trees <strong>absorb CO\u2082 and sequester carbon,<\/strong> reducing urban greenhouse gas emissions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Pollution Control: <\/strong>A hectare of trees can remove nearly one ton of pollutants annually, helping mitigate harmful <strong>PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Temperature Regulation:<\/strong> Urban forests reduce the <strong>Urban Heat Island<\/strong> effect, promoting cooler and livable cities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Stormwater Management:<\/strong> They help <strong>control flooding and erosion<\/strong>, ensuring better water infiltration and urban resilience.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Biodiversity Conservation:<\/strong> Serve as urban wildlife refuges, supporting endangered birds and animal species.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Social Well-being:<\/strong> Offer spaces for recreation, relaxation, and cultural activities, counterbalancing the high-speed urban lifestyle.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Judicial Interventions to protect Urban forests<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>T.N. Godavarman v. Union of India Case (1996): <\/strong>In this case, the Supreme Court interpreted Section 2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. The court ruled that \u2018forest land\u2019 includes;\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Areas considered as &#8216;forest&#8217; in the dictionary sense.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Any area recorded as forest in government records, irrespective of ownership.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Samatha v. State of Andhra Pradesh (1997):<\/strong> The Supreme Court\u00a0 held that government-owned forest land in Scheduled Areas cannot be leased to non-tribals or private companies for mining.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Government Initiatives<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Nagar Van Yojana: <\/strong>The scheme was launched in 2020 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and aims to create <strong>1000 Urban Forests by 2027.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>According to the <strong>India State of Forest Report 2023<\/strong>, the scheme added <strong>1445.81 sq. km <\/strong>of tree\/forest cover.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Forest Policy (1988)<\/strong> and<strong> National Mission for Green India (2014)<\/strong> aim to expand forest cover through afforestation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Smart Cities Mission<\/strong> and <strong>AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) <\/strong>promote integrated ecological design in urban spaces.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ebecf0\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Miyawaki method<\/strong><br>&#8211; It is a<strong> reforestation technique <\/strong>developed by <strong>Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, <\/strong>designed to create dense, biodiverse forests in urban areas by planting native species densely together.\u00a0<br>&#8211; It accelerates forest growth and biodiversity compared to traditional methods, requiring minimal maintenance after the initial three years.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Enforce Green Norms in Urban Planning: <\/strong>Integrate urban forestry into city master plans and zoning regulations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Expand Legal Protection:<\/strong> Strengthen forest protection laws and penal provisions for illegal deforestation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Citizen Participation:<\/strong> Encourage community-led forest protection movements and awareness campaigns.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Data-Driven Governance: <\/strong>Maintain accurate digital inventories and satellite-based monitoring of urban forests.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs):<\/strong> Involve corporations in urban afforestation as part of Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) activities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Concluding remarks<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Urban forests like <strong>Aarey (Mumbai), Turahalli (Bengaluru), Ridge (Delhi), and Dol Ka Baadh (Jaipur) <\/strong>are crucial for ecological and public health.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The judicial, policy, and civic actions must align to prevent the extinction of green spaces amidst expanding grey infrastructure.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Only a collective commitment can ensure that India\u2019s cities remain breathable, biodiverse, and livable for future generations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/sci-tech\/energy-and-environment\/why-india-needs-stable-urban-forests-explained\/article69605866.ece#:~:text=They%20help%20mitigate%20climate%20cha\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">One of Hyderabad\u2019s last remaining urban forests, Kancha Gachibowli, faced the threat of extinction when the Telangana government decided to give away 400 acres of its land for industrial development.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Importance of Urban Forests<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Climate Change Mitigation: Urban trees absorb CO\u2082 and sequester carbon, reducing urban greenhouse gas emissions.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Pollution Control: A hectare of trees can remove nearly one ton of pollutants annually, helping mitigate harmful PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Temperature Regulation: Urban forests reduce the Urban Heat Island effect, promoting cooler and livable cities.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Stormwater Management: They help control flooding and erosion, ensuring better water infiltration and urban resilience.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/24-05-2025\/urban-forests-india-stability-needs\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44048"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44048\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44062,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44048\/revisions\/44062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}