Forest SEZs, Serious Environmental Zatka

The Union government has recently taken an initiative to create special economic zones (SEZ) by leasing out degraded forest land to industry. While on the face of it, it seems like a great idea, is beneficial to everyone and good for the environment, going deeper into the matter will show us that the move may have serious negative implications and the move may have come more as a response to sustained pressure and lobbying from the paper and pulp industry rather than a genuine concern for the environment or the forest dwelling communities.

Let us first look at the positives that are being touted by the supporters of this policy. It is being said that with industry taking up degraded forests, and with the subsequent investment, India’s forest cover will increase to the ideal level of 33%, the target India has set for itself, in a mere five years. Increased forest cover means reduction in carbon emissions, another environmental benefit. Apart from the environment, it will benefit the forest dwelling communities as well as it will provide employment to those people in the industries that are set up there. The industry will gain from it in the form of increased and assured supply of raw materials, which has always been a concern in the industry. There is huge demand in the market for paper products which is currently met through imports, and with literacy levels going up, the demand is going to rise even further, and this move will help in meeting such demand, at lower prices. So the picture looks rosy and win all for everyone.

First let us look at the environmental factors. When you hand over the forest resource to industry, you are leaving it to be exploited to its hilt for commercial gains and depleting the resource. What is the kind of forest that will grow on these lands once given to industry? Eucalyptus is the major tree that will be grown. It is a proven fact that that the commercial trees like eucalyptus, which are very fast growing, deplete the water table considerably. It also does not allow other species to grow in the same area. The industry will promote mono cropping which in itself entails a lot of risks. Such trees also do not provide ideal habitat to most forms of animals. And the most basic thing that a forest should do, prevent soil erosion, is also not done by these forests. Again, one of the many benefits being claimed by the supporters of this move is that these forests will act as carbon sinks. This is also not true as carbon can be absorbed significantly only by forests having a very thick canopy cover, which is not the case with commercial plantations. Hence, if anything, there is going to be more of an environmental hazard than benefit if forest land is leased to industry.

Coming on to the other factor of this move benefiting the forest dwelling communities, it is not very difficult to see that even these people will be exploited and left stranded. While it is true that some of them will get employment in these industries in the form of tending to the forests and other forestry operations, it is also true that they will lose more than what they will gain. First is the risk of displacement from their traditional and age old abodes. We have seen this happening again and again, and the bloody uprisings in Nandigram in West Bengal are testimony to this. We do not want another one, do we? Again, the industry will be buying off traditional rights of fodder and other forest produce from the people. This will mean loss of the communities’ traditional rights over fodder and other forest produce over which they have been dependent for ages. The industries will be far less tolerant of these people taking away forest produce once they have bought the rights compared to the forest department. True, that the people themselves will sell off these rights, but have we not seen how these rights are acquired, are the people aware and capable of negotiating the right prices with the smart business savvy industrialists, and are they far sighted enough to see what alternative sources they have once they give away their rights to the industry? These are some very pertinent questions that need to be asked of ourselves before any such move.

I fail to understand, yet again, as to why does the government need to give away forest land, even degraded, to the industry to meet its environment targets? Can it not do it by itself? What is our Forest Department doing? Well, I guess like most other government agencies, it is.........forget it........